never not working
The BODEGA™ sits down with the Ambassador
by Artie Smash
What does a budding hip-hop artist do after he’s been featured in Vibe, on Allhiphop.com’s Breeding Ground, HHN Live, and URB.com? He does two live-a$$ shows in Brooklyn. Blitz, the Ghana-born Brooklyn-bred emcee, has done all that and more in what will undoubtedly be the busiest summer of the young man’s life. In-between dates on this summer’s WARPED Tour, the BB had a chance to trade a few with the Ambassador.
(Ring, ring)
?: (Female voice) Hello?
BB: I’m trying to get a hold of Blitz?
?: Um, I think you have the wrong number.
BB: You don’t rap?
?: No. You have the wrong number. (click)
{checks phone number. Tries again}
(Ring, ring, ring)
?#2: (Male voice) Hello?
BB: Is this Blitz?
?#2: Yeah.
BB: What up? This is Artie from the BODEGA.
Blitz: Yo! What’s Good?
{Small talk}
BB: Showing a lot of love to Brooklyn this summer—two shows?
BLITZ: Two major shows. All this talk and rumor about hip-hop’s demise; shows like the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn puts all that to rest. You know what I mean? They were huge, packed, and plus to share the stage with KRS-One, a man whose poster’s been on my wall since I was, like, eleven, it’s been unbelievable.
BB: At first we thought you were Brooklyn-born and bread. Turns out you aren’t…
BLITZ: Yeah, man. That’s one of the things that sets me apart and makes me unique from the average. Being from Ghana and The Continent, I bring a crazy perspective. People gotta understand that this hip-hop is global. It’s in countries where people don’t even have electricity, but they can recite a KRS-One line. That’s the power of this sh*t. I was fortunate enough to have an older brother who was all about the [hip-hop] culture and who schooled me on everything I know. But, ultimately my upbringing allows me to discuss issues that the average dude growing up in Brooklyn or LA or wherever hasn’t had the opportunity to witness; so-called third world strife and being aware of places where people’s reality is so different. Broke over here is a lot different from broke over there. I feel privileged to be able to bring that. Hence, the name “the Ambassador.”
BB: Any shows planned in Africa?
BLITZ: Of course man, of course. That’s what all this is for. Can’t wait to go home and really unite. I’m lookin’ at doin’ some humanitarian work and using hip-hop as the vehicle. And of course you can’t do that if you’re a nobody. That’s what these shows this summer are about and that’s what my upcoming album is about; tryin’ to make a name so when I take it home, people out in Tanzania, people out in Kenya, people out in Ghana—they can all see the light and rally around it. And I really believe the power of music… cause we’ve been through a lot where I’m from. And it’s about time another generation embraces peace, love, unity as a concept because that’s hip-hop.
BB: Tell me about “Suicide Stereotype” (Blitz’s debut)…
BLITZ: One thing to know about that album is that it’s a classic. That’s how I define it. I’m a fan of hip-hop music. I’m still the dude in the crowd with his hands in the air. And I make music from that prospective. I feel that’s what a lot of artists today are missing. They’re forgetting that we all started as fans before we picked up the pen, the mic, the turntable. The concept comes from the album cover. I’m really a visual artist: I paint, I draw, I sculpt. That’s where my creativity comes from. The cover is a dude in a suit with gun to his head, but his head is replaced by a boom box and there’s blood gushing out the side of it… So I wrote music around that theme. Hip-hop music is at a suicidal spot right now. The music is cannibalizing off itself. If I’m gonna make an album, I have to speak on the current state of the culture and when you start losing what holds you down as a culture—which is the people—then you really start to go wayward. And that’s where the concept comes from. As far as the music [on my album], I’m just reaching out… I’m about fusion. I’m not any one thing; I’m trying to bridge the gaps between Afro-beat, punk, rock, hip-hop; all that is black music and that’s the music that I make…
BB: Gimme the top five things you buy at your local bodega.
BLITZ: I live across the street from a bodega. I’m lookin’ at a bodega right now. You come home, you got the munchies—it’s god sent, you know? Plus, it’s the neighborhood launch spot, b.
1. Five-dollar calling card—to keep in touch with Moms back home.
2. Plantain chips.
3. Diet Snapple—it’s all about the low calories these days.
4. Red Bull—I’m hearing this stuff is bad for you, but when you get home from a show and you gotta go catch a flight…
5. Malta—for that taste of home.
mega large thank yous to Blitz for his time. check homie out on his myspace page… www.myspace.com/blitztheambassador