Blitz the Ambassador's Guide To Being An 'African in New York'
In our City Guide series we present an alternative, non-whack way of getting to know a town. For our latest edition we enlisted the help of Accra born and raised Blitz the Ambassador for a Ghanaian lens of New York. After all, dude's recently released track is a snazzily-sampled, firsthand account of immigrant life in the Big Apple. Get acquainted with Blitz's city below and, while you're at it, turn up his single "African in New York."
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Best Music Venue:
Blitz: SOB's, I'm biased because they gave me my first real show in New York. And more importantly Papa Jube who was the booker at the time pulled me to the side after the show and screamed at me: "You never hit the stage without your Ghana flag man!" Since then, I've always kept my flag on my mic stand.
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Best Club/Night Spot:
B: Anywhere Rich Medina or Chief Boima are spinning. From afrobeat to highlife to kuduro to soukous to azonto. Those guys play it all. [Stream Rich Medina's Africa In Your Earbuds mixtape below]
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Best night/event for Ghanaian culture:
B: Independence Day Celebration in the Bronx. I run into lots of people I went to high school with back in Ghana. It's one big reunion.
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Best spot for Ghanaian food:
B: Papaye Restaurant in the Bronx. I judge how good a restaurant is based on how many people from that country patronize it. That's how you know it's authentic. At Papaye, you find a few foreigners but mostly Ghanaians.
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Best Date Spot:
B:MoCADA Museum. I like to keep it Brooklyn and they always have some dope exhibit. Yep, I'm that kind of guy.
*Blitz supplied tracks attached to the three pieces featured in this MoCADA exhibit.
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Best Drink In Town:
B: I don't drink alcohol, so its either Ginger Beer or Malta.
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Blitz's latest off the forthcoming The Warm Up EP showcases rapid-fire spitting with fellow Ghanaian emcee Sarkodie. Stream "Internationally Known" below and catch up on city guides from Alec Lomami [Kinshasa], Christian Tiger School [Cape Town], and Bombino [Tuareg Touring in the U.S.].