Recently, KAFOI Online got a chance to sit down and talk to the Ambassadoz, a new duo emerging in the hip-hop world. When you first listen to a Ambassadoz track the vibe you first feel is the beat, the bass pushing out the speakers' sub-woofers makes you want to get on the dance-floor and move to the beat. But if you think the Ambassadoz only want you to dance, then you are sadly mistaken. Listen to "Waste Of Time" and you'll see what's deep inside the mind of 'the Ambassadoz'.

KAFOI: When did the Foreign Diplomatz first get in the music scene?
Ambassadoz: First of all let us start by informing the masses that due to legal issues, we no longer go under the name of Foreign Diplomatz. The name is now "Ambassadoz", yes you heard it first here at KAFOI Online! - Holla back! Basically, another group released an LP with the name Diplomats and although we had the name Foreign Diplomatz and the website www.diplomatz.com locked down since 2G, the thing to do was just switch it. Actually there was an E. African group I believe that had that name way before we did, but it was spelt differently. Anyhow, too many headz were coming up to us at shows asking if we were down with the ROC [Roca-Fella]. Nah, that ain't us ok.. [laugh].
So back to the question at hand.. hmm.. we came up on the scene wailing! Music has always been a part of our life, whether it be listening to it, performing or writing.. its in our blood , our culture and is our way of life. We really get into hip-hop during the old school days (Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, etc.) and it was not until we met each other here in the US, that we started making plans to take this game by storm.

Now you guys rap in the US, Philadelphia to be exact, and you rap in many foreign languages, such as "Twi", "Patois", "Pidgeon" and "Nouchi" - how do people respond to that?
Many of the most known rappers in Ghana drop their rhymes in 'Fanti' and 'Twi', West African languages used in this region. And so even if the words seemed foreign to most, the beats and styles are all familiar. Our language of hip-hop goes beyond lyrics and it goes beyond just beats. But of course, the beats are a place to start. Listening to the radio you can noticed a kind of hip-hop style being reflected in songs where you could not even understand the lyrics. And of course just like hip-hop in the US has been about folks free-styling over the beats of others, folks in Ghana freestyle over the beats of rappers from the US - its in the cyphere, dig?

Its ill to see the feedback because sometimes we just know some people don't understand what we are saying, but just to see them nod their head is a positive thang! The response has been overwhelming and its just natural that we show the love back by giving 110% back!

Have you ever preformed in your home country, Ghana? - If no, then are you planning to sometime in the future?
MOA used to do shows back in the day in Presec, way back, but as a group, the Ambassadoz have not performed in Ghana... not yet. We are making plans for that to happen as soon as our CD is released. It has been a struggle as any revolutionary movement is, but as people come up to us and give us positive and negative feedback, it inspires us to give ya'll a product that everyone can relate to. Most people would come up to us like, YO, we did not know there was such a thing as African Hip-Hop.. and though that is what we represent.. we have to let them know that we are not catering to only Africans; but to a worldwide state of mind. I can't imagine how it will be when that plan manifests in Accra, the capital of Ghana where you can find a lot of talented poor men with ambitions, who have no help from no one but still don't give up this fight of life.

Is the album out yet - If not, when is it coming out? And what can we expect from the album?
The CD is not out yet, it comes out June 15th. We had to deal with some legal issues concerning the name FOREIGN DIPLOMATZ due to some entities coming out with such a name. When you are a starving artist trying to promote yourself underground and a more established (financially) entity comes out with a name that is similar to yours...you have to do what you have to do...so we had to rearrange our strategy and work efficiently...switched our name to stay in line with our concept. So we went from Diplomatz, to Foreign Diplomatz and now we are Ambassadoz. Its crazy we feel like Prince sometimes! But hey...you are who you are... Our flow encompasses all things, we don't only talk the talk but also walk the walk. This LP covers everything from socio-political issues to club tracks. We tried hard to accommodate everybody on this...it was not always easy but we did it! The themes of the raps there are similar to those in the US. Mostly, self definition about who we are, how one is representing, a blend of indigenous music blended with contemporary hip-hop. So we are localizing rap and hip hop to fit our own purposes, to speak about our own conditions, stuff we have seen and been through in life.

Do y'all produce your own music - or who are you affiliated with, how do y'all put it down?
We produce some of our music as you will see in the credits section of our CD, but are also associated with different producers worldwide...we really wanted to get a different set of hands on the production so we set up a network of the sickest cats out there...to achieve our worldwide goal, image and message. MOA is an engineer so he recorded and mixed all the cuts we did as well as produce a couple. Early morning is when you catch us in our elements...like dawn 2 AM type ish...so that's how we recorded a lot of the cuts in our studio Prezidential Labs here in Philly Early!!!

Is there anything else you would like to let your fans know, any thank yous or shout outs?
Yeah mein, shout out to the whole tri state area for holding us down! East, West, North and South Africa for holding us down, all the websites that show us love and most of all KAFOI for making it possible for us to reach the masses!! Big Up!!

We'd like to thank you for dropping by and we wish you all the best with your upcoming debut and all future endeavors. And keep us posted with any any updates!

The tracklisting on the cd cover shows only 4 song names but the cd is 9 tracks deep. But it's okay because this is an exclusive album preview. This is crew coming from Ghana.

"Interestingly the two emcees used to go under the name of (Foreign) Diplomats while Tanzania in the 90's also had its crew Deplowmatz, but these are two different groups." - Juma4 from Africanhiphop.com

There's a whole other world in the rest of Africa as hundreds of artists are releasing albums. South Africans should really make more attempts to do collaborations with their continental neighbours.

The first track on here starts off with a fat ass beat. Reminds me a lot of UGK. The rappers have nice flows and their African accents are not lost - thank God for that. Oh shit the track switches as they land at the airport. Okay I see now, the first two verses they are taking off on a plane then they land. Interesting track.

Yes this is what I like. The second song on here has a very strong hook. Can't understand the language. But I like the fact they rapping in their own language. Damn I like the flows. The production is also dope - I hear rain and thunder in the background. Solid!

Third one. Nice commercial sound beat. Perfect for those hot African nights where the chicks are glowing with sweat on a beach night club. This one they doing in English.

Track 4. Starts with scratching and is driven by a guitar sample. Bass comes in and they kick their verses lovely. It's okay but let's skip to the next one.

Mmm track number 5 is fucking fat. Head nodder. Synth driven. This is a bilingual track. A tight beat.

Track 6 starts with scratching as well. Intrusive bass dribbles throughout. Off centre broken english deliveries add a touch of panache. Track 7 begins with a synth orchestra and carries with a typical west coast drum pattern. Number 8 has a funky 70's sample. Excited hi hats tickle the baseline in the background. I can't help but get up and do a Johnny Clegg move in front of this monitor. You can hear that they are enjoying rapping on this one. The last song on here also has that 70's style sample. The hook mimics the horn. Damn that beat is just too funky. Like Osibisa on mandrax.

After listening to this I can say I'm happy to own a copy. The Ambassadoz is just one of those crews I'd like to check out live. I believe the cd will be available to purchase on CDBaby.com soon - so when that happens at least check out some of the audio clips. Check their dope website out and look out for the interview coming here soon.

Added: January 30th 2004
Reviewer: AGMilitia
Score: * * * *
Related Link: Ambassadoz
Hits: 607
Language: english