Blitz the Ambassador

If you've recently been to a hip-hop concert and a six-piece ensemble was blasting into your ears with sounds not so stereotypical of artists currently in the game, you were probably tuning into Blitz the Ambassador and The Embassy Ensemble. Released in August of 2009, his album, Stereotype, has received all due respect, climbing the hip-hop charts without any label support.

“We sat down with a few major record labels but none of them seemed to get us.” Maybe it was the album cover, a drawing of a man with a stereo for a head shooting his brains out, that didn’t sit too well with the big boys. But let’s all agree that we’ve all wanted to kill the radio, Blitz just gave you the visual.

Blitz pushes the boundaries of hip-hop, using afro-beat and highlife sounds he grew up with to give the music a different feel. This native Ghanaian doesn’t give you bland raps thrown over an average instrumental, he composes a song. He doesn’t just stand on stage and grab his crotch. He brings you an ensemble that’s as hyped as he is to share the album with a crowd.

A composite of two very different worlds (of Ghana and Brooklyn ) that have hip-hop in common, Blitz gives hip-hop back its soul with songs like, “Nothing to Lose” featuring Kate Mattison and “Remembering the Future.” Whether in your headphones, or in a crowd, the eccentricity of Blitz’s style is always appreciated.

Words by Shirline Chowdhury

Photo by Kyle Timlin

myspace.com/blitztheambassador

Come check out Blitz tonight at BRM's Emerging Artist Showcase at BLVD. Doors are at 7 pm. Tickets $10, with all proceeds going to Partners in Health Haitian relief effort.