Los Angeles — I last spoke with Blitz the Ambassador in 2007. Since then he has been busy doing a soundtrack for the film Bronx Princess, finishing a screenplay, releasing his third studio album, and touring the United States and Europe.
Blitz, whose real name is Samuel Bazawule hails from Ghana and is one of the country's talented hip hop exports to the United States.
In the midst of a tour Blitz took some time to speak with me about the tour, his album and upcoming projects. The new album, Stereotype, blends a lot politics, a lot of jazz, a little love, and lots of hip hop. The album covers many topics, including the one he feels most passionate about, Africa. In addition Blitz delves into issues of global importance, as well as tackling social and economic problems faced in America.
When asked how he felt Stereotype differed from previous albums Blitz replied that this album contains more of a narrative, telling a story in a way his previous albums had not. He added that there was more of a conscious effort to create a story, a theme, "like a movie or a soundtrack", in the process of making this album.
One of the highlights of the album is a song called "Ghetto Plantation". The song speaks to an issue that seems to have been forgotten, as many speak of a post-racial America after the election of President Barack Obama.
The inner city ghettos of America remain places where African American and Latin American youth are continuously drawn into a cycle of violence, poverty and prison. Like many of the topics Blitz addresses in his music, before writing the song he says he educated himself on what is known as the prison-industrial complex. The prison industrial complex refers to dramatic increases in the US prison population, fueled by an expanded police presence in the inner city and the creation and growth of private prisons using inmates to supply goods and services to the market economy.
In a bold statement "Ghetto Plantation" compares the prison industrial complex to the plantation system that existed in the United States during slavery, drawing many interesting parallels with lyrics like: "the project is the slave ship, the corner is the auction block".
The last song on the album brings it back to the classics. "Goodbye Stereotype" is a nod to old school hip hop. The song is has a classic hip hop beat, laced with the signature horns heard throughout the album.
Returning to the idea that the feelings an artist has for hip hop can be compared to love, "Goodbye Stereotype" takes us through Blitz's own relationship and journey with hip hop. The song begins with the quintessential question all true fans of hip hop have pondered: "when did you first fall in love with hip hop?" The song takes us on a journey as Blitz describes his own "love affair", starting as a young boy in Ghana, through his rise as a hip hop artist.
Several influences also came together to inspire the album's sound. Blitz's desire to create a "coherent soundscape" had the artist pulling together sounds inspired by topics such as armed conflict, hurricane Katrina, and immigration, all heard in the thought-provoking song "Home".
The sounds on the album come together well, especially with several of the jazz infused songs such as "Something to Believe", "Breathe", and "Remembering the Future".
With the release of Stereotype behind him, Blitz has spent the last year touring the US. He is now in the midst of his European tour which kicked off at the end of June. Blitz is making stops in London, Paris, Berlin, Bree, Heidelberg, and Cologne.
In addition to working on his own album, Blitz composed the entire score for the 2009 film Bronx Princess. The film is a documentary about the experiences of the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants living in New York City. I asked Blitz how his work on the film came about. It was his ability to relate to the storyline of a Ghanaian growing up in New York City between two cultures that led the film's director to contact him.
This was a first for Blitz who says the experience was "amazing". For the film he composed at least 20 different queues and 3 main themes. The music he composed was all hi-life music, with a little hip hop mixed in.
Moving away from music, Blitz has found another way to express himself artistically. He has recently finished a screenplay that he will go to Ghana to start working on. It is a feature length film about boxing in Ghana called Bukom Boys Club. He says the film was inspired by real events and is about an orphan who is trying to make it out of Bukom, which is famous for producing most of Ghana's world title holders.
Blitz's ability and determination to represent dual cultures reflects in the diversity of projects he is involved in. The stories that he tells, the stories he feels need to be told come from his claim to both identities, a claim not contrived or imagined.
While he has lived in New York for several years, he remains close with his family, most of whom are in Ghana. While he was last in Ghana in 2006, Blitz hopes to put together a festival in Ghana at the end of the year.
Next in the pipeline is an EP done primarily in Twi. While Blitz himself is from northern Ghana, Wasia, and speaks Sissala, he grew up in Accra. He says this next project, entitled, Native Son will incorporate more of his background.
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Blitz is also working on upcoming projects with other African artists such as Salif Keita, K'Naan, Nneka, Mensa, Reggie Rockstone, Youssou N'Dour, and Baba Maal.
When I last spoke with Blitz in 2007 I asked him about hiplife in Ghana.
He indicated that while there was real talent in Ghana, too much of hiplife was flooded with images of sex and materialism, similar to the American hip hop scene. I asked how things were in Ghana today and according to Blitz there has been little change. Blitz points out that there are some Ghanaian artists who are "innovators" and extremely talented, then there are also others who simply copy what they see American artists doing. But hiplife, he says, is still growing and that there are different people doing different things, but most importantly hiplife allows for a wide range of self-expression.
Finally I asked Blitz what he thought about the increasing visibility of African hip hop artists in America, such as K'Naan (Somalia) and Wale (Nigeria). Blitz says the fact that "people of African descent are getting their voices heard" is a good thing, saying that it will open doors for those back in Africa who do not have access to the American mainstream. It is also good, says Blitz, that "we're speaking for ourselves, so we can tell our stories".
