Afrika Bambaataa has died. As a founding member of Universal Zulu Nation and the DJ behind hits like “Planet Rock,” Bambaataa was a hugely influential figure in the world of early hip-hop, establishing many of the sounds, traditions, and cultural touchstones of both the movement, and the music, in the 1970s and 1980s. Although celebrated for decades for his elder statesman role, Bambaataa’s legacy was tarnished in the mid-2010s, when multiple men came forward alleging that he had sexually abused them when they were teenagers, while Universal Zulu Nation cut ties with Bambaataa in 2016. Per TMZ, he died from complications from cancer in Pennsylvania on Thursday. Bambaataa was 67.
Born (as Lance Taylor) in the Bronx in the late 1950s, Bambaataa had an early interest in activism that was mixed with burgeoning talent as a rapper and DJ. As a teen and in his early 20s, he was a member of The Black Spades, a street gang operating in the Bronx that he served as a “warlord” for; inspired by trips to Africa, Bambaataa reformed the organization into a cultural movement he called Zulu Nation, which focused on a blend of music and reconnecting American Black culture to its African roots. (It was around this time that he began adopting the “Afrika Bambaataa” moniker.) Bambaataa himself became well-known as a DJ, and was influential in bringing both beatboxing, and electronic sounds inspired by European artists like Kraftwerk, into the scene. This synthesis came to the forefront in 1982, when he released his first hit single, “Planet Rock,” with his group Soul Sonic Force. (The influences weren’t just spiritual, either: The song liberally lifted uncleared synthesizer samples from Kraftwerk, with the German group later seeking compensation.)
Bambaataa’s star continued to rise in the 1980s, as he made further efforts to widen what hip-hop could be, blending rap with rock and punk, and working with ever-bigger artists. (Including collaborating with John Lydon and James Brown on different high-profile projects, and doing production work on Sun City, an anti-apartheid album featuring contributions from Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, Bono, Lou Reed, and more.) As hip-hop evolved and changed in the 1990s, Bambaataa’s style felt out of taste, and his albums no longer regularly charted—but his status as a pioneer was frequently celebrated.
In 2016, multiple men came forward with allegations that Bambaataa had sexually abused them when they were teenagers, at the height of Zulu Nation’s power. Although he was never convicted on any criminal charges, Universal Zulu Nation ultimately issued a statement cutting ties with its founder, apologizing to the men in question.
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