Afrika Bambaataa | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Afrika Bambaataa in April 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Lance Taylor (1957-04-17)April 17, 1957 (age 68) |
| Origin | The Bronx,New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1977–2013 |
| Labels | |
Lance Taylor (born April 17, 1957), also known asAfrika Bambaataa (/ˌæfrɪkəbæmˈbɑːtə/),[2][3] is a retired AmericanDJ, rapper, and record producer.[4][3] He is notable for releasing a series of genre-definingelectro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development ofhip hop culture.[5] Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators ofbreakbeatDJing.[1]
Through his co-opting of his street gangBlack Spades into the music and culture-oriented organizationUniversal Zulu Nation, he has helped spread hip hop culture throughout the world.[6]In May 2016, Bambaataa left his position as head of the "Universal Zulu Nation" due to multiple allegations ofchild sexual abuse dating as far back as the 1970s.[7]
Born Lance Taylor to Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants,[8] Bambaataa grew up in theBronx River Projects, with anactivist mother and uncle. As a child, he was exposed to theblack liberation movement and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. He was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection.[5]Gangs in the area became the law, clearing theirturf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf.[5]
Bambaataa was a member of theBlack Spades. He quickly rose to the position of "warlord" in one of the divisions. As warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the young Spades. He was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gangs, and their members. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.[5]
After Bambaataa won an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa, his worldview shifted.[9] He had seen the movieZulu and was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by theZulu in that film. During his trip to Africa, the communities he visited inspired him to create one in his own neighborhood.[5] He changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chiefBhambatha, who led an armed rebellion against unfair economic practices in early 20th-century South Africa. He told people that his name was Zulu for "affectionate leader".[5] Bambaataa formed The "Bronx River Organization" as an alternative to the Black Spades.[5]
Due to the oft nebulous timeline of hip-hop origins, there are conflicting accounts of when Bambaataa began hosting parties. Some suggest he began as early as 1970, predating noted "father of hip hop"Kool Herc,[10] while others contend he began after Herc in 1976, in fact, attending and drawing inspiration from Kool Herc parties.[11] He vowed to use hip-hop to draw angry kids out of gangs and form theUniversal Zulu Nation.[12]
Inspired by hip-hop icons like DJ Kool Herc, Bambaataa began hosting block parties throughout the South Bronx, including at the Bronx River Organization. Bambaataa engaged primarily as a hip-hop artist. Much of his early fan base was centered on the hip-hop movement, as Bambaataa established numerous rap groups including theJazzy 5 and theSoulsonic Force, which featured many artists that had overlapped with the Universal Zulu Nation.[13]
In 1982, Bambaataa began playing "authentically" electronic music in the form ofEBN-OZN’s “AEIOU Sometimes Y”, which was the first ever commercially released American single made on a computer, namely the Fairlight CMI.[14] Inspired byelectronic music groups such asKraftwerk, Bambaataa realized the potential for technological advancement in music making, deciding to stop performing with a live band and instead only relying on technology on stage. That same year, Bambaataa released his breakthrough electro-funk track in the form of “Planet Rock”, which featured Bambaataa, producerArthur Baker and the Soulsonic Force. This groundbreaking single, featuring the iconic line “party people, can you feel it?,” seamlessly blended electronic sounds, drum machines, and futuristic synthesizers with traditional funk and hip-hop elements. Featuring a synth hook from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express”, as well as electronic drum patterns from their track “Numbers,” Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” not only became a massive commercial hit in clubs and on dance floors everywhere, but also set the stage for the emergence of electro-funk as a distinct genre.[15]
Robert Keith Wiggins, a.k.a. "Cowboy" ofGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is credited with naming hip-hop. The term became a common phrase used by MCs as part of ascat-inspired style of rhyming.[16] The term was first used in print to refer to the music by reporter Robert Flipping, Jr. in a February 1979 article in theNew Pittsburgh Courier,[17] and to refer to the culture in a January 1982 interview of Afrika Bambaataa byMichael Holman in theEast Village Eye.[18] The term gained further currency in September of that year in another Bambaataa interview inThe Village Voice,[19] bySteven Hager.
