• HIP-HOP

BLITZ THE AMBASSADOR

Stereotype

Embassy MVMT

* * * ½

Jazz-based hip-hop has been around for more than 20 years. Whether it was the sample-based sounds of Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest or the live instrumentation of The Roots, jazz music figured prominently in the development of hip-hop music and culture. But while modern rap trends favor drum machines and synthesizers, Blitz the Ambassador's Stereotype is out to kill preconceived notions about the genre. Armed with an iconic and symbolic album cover showing a boombox committing suicide, the mostly instrumental Prelude sets the experience off: Fiercely plucked upright bass, moody electric piano chords and warm horn arrangements introduce listeners to a powerful album dominated by in-your-face political raps and impressive, complex musical arrangements.

Blitz, born in Ghana and educated in the United States, brings a worldly political perspective that, paired with his gruff voice, is reminiscent of Public Enemy's Chuck D. He tackles African poverty and American consumerism in Something to Believe, Hurricane Katrina and Iraq in the smooth sax-dominated Home, and slavery in the Spanish guitar-tinged Ghetto Plantation.

Musically, Stereotype is just as worldly and layered as its subject matter: The seven-minute Remembering the Future weaves syncopated drums and dense horn arrangements, while the funky Breathe is a danceable jam blending cymbal-heavy drumming, blues guitar and swirling trumpets.

Stereotype proves Blitz the Ambassador is a force to be reckoned with: Between his fiery rhymes and co-production with beatmaker Optiks, he proves to be a well-rounded musician unafraid to take hip-hop in a different direction.

-- ADRIAN RUHI

• R&B

LEDISI

Turn Me Loose

Verve

* * *

Ledisi drives home the point from the start of Turn Me Loose: This is not music for the faint of heart.

``I confess I'm a mess, and I'm trying to catch up with life,'' the singer-songwriter shouts over high-flying horns on Runnin'. It's the opening salvo as she charges through a mix of rock, blues, classic soul, funk, hip-hop and traditional R&B with the intensity of a fired-up evangelist and dares you to keep up.

Ledisi's debut Verve release, Lost & Found won critical acclaim, including a 2007 Grammy Best New Artist nomination, and her strong, soulful performances have inspired comparisons to Jill Scott and Lauryn Hill. For the follow-up, she chooses a bolder approach, aiming to capture the energy and passion that have characterized her stage shows for years.

Straddling genres could prove troublesome for a lesser singer, but the classically trained Ledisi proves herself a master of every domain and mostly works the unpredictability to her advantage. She excels on the jazzy Say No and displays her incredible vocal agility backed by drums and strings on I Need Love.

After guitar riffs kick off the bluesy testimonial Knockin', you can almost see her standing onstage, hands on hips, in full throwback mode (think an updated These Boots Are Made for Walkin'), as her own background vocals repeat the chorus: ``I hear you knockin' but you can't come in, I hear you knockin' but you ain't gon' win.''

Four of the songs include ``change'' in their title, punctuating Ledisi's theme of embracing change musically and personally. The threat that things will spiral out of control seems as prevalent as rocking drumbeats on Turn Me Loose. It's how Ledisi works -- switching between keys and octaves within songs and taking it to the next level just when you think you know where things are headed.

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