Like Mailo (and probably a ton of you), I believe it really is a shame that music has taken a turn for the worst; especially Hip-Hop and Rap. So to prove what Mailo said last week about everything coming full circle here at Enter the Shell, I bring you Stereotype by Blitz the Ambassador, who is in the same vein of our last Artist of the Week, G.U.R.U.
Like G.U.R.U., Blitz the Ambassador incorporates lots of jazz elements into his music in his attempt to bring REAL Hip-Hop back. Blitz is a self-proclaimed ambassador for the mission of bringing good music back to a world where empty music is put out solely for the purpose of making money. This is shown with his album release trailer, album art and videos that all have a running themes of Static Stereohead, a money-grubbing body with a ghetto blaster for a head who keeps getting killed.
Another thing that I really love about Blitz the Ambassador is encompassed in this quote I found on his bio on his official website: “I set out to change the way hip-hop approaches live instrumentation, to create synergy between all of the sounds on my personal playlist.” I’m sure many of you are like me, who absolutely HATE it when you see an artist in concert and they sound horrible live because they can’t replicate the sound created on the album. Blitz is able to pull this off as you can see in his live performance of “Radio” (the video is featured below).
The album starts off very energetic and strong. “Prelude” gives you a taste immediately of what Blitz is all about. The song has a really jazzy feel to it and features the use of piano, horns and soft snare.
“Lovers Remorse” is another great example of Blitz’s attempt at synergizing different genres because not only is it very obvious that he is greatly influenced by jazz, but there’s a little bit of ska thrown in this track as well.
Another strong track is “Breathe”, which shows Blitz’s willingness to question the government and today’s music scene. It’s interesting that those two are being compared in the same song but he pulls it off, first calling out the government and asking why they don’t bail out “the ‘hood”, which I admit, is an interesting thought. Also, something that made me chuckle while listening to Stereotype is when he calls out today’s hip-hop artists (such as T-Pain and Kanye West) by saying “bad enough these cancers raised on rap music/scared of they own voices/that’s why they auto-tune
it.”
Though questioning the music industry seems like small potatoes, “Home” provides those great questions that great artists bring to their listeners’ attention. The song focuses on stories of the unfortunate souls who were/are involved in Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and the struggles of Mexican immigrants in America. Not only does Blitz question these situations, but he shows his religious side as the song has a very spiritual message. And let’s not forget how Blitz gets your head bobbing in the first place: the song features a mellow and soulful saxophone that dances around the entire track.
The only downside of Stereotype is that all these great tracks take place on the first half of the entire album. Blitz starts out strong and energetic, but the album seems to lose steam once the second half kicks in. Perhaps it’s because the music itself is a lot slower when it comes to the tempo. There is hope in “Remembering the Future”, the second to last track, but the upbeat horns don’t manage to bring up the energy level because the slow guitar solo takes over.
The real meat of Blitz’s message is found in “Goodbye Stereotype”, the final track of the album. It features several samples from the same old school hip-hop that inspired Blitz in the first place. Not only is it a nostalgic song if you’re a fan of good old school, but he also gives props as well as questions the authenticity of today’s artist once again. My favorite line of this entire album is featured in this track when Blitz tells of when he was too young to understand that “Hip-hop’s not about me!”
All in all, Stereotype is a pretty decent album. I suggest you listen to it just for the first half and go from there. Seeing Blitz the Ambassador live may even be worth it alone, judging from his performances. One thing to think about though, is that there is still hope out there in the battle for good music. He may not be your cup of tea, but something should be said for those who are willing to stand up and do something!
You can get Stereotype on Amazon now.
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Live performance of “Radio” (Not on this album but a wonderful example of his live stage persona)
BLITZ & The Embassy Ensemble Live on FOX 5 from Team Blitz on Vimeo.
Music video for “Breathe”
Here are album reviews from some related artists that you may be interested in: