It is said that a mere cockroach can survive for one month without water, three months without food and forty-five minutes without air. Yet, the sight of one scuttling along the pavement only incites fear, not love.
The Struggler is a Kafkaesque roach who comes face to face with the absolute power of “an old man waiting in the sky,” as described in Genesis Owusu’s track, “The Old Man,” and exhibits the human will to survive. In his latest album, STRUGGLER, Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu stresses the endurance of the misunderstood roach, and likens it to the strength of his adopted country in the wake of hell’s bushfires, and pandemic. The epic narrative was re-told at Elsewhere in Brooklyn on October 20th.
The show’s opening act, Godly The Ruler, was a fitting choice, given the connection between their stage-name and the album’s dive into religious themes. Born Godwill Oke, Godly The Ruler performed glitched-out anti-pop, reminiscent of the likes of Paris Texas and 100 gecs. Whistles were thrown out into the crowd, giving anyone the power to incite movement. This caused a surge of energy, as the sound of whistles could be heard in all directions, like the sirens of New York City fire engines.
The audience was nothing short of alive by the time Genesis Owusu graced the stage. At Elsewhere, I was thankful to re-discover Owusu’s unique ability to hybridize music and theater. The stage was set with a cubed light box with four beams, and as he entered the stage, alone, his silhouette glowed with a certain holiness.
“Fear the roach, love the roach,” Owusu began to chant, joined by an audience lost in reverie. His was only spell strengthened by the goth-rock track ‘Balthazar’. He sang of his “alchemy,” indicative of his unique talents as an artist. A conviction that was apparent from his purposeful movement; long conductor’s arms that rose with purpose, and puppeteered my every move. During the show, Owusu even entered into the moshpit himself, he was a daringly convincing prophet.
STRUGGLER marked Owusu’s doorway into unlimited experimentation. Live, his tracks ranged from hardcore to dance-punk. Classics from Smiling With No Teeth were reimagined, such as “Waiting On Ya,” which was remixed into a dance track, complimenting the party-funk moment ‘Tied Up!’ perfectly.
Disco moves turned to swaying under purple lights and soft vocalizations. The romantic yet foreboding track, ‘See Ya There’ melted the crowd. The shift in tone reminded me of a prom scene, as individuals morphed into pairs.
There was a space for self-reflection during the lines, “You’re going to hell / I’ll see you there,” as they prompted a questioning of faith – would we all end up ‘there’?
The climax of the show was certainly the ending; an embrace between man and roach. The roach’s name was George Albert. Albert, inspired by Gilbert Gottfried’s final role as a cockroach clown, had bought a cockroach costume for Halloween, that he figured would work perfectly for the concert. At the end of the show, Owusu, having noticed the sentient roach amongst the crowd time and time again, called Albert to the stage. The crowd cheered as he made his way from the back of the venue to the forefront.
Albert had found Genesis Owusu’s music after listening to ska, jazz and soul music and he became captivated with STRUGGLER‘s approach to narrative. He recalled the experience of being brought on stage, and into an embrace, “I was terrified. I almost peed myself, but I didn’t on stage, thankfully. That would have been a little embarrassing… And then we danced around and had a bit of fun.”
As the pair danced, I couldn’t help but think of the album’s final track, ‘Stuck To The Fan’, wherein the narrator accepts that even after withstanding the challenge of God’s will, the universe will always provide a new struggle. And perhaps, that’s what life is. The roach and Owusu were united in the neverending struggle, and it was strangely comforting.
The overarching tale of the roach was told during dramatic interludes wherein Owusu would read a black bible center-stage as a voice-over loomed over him, theologising. The final time the beastly voice spoke it it echoed,
“Maybe I’m looking for answers in an answerless world. Maybe it’s all broken pieces. Maybe I can find something in the maybes. Make something pretty out of the broken pieces. Just let what comes, come.”
The Struggler cannot avoid disaster, but they can determine how they respond to it.
“What’s a roach to a God?” Owusu asks, in ‘The Old Man’. Cockroaches, common in New York City, time and time again, defy the will of greater powers, and live on. They are creatures that I have found a new appreciation for, a love for, after seeing Genesis Owusu at Elsewhere The Hall.
