Blitz The Ambassador: Native Sun
by Ellie Pryor

Boldly claiming within the first three minutes that he is “putting Africa back on the map”, there is little doubt of the inspiration that lies behind Native Sun, the fourth full-length outing from Brooklyn-via-Ghana emcee Blitz The Ambassador. Having grabbed attention with the diverse live-band sound on his 2009 LP Stereotype, a success story in self-promotion that saw the album reach the top ten in the iTunes chart without a record deal, Blitz the Ambassador’s movement to delve deep into the original roots behind hip-hop’s contemporary sound forges on with a striking mix of afrobeat, highlife and blues combined with Blitz’s direct and poignant lyricism.

On his latest album Blitz the Ambassador is joined by his band the Embassy Ensemble, complete with blazing horn section, to soundtrack his ode to Africa. The obvious comparison lies with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, an undeniable force which Blitz the Ambassador utilised to great success on Stereotype. On Native Sun his backing group more than prove their credentials, packing a punch with the tight rhythms of “Victory” and “Wahala”. Where they truly flourish, however, is their rarer forays into the loose and more free-form hypnotism such as that of the title track, which features Canadian wordsmith-of-the-moment Shad, laying down an unconventional backdrop that challenges and draws out the best from the emcees.

And there is little question over Blitz the Ambassador’s skills, with his resonant delivery providing the perfect vessel for his strong ideology and powerful message. Intertwining English with what is presumably a native Ghanaian dialect with a natural ease, the emcee wears his rich heritage on his sleeve with pride. “Free Your Mind” demonstrates his political consciousness at its best, engaging with the deep felt issues that still permeate throughout the African continent to this day. “What ever they do, we do/Whatever they think, we think/It’s so insane/How the richest continents got most of the poor people/They pillage us and wonder why we all not equal.”

Shining a bright and piercing spotlight on the afro-centrism absent from much hip-hop today, the wordplay of Blitz the Ambassador harkens back to the heyday of the Native Tongues movement. But, at times lacking some of the lyrical dexterity of A Tribe Called Quest et al, his overt lyricism and obvious reference points from Fela Kuti to Desmond Tutu can come across as heavy-handed. The morose and mournful tale of a lover lost on “Accra City Blues” proves a commanding centerpiece to the album, with subtle story-telling over moody, building horns showcasing a different, vulnerable side to the otherwise confident emcee.

For heads that still hold a deeply-entrenched suspicion of live-band hip-hop, this album will confirm many of their worst fears. On Native Sun, the technical skills of Blitz the Ambassador, or indeed any of the guest features, play a backseat to the dominant African-inspired rhythms and sparky, full-bodied production. Taken as an instrumental album, Native Sun would not feel out of place filed next to records from the Budos Band or Antibalas, making a worthy addition to the growing new breed of afrobeat. At times many of the hip-hop elements seem shoe-horned in; the unnecessary and slightly dated scratching on “En-Trance” or the occasional bouts of stereotypical braggadocio. Yet while Native Sun struggles to find that ideal synergy between two musical forms born out of the African experience, the ambition and scope of the project sets Blitz the Ambassador far apart from his contemporaries in the independent hip-hop field, a promising step towards perfecting his unique formula.