Blitz the Ambassador

Blitz the Ambassador

Blitz the Ambassador is a Ghanaian-American hip-hop artist from Accra, Ghana, born in 1982. He grows up listening to Afro-Beat, highlife, jazz and Motown, and later cites Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back as a turning point in his development as a rapper.

Early life and move to the United States

He moves to the United States for college and continues developing his music while studying at Kent State University, where he releases several mixtapes as an undergraduate. After graduation, he relocates to New York City to focus on recording and building a career in hip hop.

Recording style and band work

In New York, Blitz begins work on Stereotype, a live-instrument-led project that aims to push the boundaries of hip hop. To realise the sound he wants, he forms The Embassy Ensemble and also uses his own djembe playing on the recording. The album takes three years to complete before he seeks a release through major labels.

Embassy MVMT and later output

After encountering repeated resistance from major labels, he chooses to release music independently through his own label, Embassy MVMT. He writes Remembering the Future as a statement against being forced into a stereotypical rapper role, and the song becomes closely associated with his refusal to conform. His work is described as drawing on hip hop, jazz, funk and soul, and his style is rooted in the musical traditions he grows up with in Ghana as well as his later experiences in the United States.