Tasman Keith and Genesis Owusu share ‘CHEQUE’

Australian / First Nations man, Tasman Keith, today shares his new collaboration, “CHEQUE” featuring Genesis Owusu, lifted from Keith’s upcoming debut album A Colour Undoneout July 8th, 2022 via AWAL. LISTEN + WATCH HERE.

‘CHEQUE‘ picks up the boastful swagger of previous release, ‘5FT FREESTYLE‘, which saw Keith debut one of two personas whose journey will unfold through A Colour Undone. ‘CHEQUE‘ sees the reappearance of an insolent, devilish ego that thrives on self-indulgence and conceit. What begins as a stripped-back gospel service rapidly snaps into fury – ruminating on the need for a savior, for “someone that’s going to come down to this earth and just do something for us,” salvation arrives through a steadfast beat-switch. Here Tasman and Genesis share a wrath as unapologetic and vicious as Pusha T and No Malice, be it Keith‘s remark “I told her watch em ego trip, I bust their ego lip” or Owusu‘s “You put your name next to mine, the audacity.”

In Tasman‘s words, “CHEQUE is the continuation of the character introduced in 5FT FREESTYLE split into two parts, the abrasive ego and then the controlled version of that ego. Lyrically it’s just having something to say over some crazy production. I called Genesis and told him I had a joint for him to talk his shit on… a few weeks later he rolled through and locked in the verse.“ Genesis Owusu shares, “Tasman specifically told me to flex. Talk that talk. The weirdo shit is cool but it’s time to rap.”

WATCH: ‘CHEQUE (Official Music Video)

Already capturing heavyweight attention across Billboard, Vice, NME, and almost every tastemaker Australian outlet including triple j,  Tasman’s blend of rap, R&B, and new wave funk energy will bring easy comparisons to the likes of Anderson.Paak or Cordae. His undeniable talent also represents something even bigger – the long-awaited breakthrough of a First Nations Australian artist to the forefront of what was previously an exclusively white Australian Hip Hop scene.

Tasman Keith‘s debut album A Colour Undone carries itself with a self-assured sense of its own gravity, ambition and purpose. Granted the full canvas of the album format, experimentation and emotional nuance find room to thrive, and Tasman‘s stylistic horizons move outwards while his lyricism narrows. With the majority recorded over six days and executive produced by Tasman and Kwame, A Colour Undone is the product of an irreproducible mind space, deft in its embrace of imperfection and devoid of overthinking. Through metaphor and his lived experience, A Colour Undone ruminates on love, loss, trauma, healing and ego; as dexterous, clever and linguistically adventurous as it is moving.

“CHEQUE ft. Genesis Owusu” is out now via AWAL, buy/stream it here.

A COLOUR UNDONE
The Debut Album from Tasman Keith
Out July 8 via AWAL
PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE HERE

A COLOUR UNDONE TRACKLIST
WATCH UR STEP
SHARKS
CHEQUE (feat. Genesis Owusu)
POLITICS AS USUAL
FIND U
LOVE TOO SOON
HOW 2 LEAVE (feat. Thandi Phoenix)
IDK (feat. Phil Fresh)
PROUD
NOT 4 SAFETY (feat. Kwame)
5FT FREESTYLE
WELCOME HOME
HEAVEN WITH U (feat. Jessica Mauboy)
TREAD LIGHT