Blitz the Ambassador

Samuel Bazawule was born in Accra, Ghana, in April 1982. He is the third of four children and attended the renowned Achimota School. While in school, he amassed awards for his visual art, but later developed an obsession with hip hop music after hearing his older brother play the classic Public Enemy album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Drawing on his love for history and social observation, he began to research and write historically-loaded rhymes for which he became famous in school.[3]

After graduation from Achimota School in 2000, Blitz (as he had come to be known) was first recognized by Ghanaian Ace producer Hammer of The Last Two. Blitz was asked to come to the studio the next day after delivering an impressive eight bars upon meeting Hammer, who wasted no time in putting him on wax. He recorded a verse on the song Deeba and - in the fashion of one of his idols, Nas, gained instant notoriety and received an award for best new artist at the 2000 Ghana Music Awards. Soon after, in 2001, he moved to the United States to study at Kent State University in Ohio. It was while studying for his bachelor's degree in Business Administration that he developed his skills as a live artist, performing at several live shows and opening for iconic rappers such as Rakim[4] as well as recording a self-released album, Soul Rebel (2004),[5] under the moniker Blitz.

Blitz the Ambadassor at PopTech 2011

After graduation, Blitz moved to New York City to pursue his dream. In NYC, Blitz recorded another album, Double Consciousness (2005),[5] and more recently he released Stereotype, a live-instrument-heavy musical exploration, that tests the limits of Hip Hop. Drawing from his diverse musical background, he immersed himself in the project with explicit intent of changing Hip Hop forever. In order to achieve the live sound he was looking for, he formed a band, The Embassy Ensemble, and brushed off his own djembe skills.[6]

After three long years of recording, Blitz took the album to several major labels. Getting the major label run around one too many times, Blitz decided to go it alone. He established a label, Embassy MVMT, and is now connected to The Roots community initiative Okayplayer.[6]

In late 2009, he was chosen as of one Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Emerging Artists", resulting in a spot in the publication's #11 issue (with Bodega Girls and J. Cole on the cover), as well as an exclusive Q&A for the magazine's site.[7] In 2015, Blitz received the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Contemporary Music.[8][9]

In 2011, he released "Feelin' High" with the French singer Ben Mazue, and in 2012, we can hear him on the album Tetra of the French electronic crew C2C. Blitz has also frequently collaborated with Professor A.L.I. featuring on "Things Fall Apart" along with Raekwon in 2011,[10] on the remix "Things Still Fall Apart" in 2012, and on his song "The Mic Shall Inherit The Earth" off of the "XFactor" album in 2015.[11]

Studio albums

• 2009: Stereotype
• 2011: Native Sun
• 2014: Afropolitan Dreams
• 2016: Diasporadical

Soundtrack albums

• 2019: The Burial of Kojo

EPs

• 2004: Soul Rebel EP
• 2005: Double Consciousness EP
• 2009: StereoLive EP
• 2013: The Warm Up EP

The Burial Of Kojo is the Golden Globes' first Ghanaian entry, and the first original movie from Ghana to be released on the Netflix streaming platform.[12][13] [14] Bazawule is set to show in the 2019 Whitney Biennial curated by Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta.[15]

Feature Films

• 2018: The Burial of Kojo[16][17]

Short Films

• 2011: Native Sun
• 2016: Diasporadical Trilogia

• Sam Blitz Bazawule - IMDb
• Ghanaian rapper Blitz the Ambassador - PRI