Live Review: Genesis Owusu, JessB

JessB cuts a commanding figure on the floor and oozes confidence once she takes the stage at Fitzroy’s Workers Club. And why shouldn’t she? Having just performed at the NZ Music Awards, at which she was nominated for both Best Hip Hop Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year, JessB is riding a dancehall-inspired wave along with DJ, back-up vocalist and hype girl Half Queen. The crowd may be small but there’s no doubt they’re moving as JessB and Half Queen roll through tracks like Set It Off and Take It Down, their natural chemistry looking more like alchemy as the set progresses.

The crowd builds as Joshua Amour handles deck duties, spinning beats before Genesis Owusu arrives with his entourage to kick off the set with the aptly named Wake Up. The energy brought by Owusu and his team reverberates around the room and the line between party and performance blurs. They’re on another level – physically, figuratively – and the front few rows aren’t far behind.

Given the vibe shared by the crew, we’d forgive Owusu for feeling separation anxiety once they depart but the Ghanaian-Australian rapper shines in the spotlight. He tells us he played the same room last year to about 15 people and looking around, it appears that the cat’s out of the bag, or this cat’s out of Canberra at least. Is it still cool to say cat? Probably not, but it’s mildly appropriate for someone who describes their style as 21st-century punk-jazz. We digress.

Owusu’s lyrical prowess is highlighted on tracks like Drive Slow – "My teacher told me plan your future days and be realistic/'cause ain’t no neighbour making paper solely off linguistics" – while Awomen Amen is "an ode to the female in all of her grace, elegance, nastiness, power, rebellion, boldness and ferocity." Blue Pill and Void follow, with Owusu re-joined by his crew for the latter to crank up the energy once more. 

The set rounds off with Sideways and new single Wit’ Da Team, the latter dedicated "to all my beautiful black people". From the first line – "y’all wanna roll in the scene" – the comparisons to Andre 3000 and Outkast are unavoidable. The track was released just a couple of weeks ago and, at the time of writing, is sitting at #9 on triple j Unearthed’s hip hop chart [Editor's note: Wit’ Da Team has since jumped to #4]. Give it a listen. Now. 

"Y’all were the first to hear that song," Owusu says afterwards. With the tour continuing to Sydney and Canberra this weekend, there’ll be a few more joining our ranks and that is a very, very good thing for both Genesis Owusu and Australian music in general.