This is the point in New England winter — the miserable and frozen late-February zone where vivid color gives way to icy grayscale — where we’re usually looking ahead to the Memorial Day weekend, the summer gateway spent out in the open fields of Boston Calling. There is no such anticipatory joy this year, so we’re looking back at some recent highlights, like Genesis Owusu blowing the imaginary doors off the Blue Stage back in 2023. We’re reminded of that electro-art shake n’ bake this week with the Ghanaian-Australian artist’s rousing new ripper “STAMPEDE”, a propulsive fit of melodic urgency that transports us, sonically and visually, to sunnier skies. In the video, directed by Isaac Brown, Owusu takes us to the streets and surrounds of Accra in Ghana, continuing his rise as a global artist delivering us to his borderless world, one frantic beat at a time. “This whole project is about humanity and community, not just in Australia where I live, but globally,” he says. “It felt nourishing to go back to my home country for the first time in 11 years and showcase a bit of the culture there; the youth and the deep subcultures, far beyond the perceptions a lot of people may have of Africa.” Ride along below.
Photo Credit: Isaac Brown