In 1982, Bambaataa and his followers – a group of dancers, artists, andDJs – went outside the United States on the first hip-hop tour.[5] He saw that the hip-hop tours would be the key to help expand hip hop and his Universal Zulu Nation. In addition it would help promote the values of hip hop that he believed are based on peace, unity, love, and having fun. He brought peace to the gangs; many artists and gang members say that "hip hop saved a lot of lives".[12] His influence inspired many overseas artists like theFrench rapperMC Solaar.[12]
He was a popular DJ in the South Bronx rap scene and became known not only as Afrika Bambaataa but also as the "Master of Records".[20] He established two rap crews: the Jazzy 5 including MCs Master Ice, Mr. Freeze, Master Bee, Master D.E.E, and AJ Les, and the second crew referred to as Soulsonic Force including Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow and Emcee G.L.O.B.E.[21]
In 1982, Bambaataa, who was inspired byKraftwerk's futuristic electronic music, debuted atThe Roxy a test cassette ofEBN-OZN's groundbreaking, 12-inch white rap/spoken word "AEIOU Sometimes Y". It was the first commercially released American single ever made on a computer, aFairlight CMI, ushering in the era of music computer sampling.[22] In that same year, Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force stopped performing with a live band, and began to use only technology. Bambaataa credited the pioneering Japaneseelectropop groupYellow Magic Orchestra, whose work he sampled, as an inspiration.[23][24]
He also borrowed a keyboard hook from Germanelectronic pioneers Kraftwerk and was provided the electronicRoland TR-808 "beat-box" by producer Arthur Baker and synthesizer playerJohn Robie. That resulted in "Planet Rock", which went to gold status and generated an entire school of "electro-boogie" rap and dance music. Bambaataa formed his own label to release the Time Zone Compilation. He created "turntablism" as its own subgenre and the ratification of "electronica" as an industry-certified trend in the late 1990s.[25]
In the late 1970s, Bambaataa formed what became known as the Universal Zulu Nation, a group of socially and politically aware rappers,B-boys,graffiti artists and other people involved inhip hop culture.[20] By 1977, inspired by DJ Kool Herc andDJ Dee, and afterDisco King Mario loaned him his first equipment, Bambaataa began organizingblock parties all around The South Bronx. He even faced his longtime friend Disco King Mario in a DJ battle. He then began performing atAdlai E. Stevenson High School and formed the Bronx River Organization, later simply The Organization.[26]
Bambaataa had deejayed with his own sound system at theBronx River Houses' Community Center, with Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, and Cowboy, who accompanied him in performances in the community. Because of his prior status in the Black Spades, he already had an established Army party crowd drawn from former members of the gang. Hip hop culture was spreading through the streets via house parties, block parties, gym dances and mix tapes.[26]
About a year later Bambaataa reformed the group, calling it the Zulu Nation (inspired by his wide studies on African history at the time). Specifically, Bambaataa watched the 1964 filmZulu, which sparked the name for the group. Five b-boys (break dancers) joined him, whom he called the Zulu Kings, and later formed the Zulu Queens, and the Shaka Zulu Kings and Queens. As he continued deejaying, more DJs, rappers, b-boys, b-girls, graffiti writers, and artists followed him, and he took them under his wing and made them all members of his Zulu Nation.
He was also the founder of theSoulsonic Force, which originally consisted of approximately 20 Zulu Nation members: Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, DJ Cowboy Soulsonic Force (#2), Pow Wow, G.L.0.B.E. (creator of the "MC popping" rap style),DJ Jazzy Jay, Cosmic Force, Queen Lisa Lee, Prince Ikey C, Ice Ice (#1), Chubby Chub;Jazzy Five-DJ Jazzy Jay, Mr. Freeze, Master D.E.E., Kool DJ Red Alert, Sundance, Ice Ice (#2), Charlie Choo, Master Bee, Busy Bee Starski, Akbar (Lil Starski), andRaheim. The personnel for the Soulsonic Force were groups within groups with whom he would perform and make records.
