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Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, co-creator of the influential track "Planet Rock," has passed away at 68
- Volume 82 Magazine
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Hip Hop's Afrika Bambaataa, who was a DJ, rapper, and co-creator of one of hip hop's most influential anthems, "Planet Rock," who he co-created with The Soulsonic Force is dead at 68. Afrika Bambaataa, who is regarded as a "teacher" of music and a founder of hip hop, reportedly died from cancer.
Bambaataa, a Bronx native known legally as Lance Taylor, helped shape hip-hop. He founded the Universal Zulu Nation in the '70s, which became recognized as a sect of hip hop. Queen Latifah, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, the late Biz Markie, and many other rappers were affiliated with the Universal Zulu Nation.
The Zula Nation is remembered for lively New York City block parties that included the main tenets of original hip-hop: graffiti art, deejaying, B-boy and B-girl dancing, and emceeing.
Years after his prominence, Bambaataa faced several sexual assault allegations by men, who said he molested them during their youth. The DJ faced lawsuits due to allegations of sexual molestation. Among his accusers was a political advocate, Ronald "Bee-Stinger" Savage, a former hip-hop artist and DJ who was reportedly a younger member of The Zulu Nation. Savage wrote a book about his life, and said before his molestation, he saw his connection to Bambaataa as "fun," "hanging out," and time to listen to music, according to Rolling Stone. He said his connection to the group gave him notoriety and protection as a teen.
According to The Guardian, A man claiming to be a former bodyguard for Bambaataa, Shamsideen Shariyf Ali Bey, said: “I’ve walked in on stuff where I say: ‘What the fuck is going on.’ He travels with late teens. Those are the ones he takes overseas with him. When I went with him on tour in the states, I would stay in one room, and he would have boys in the room with him.”
The music pioneer said the allegations against him were "baseless and cowardly," and gave a statement to Fox News 5 about the claims, stating, “I never abused nobody. You know, it just sounds crazy for people to say that, to hear: ‘You abused me.’ You knew all my people back then, you know the hundreds of people that been around me. If something like that happened, why you never went to none of them?”
According to The Los Angeles Times, Bambaataa was appointed as a three-year visiting scholar at Cornell University in 2012. He eventually stepped away from The Zulu Nation, yet he reportedly continued to DJ until his death.
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