Tag: Blitz the Ambassador
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HHAP Ep 79: Hip-Hop culture as a space where Black identities are negotiated and presented
The first episode of 2023 is a special episode on hip-hop as a cultural space where Black identities can be negotiated and presented. The research project was part of a larger seminar project with the University of Maryland College Park on African/Black Diaspora Studies. The larger project was funded by a grant from the Andrew…
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HHAP Ep. 61: An African Hip Hop Palaver
In this palaver, we have a lively chat with Ghanaian hip hop/hiplife scholar Dr. Nii Kotei Nikoi. We talked about the hiplife and hip hop music industry in Ghana, especially one of the country’s most popular artist’s Sarkodie. Nii discusses the structure of Ghana’s music industry, the way artists construct their images, and the role…
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Blitz the Ambassador
Samuel Bazawule born April 19th 1982 in Ghana, known by the street name Blitz the Ambassador, is a Ghanaian hip-hop artist, filmmaker and visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. In his early life he became obsessed with hip-hop music after hearing his older brother music by Public Enemy. After graduation from Achimota School inRead…
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Ready, Set, Launch: The Future of Africa
The avant-garde city of Berlin is not a place usually associated with Africa. Empires such as the French and British are more commonly connected to places such as Dakar and Nairobi. As influential as the colonial powers were, however, Berlin has one of the strongest connections to the continent because of the Berlin Conference ofRead…
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HHAP Episode 36: Blitz the Ambassador on His Art, Purpose, & Representation
It’s been 15 years since Blitz the Ambassador released his first record, Soul Rebel. Since then he has gone on to produce 7 additional albums, start his own independent label (Embassy MVMT), produce 2 short films, and produced the feature film The Burial of Kojo, which was released on Netflix on the 31st of March,…
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Blitz the Ambassador: A Diaspora Messenger
Blitz the Ambassador was born in Ghana. Growing up he idolized Nas. After gaining notoriety after recording part of the song “Deeba”. One of his songs, recorded in the states, “Dikembe” is a clear ode to his heritage. While he employs Nas-like verse form and style, his lyrics clearly put Africa in the spotlight. ARead…
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Blitz the Ambassador’s Concoction
Blitz the Ambassador, a Ghanaian rap artist, has been influential in the concoction of African culture and American culture within his music. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the basis of Hip-Hop is prevalent in his craft while still honoring his roots. Let’s take a look at his 2016 video for his song “Running”.
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Ghana’s Native Son a review of Blitz the Ambassador’s Make you No Forget
Bearing a upbeat boom-bap style Make you No Forget starts with an infectious, head-bopping beat and a hard hitting rhythm. Shortly after the song begins Blitz brings us in with the chorus, “Police Corruption, they steal the election, brutality my brothers don’t get no option, thats why you don’t forget where you come from.” TheRead…
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Candy For Your Eyes
Blitz the Ambassador. Just from the name you can get the feeling that this man is a well travelled, well versed rapper. Coming from Accra, Ghana he has been in the game since 2000 and has only grown deeper into his craft. Blitz the Ambassador’s videos are some of the most visual creative I’ve seen.Read…
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Hip Hop Across the Diaspora
Even though my generation has been seen as the troubled sibling of the generations that have come before us but we have been able to continue the globalization of hip hop across the diaspora. Global hip-hop youth culture is the most recent manifestation in the story of black america’s culturalRead…