In 1980, Bambaataa's groups madeDeath Mix, their first recording withPaul Winley Records. According to Bambaata, this was an unauthorized release.[5] Winley recorded two versions of Soulsonic Force's landmark single, "Zulu Nation Throwdown", with authorization from the musicians. Disappointed with the results of the single, Bambaataa left the company. The arranger credit on these recordings is correctly attributed to Harlem Underground Band leader Kevin Donovan. This led to the false assumption that Bambaataa's real name was Kevin Donovan, which was widely accepted by the hip hop community until recently, following sexual abuse allegations, when Bronx River residents spoke out and revealed in oral testimonies that Bambaataa's real name was in fact Lance Taylor.[27]
The Zulu Nation was the first hip-hop organization, with an official birth date of November 12, 1977. Bambaataa's plan with the Universal Zulu Nation was to build a movement out of the creativity of a new generation of outcast youths with an authentic, liberating worldview.[5]
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In 1981, hip hop artistFab Five Freddy was putting together music packages in the largely white downtownManhattannew wave clubs, and invited Bambaataa to perform at one of them, theMudd Club.[28] It was the first time Bambaataa had performed before a predominantly white crowd. Attendance for his parties downtown became so large that he had to move to larger venues, first tothe Ritz, in a show organized by hip hop pioneer Michael Holman, withMalcolm McLaren's groupBow Wow Wow, then to thePeppermint Lounge, The Jefferson, Negril,Danceteria and theRoxy.[12]
"Planet Rock", a popular single produced byArthur Baker and the keyboardistJohn Robie, came out that June under the name Afrika Bambaataa and theSoulsonic Force. The song borrowed musical motifs from Germanelectronic music, funk, and rock. Different elements and musical styles were used together. The song became an immediate hit and stormed the music charts worldwide.[12] The song melded the main melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" with electronic beats based on their track "Numbers" as well as portions from records byBabe Ruth andCaptain Sky,[29] thus creating a new style of music altogether,electro funk.
Afrika Bambaataa was booked on the first ever European hip hop tour presented by Europe One and Fnac France.[30][31] Along with himself were rapper andgraffiti artistRammellzee, Zulu Nation DJGrand Mixer DXT (formerly Grand Mixer D.St), B-boy and B-girl crews theRock Steady Crew, and the Double Dutch Girls, as well as graffiti artistsFab 5 Freddy,PHASE 2,Futura 2000, andDondi.[31]
Bambaataa's second release around 1983 was "Looking for the Perfect Beat", then later, "Renegades of Funk", both with the same Soulsonic Force. He began working with producerBill Laswell at Jean Karakos'sCelluloid Records, where he developed and placed two groups on the label: Time Zone and Shango. Bambaataa recorded "Wildstyle" withTime Zone, and he recorded a collaboration withpunk rockerJohn Lydon and Time Zone in 1984, titled "World Destruction". Shango's album,Shango Funk Theology, was released by the label in 1984.[32]
In 1984, Bambaataa and other hip hop celebrities appeared in the movieBeat Street. He also made a landmark recording withJames Brown, titled "Unity". It was billed in music industry circles as "the Godfather of Soul meets the Godfather of Hip Hop".[32]
Around October 1985, Bambaataa and other music stars worked on the anti-apartheid albumSun City withLittle Steven Van Zandt,Joey Ramone,Run–D.M.C.,Lou Reed,U2, and others. During 1988, he recorded "Afrika Bambaataa and Family" forCapitol Records, titled The Light, featuringNona Hendryx,UB40,Boy George,George Clinton,Bootsy Collins, andYellowman. He had recorded a few other works with Family three years earlier, one titled "Funk You" in 1985, and the other titled "Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere)" in 1986. In 1986 he discovered an artist inAtlanta. (Through MC SHY D) by the name of Kenya Miler a.k.a. MC Harmony (Known producer now as Kenya Fame Flames Miller), that was later signed to Criminal Records and Arthur Baker.[26]
The group was Harmony and LG. The first single, 1987's "Dance To The Drums/No Joke", was produced by Bambaataa and Baker with musicians Keith LeBlanc and Doug Wimbish. Bambaataa was involved in the Stop the Violence Movement, and with other hip hop artists recorded "Self Destruction", a 12" single which hit number one on the Hot Rap Singles Chart in March 1989. The single went gold and raised $400,000 for the National Urban League to be used for community anti-violence education programs.[26]
In 1990, Bambaataa madeLife magazine's "Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" issue.[citation needed]
Gee Street Records, Bambaataa and John Baker organized a concert atWembley Stadium inLondon in 1990 for theAfrican National Congress (ANC), in honor ofNelson Mandela's release from prison. The concert brought together performances by British and American rappers, and also introduced both Nelson andWinnie Mandela and the ANC to hip hop audiences. In relation to the event, the recording Ndodemnyama (Free South Africa) helped raise approximately $30,000 for the ANC.[33]
From the mid-1990s, Bambaataa returned to his electro roots. In 1998, he produced a remix of "Planet Rock" combining electro andhouse music elements, called "Planet Rock '98", which is regarded as an early example of theelectro house genre.[34] In 2000,Rage Against the Machine covered his song "Renegades of Funk" for their albumRenegades. The same year, he collaborated withLeftfield on the song "Afrika Shox", the first single from Leftfield'sRhythm and Stealth. "Afrika Shox" also appeared on the soundtrack toVanilla Sky.
