Review Hip Hop

Blitz The Ambassador

Native Sun

Jakarta Records • 2011

Born in Ghana, there were two influences shaping the young Blitz The Ambassador: On the one hand, there was Hip Hop, landing in the tape decks of Blitz’s environment through Public Enemy’s Ghana tour; on the other hand, naturally, there were traditional African sounds. With his new album Native Sun, the Rapper tries to travel back to those days to find the ideal intersection of both influences. The concept works from the very first minute throughout the drums. It’s no revelation to find out that traditional African drum-arias work well on urban rap-tracks, which is why the now New-York-based rapper has managed to playfully combine the two music cultures of his youth to an intense drum-formation somewhere between rough Hip Hop and Afro-Grooves. Language wise, Blitz The Ambassador is jumping between Ghanaian Twit, African Pigeon and English. The thoughtful verses are loosened up by choruses full of African harmonies, often accompanied by bongos, plucked acoustic- and bass-guitars and a brass section, while it is always obvious that Blitz The Ambassador has not just randomly thrown different elements into one pot, but instead has constructed them with great care. All in all, Native Sun is a Rap-album deep down inside, gaining its cheerful lightness through the exotic harmonies from Blitz’es home country.