Afrika Bambaataa dead: Hip hop legend passes away at 67 after cancer battle
Influential musical artist Afrika Bambaataa died in Pennsylvania on Thursday at the age of 67 after a battle with cancer.
The founder of the Zulu Nation, whose real name is Lance Taylor, died around 3 a.m. local time due to complications from his battle with cancer, sources said. TMZ.
“Today, we acknowledge the passing of Afrika Bambaataa, one of the foundational architects of Hip Hop culture,” the Hip-Hop Alliance said in a statement. he said. instagram about the late Planet Rock artist.
Headed by Kurtis Blow, the group continued: ‘As the founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, Afrika Bambaataa helped shape Hip Hop’s early identity as a global movement based on peace, unity, love and fun.’
The band acknowledged the legal troubles the artist-producer faced in later years, which included allegations of sexual harassment against numerous young men.
“We also recognize that his legacy is complex and the subject of serious debate within our community,” the group said.
Influential musical artist Afrika Bambaataa died in Pennsylvania on Thursday at the age of 67 after a battle with cancer. A photo taken in New York in 1999
Hip-Hop Alliance added: ‘As an organization committed to truth, accountability, and the preservation of Hip Hop culture, we believe it is important to make room for all voices as we continue to elevate what empowers and protects people.’
The group concluded its statement with the following words: ‘We offer our condolences to everyone affected by his life, work and presence today.
‘Hip Hop was built on truth, and through truth the culture continues to grow, heal and evolve. Rest at Power Bam.’
The New York City-born entertainer was a member of a gang called the Black Spades in his early years.
Bambaataa has stated that he hosted block parties in the South Bronx in the 1970s, which eventually took shape as an important backdrop amidst the rise of the music genre.
Bambaataa’s first single, Zulu Nation Throwdown, was released in 1980, referencing the hip hop arts collective Universal Zulu Nation.
The track paved the way for Bambaataa’s most commercially successful performance with 1982’s Planet Rock.
Bambaataa at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History Hip Hop Initiative in NYC in 2006
The founder of the Zulu Nation, whose real name is Lance Taylor, was filmed in NYC in 2015.
Bambaataa also Artists United Against Apartheid 1985 album Sun City It is directed by musician-actor Steven Van Zandt.
Other important names involved in the project include late legends such as Miles Davis, Clarence Clemons and Lou Reed; As well as music icons like Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen.
Other notable names Bambaataa has collaborated with include the late James Brown, who appeared on the 1984 song Unity; Sex Pistols’ John Lydon’s 1984 World Destruction; UB40’s 1988 single Reckless; and Leftfield’s 1999 song Afrika Shox, which was featured on the soundtrack of 2001’s Vanilla Sky.
Bambaataa faced legal difficulties in the last decade of his life as numerous men accused him of sexual abuse in the 1980s and 1990s.
Political activist Ronald Savage said in May 2016 that Bambaataa molested him in 1980 when he was 15, leading to sexual harassment accusations from three more men.
Later in the month, the Universal Zulu Nation distanced itself from Bambaataa, who resigned from his position as manager on 6 May 2016.
Bambaataa (photo taken in New York in 2014) denied allegations of sexual abuse in a 2016 interview
The organization also parted ways with ‘all accused parties and those accused of covering up existing allegations of child abuse.’
Bambaataa told Fox 5 News In response to the allegations in 2016, he said: ‘I have never harassed anyone.
“You know, it seems crazy that people say this, hear this: ‘You harassed me,'” he said. ‘You know all my people back then, you know the hundreds of people around me.
‘If such a thing happened, why didn’t you go to any of them?’ he added.
Last year, a New York court ordered Bambaataa to reach a financial settlement in a civil lawsuit filed with a man who accused him of sex trafficking him in the 1990s, TMZ reported. Default judgment was entered after Bambaataa missed a hearing on the matter.