In 2004, he collaborated withWestBam, a DJ that was named after him, on the 2004 albumDark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light, which also featuredGary Numan. In 2006, he was featured on the British singerJamelia's albumWalk with Me on a song called "Do Me Right", and onMekon's albumSome Thing Came Up, on the track "D-Funktional". He performed the lyrics on the track "Is There Anybody Out There" by theBassheads.[35] As an actor, he has played a variety ofvoice-over character roles onKung Faux.
Bambaataa was a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[36] On September 27, 2007, it was announced that Afrika Bambaataa was one of the nine nominees for the 2008Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions.[37] On December 22, 2007, he made a surprise appearance performing at the First Annual Tribute Fit For the King of King Records, Mr. DynamiteJames Brown inCovington, Kentucky.[38]
On August 14, 2012, Bambaataa was given a three-year appointment as a visiting scholar atCornell University.[39] The appointment was made in collaboration betweenCornell University Library's Hip Hop Collection, the largest collection of historical hip hop music in North America, and the university's department of Music.[40] His archives, including his vinyl collection, original audio and video recordings, manuscripts, books, and papers, arrived at the Cornell University Hip Hop Collection in December 2013.
In April 2016, Bronx political activistRonald "Bee-Stinger" Savage accused Bambaataa ofmolesting him in 1980, when Savage was 15.[41] Following the allegations, three more men accused Bambaataa of sexual abuse.[42] Bambaataa issued a statement toRolling Stone denying the allegations.[43]
In early May 2016, the Universal Zulu Nation disassociated itself from Bambaataa as part of an organizational restructuring that saw the group removing "all accused parties and those accused of covering up the current allegations of child molestation" from their roles.[44] On May 6, Bambaataa resigned as head of the Universal Zulu Nation.[45] A month later, The Universal Zulu Nation issued an open letter apologizing to the people alleging Bambaataa had sexually abused them while expressing responsibility for the organization's "poor response",[46] signed by nearly three dozen members of the Zulu Nation, including leaders from as far as New Zealand.[47]
In October 2016,Vice published aninvestigative article titled "Afrika Bambaataa Allegedly Molested Young Men For Decades" and reported stories from the alleged victims and witnesses. The article stated the accusers "claim that these accounts of alleged abuse have been common knowledge in theBronx River community and beyond since the early 1980s, including among many of Bambaataa's closest friends and Zulu soldiers."[48] No charges were brought against Afrika Bambaataa.[49]
On March 2021, in an interview withDJ Vlad,Melle Mel said "everyone knew" about the accusations, calling it "hip hop's best kept secret" but would not respond when asked if he knew specifically.[50] In October 2021 Bambaataa was sued by an anonymous man who alleged that between 1991 and 1995, Bambaataa repeatedly sexually abused him when he was a minor, and alsotrafficked him to other adult men.[51][52]
In November 2024, French hip-hop pioneerSolo [fr] of the groupAssassin alleged in his autobiographyNote mon nom sur ta liste that he had been sexually victimized by Afrika Bambaataa in the 1980s when he was 17 years old and staying at Bambaataa's residence. Solo also claimed he witnessed Bambaataa sexually assaulting a minor.[53][54][55]
