Genesis Owusu cleaned up at the 37th annual ARIA Awards on Wednesday night, earning himself three awards – just one behind Troye Sivan’s four.
What makes the win especially impressive, is the Ghanaian-Australian artist, 25, took out the huge win with an album he wrote about the tortured life of a cockroach.
Struggler, a conceptual album ‘about a roach that runs and runs’, took out Best Independent Release, Best Hip Hop/Rap Release, and Album of the Year.
In his first acceptance speech, Genesis said he had his team to thank for his second album’s win as he praised them for ‘trusting the vision’ of his bizarre musical ideas.
‘If I told any other team [about the cockroach idea], they definitely would not have put funding behind it. I’m very glad that I’m with this team,’ he said.
Genesis Owusu, 25, (pictured) cleaned up at the 37th annual ARIA Awards on Wednesday night, earning himself three awards – just one behind Troye Sivan’s four. Pictured at the 2021 ARIA Awards
On his second win of the night, the Canberra native, who accepted his awards via video link, opened up about his deep connection to the genre of hip hop.
‘This album is a lot of different things, a lot of different sounds. Me as an artist, I explore a lot of different things but I wouldn’t be here without hip hop,’ he said.
‘I started with hip hop. Hip hop made me who I am. It allowed me to speak on the things that I wanted to speak on. So I cherish it with my heart, always.’
What makes the win especially impressive, is the Ghanaian-Australian artist took out the huge win with an album he wrote about the tortured life of a cockroach
Struggler, a conceptual album ‘about a roach that runs and runs’, took out Best Independent Release, Best Hip Hop/Rap Release, and Album of the Year
It was when Genesis took out Album of the Year that he broke down what Struggler was really about as he made a massive political statement.
‘[Struggler] is about humanity and our stubborn perseverance to wake up every day and make it through an oppressive existence,’ he said.
To close out the night, Genesis took a definitive stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has seen the death of thousands on both sides.
!['[Struggler] is about humanity and our stubborn perseverance to wake up every day and make it through an oppressive existence,' Genesis said of the album. Pictured at 2022 ARIA Awards](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/15/12/77827617-12752301-_Struggler_is_about_humanity_and_our_stubborn_perseverance_to_wa-a-87_1700050763124.jpg)
‘[Struggler] is about humanity and our stubborn perseverance to wake up every day and make it through an oppressive existence,’ Genesis said of the album. Pictured at 2022 ARIA Awards
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Speaking out against the Israeli attacks on Palestine, he said: ‘There are atrocious things happening in the world right now that I think, as a community, we should be putting our minds, hearts and bodies behind to stop at any junction that we can.’
‘With that being said: ceasefire now, ceasefire now, ceasefire now, free Palestine.’
This year marks seven official ARIA Award wins for Genesis, and his second win for Album of the Year.
He was a massive winner at the 2021 ARIA Awards, taking home Best Cover Art, Best Independent Release, Best Hip Hop Release, and Album of the Year.
To close out the night, Genesis took a definitive stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has seen the death of thousands on both sides
‘Ceasefire now, ceasefire now, ceasefire now, free Palestine,’ he said
