Premiere: Anesu makes it two for two with a powerful, striking second single, Crown

One of our favourite debuts of the year came courtesy of Anesu, a Perth-based rapper and poet who made a striking introduction with their first single Black Girl towards the start of the year. Black Girl was an empowering and captivating entrance, with flourishes of Sampa The Great and Ms. Lauryn Hill shining amongst a poetic flow that blossomed from a piece of work originally spoken by Anesu at Perth's Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, written about the loss of a close friend earlier in the year.

Black Girl welcomed everything Anesu strives for as a multi-faceted, multi-talented arrival to Perth's creative space. "As a black queer trans artist, I think it's important to use your platform to tell the narratives of those who often have their voices silenced," they said with the project's introduction, and with Black Girl - and every move Anesu has made in the time since as an activist, performer and promoter - they've embodied that through their art and the platform that comes with it. "If one person hears my music and connects to it in some way, then I've done my job."

Now, we're incredibly stoked to welcome the second chapter in Anesu's musical journey, arriving today in the form of their second single Crown, premiering on Pilerats today. Crown is another moment of artistic and meaningful glory for Anesu, with a blaring production sitting nicely amongst a dreamy, more R&B-aligned hook and Anesu's darting verses, which navigate the boldness of the single's production with their sense of driving empowerment. The end result is this defining celebration of Bla(c)k existence, one full of catharticism and celebration at its core.

"In light of all the hectic stuff going on in the world right now, my song Crown is a tribute to Bla(c)k existence & how just expressing joy is activism in itself," Anesu says on the single, which premieres on Pilerats a day ahead of its official release tomorrow, September 22nd. "I wrote this song earlier this year, three hours before a gig one night and really just wanted to get off everything that was on my chest at the time. I hope that yall feel it too and catch vibe while doing so."

Crown arrives accompanied by a video directed by Bernice Jiang and Anesu themselves, which further celebrates Bla(c)kness through a visual means, doubling down on the single's potent lyricism. After the introduction welcomed through Black Girl, Crown is a single that reinforces the heights Anesu can strive towards through their work, further solidifying the impact they want to make through their art and the bold, creative way in which that shows. 

On top of everything else, the song's arrival slots perfectly amongst Anesu's continued dominance on Perth's live stages, as shown through a string of shows since Black Girl. The next show is a launch for Crown happening at The Bird on September 23rd, alongside Cruz Patterson, Joel Davis, Zero, Veronika and more. Then, you can catch Anesu at our second SPOTLIGHT show on October 8th, supporting Adrian Dzvuke and Racka Chachi. Find more information on the launch here, and more info and tickets for SPOTLIGHT 002 here.

In the meantime, take a dive into Crown below, and keep watching as Anesu continues to place that crown on their head with every move they make:

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