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Death Mix | Paul Winley Records |
| 1985 | Sun City | Manhattan/EMI |
| 1986 | Planet Rock: The Album | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere) | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records | |
| 1987 | Death Mix Throwdown | Blatant |
| 1988 | The Light | Capitol/EMI Records |
| 1991 | The Decade of Darkness | EMI Records |
| 1992 | Don't Stop... Planet Rock (The Remix EP) | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| 1996 | Jazzin (Khayan album) | ZYX Music |
| Lost Generation | Hottie | |
| Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You | Profile/Arista/BMG Records | |
| 1997 | Zulu Groove (compilation) | Hudson Vandam |
| 1999 | Electro Funk Breakdown | DMC |
| Return to Planet Rock | Berger Music | |
| 2000 | Hydraulic Funk | Strictly Hype |
| Theme of the United Nations w/ DJ Yutaka | Avex Trax | |
| 2003 | Electro Funk Breakdown (compilation) | DMX |
| Looking for the Perfect Beat: 1980–1985 (compilation) | Tommy Boy/Rhino/Atlantic Records | |
| 2004 | Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light | Tommy Boy Entertainment |
| 2005 | Metal | Tommy Boy Entertainment |
| Metal Remixes | Tommy Boy Entertainment | |
| 2006 | Death Mix "2" | Paul Winley Records |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [56] | US R&B [56] | US Dance [56] | UK [57] | |||
| 1980 | "Zulu Nation Throwdown" | — | — | — | — | Winley Records |
| 1981 | "Jazzy Sensation" | — | — | — | — | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| 1982 | "Planet Rock" | 48 | 4 | 3 | 53 | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| "Looking for the Perfect Beat" | — | 36 | 18 | 86 | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records | |
| 1983 | "Renegades of Funk" | — | — | 26 | 30 | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| "Wildstyle" | — | — | — | — | Celluloid Records | |
| 1984 | "Unity"(withJames Brown) | — | 87 | — | 49 | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| "Frantic Situation"(with Shango) | — | — | — | 89 | Atlantic Records | |
| "World Destruction"(withJohn Lydon) | — | — | — | — | Celluloid Records | |
| 1986 | "Bambaataa's Theme" | — | 70 | 25 | — | Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records |
| 1988 | "Reckless"(withUB40) | — | — | 35 | 17 | EMI |
| 1990 | "Just Get up and Dance" | — | — | 4 | 45 | EMI |
| 1991 | "Is There Anybody Out There?"(withBassheads) | — | — | — | 5[35] | |
| 1993 | "Zulu War Chant" | — | — | — | — | Profile/Arista/BMG Records |
| "What's the Name of this Nation?...Zulu" | — | — | — | — | Profile/Arista/BMG Records | |
| "Feeling Irie" | — | — | — | — | DFC | |
| 1994 | "Pupunanny" | — | — | — | 78 | DFC |
| "Feel the Vibe"(with Khayan) | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998 | "Agharta – The City of Shamballa"(withWestBam) | — | — | — | 92 | Low Spirit Recordings |
| "Got to Get Up" (vs. Carpe Diem) | — | — | — | 22 | ||
| 1999 | "Afrika Shox"(withLeftfield) | — | — | — | 7 | |
| 2001 | "Planet Rock"(withPaul Oakenfold) | — | — | — | 47 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
In 1982, their manager Ruza "Kool Lady" Blue organized The Roxy Tour, which featured Grandmixer D.S.T now Rock Steady Crew, Afrika Bambaataa,Cold Crush Brothers, Double-Dutch Girls, and Fab 5 Freddy. This tour traveled to Europe, which spread hip-hop culture to many countries.
the Double Dutch crew who traveled with Fab 5 Freddy, Rammellzee, Afrika Bambaataa, Rock Steady Crew, Phase 2, Futura and Dondi to Europe for 1982 The Roxy Tour (also known as The New York City Rap tour) in the first ever international hip hop tour.
