39 Facts About Afrika Bambaataa

1.

Afrika Bambaataa is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture.

2.

Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing.

3.

Afrika Bambaataa was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection.

4.

Afrika Bambaataa quickly rose to the position of "warlord" in one of the divisions.

5.

Afrika Bambaataa was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gangs, and their members.

6.

Afrika Bambaataa had seen the movie Zulu and was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by the Zulu in that film.

7.

Afrika Bambaataa changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chief Bhambatha, who led an armed rebellion against unfair economic practices in early 20th-century South Africa.

8.

Afrika Bambaataa told people that his name was Zulu for "affectionate leader".

9.

Afrika Bambaataa formed The "Bronx River Organization" as an alternative to the Black Spades.

10.

Afrika Bambaataa vowed to use hip-hop to draw angry kids out of gangs and form the Universal Zulu Nation.

11.

Afrika Bambaataa saw that the hip hop tours would be the key to help expand hip hop and his Universal Zulu Nation.

12.

Afrika Bambaataa brought peace to the gangs; many artists and gang members say that "hip hop saved a lot of lives".

13.

Afrika Bambaataa's influence inspired many overseas artists like the French rapper MC Solaar.

14.

Afrika Bambaataa was a popular DJ in The South Bronx rap scene and became known not only as Afrika Bambaataa but as the "Master of Records".

15.

Afrika Bambaataa credited the pioneering Japanese electropop group Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose work he sampled, as an inspiration.

16.

Afrika Bambaataa borrowed a keyboard hook from German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk and was provided the electronic Roland TR-808 "beat-box" by producer Arthur Baker and synthesizer player John Robie.

17.

Afrika Bambaataa formed his own label to release the Time Zone Compilation.

18.

Afrika Bambaataa created "turntablism" as its own subgenre and the ratification of "electronica" as an industry-certified trend in the late 1990s.

19.

Afrika Bambaataa even faced his long-time friend, Disco King Mario in a DJ battle.

20.

Afrika Bambaataa then began performing at Adlai E Stevenson High School and formed the Bronx River Organization, then later simply "The Organization".

21.

Afrika Bambaataa had deejayed with his own sound system at The Bronx River Houses' Community Center, with Mr Biggs, Queen Kenya, and Cowboy, who accompanied him in performances in the community.

22.

About a year later Afrika Bambaataa reformed the group, calling it the Zulu Nation.

23.

Specifically, Afrika Bambaataa watched the 1964 film Zulu, which sparked the name for the group.

24.

In 1980, Afrika Bambaataa's groups made Death Mix, their first recording with Paul Winley Records.

25.

In 1981, hip hop artist Fab Five Freddy was putting together music packages in the largely white downtown Manhattan new wave clubs, and invited Afrika Bambaataa to perform at one of them, the Mudd Club.

26.

Afrika Bambaataa was booked on the first ever European hip hop tour presented by Europe One and Fnac France.

27.

Afrika Bambaataa began working with producer Bill Laswell at Jean Karakos's Celluloid Records, where he developed and placed two groups on the label: Time Zone and Shango.

28.

Afrika Bambaataa recorded "Wildstyle" with Time Zone, and he recorded a collaboration with punk rocker John Lydon and Time Zone in 1984, titled "World Destruction".

29.

Afrika Bambaataa made a landmark recording with James Brown, titled "Unity".

30.

Afrika Bambaataa had recorded a few other works with Family three years earlier, one titled "Funk You" in 1985, and the other titled "Beware " in 1986.

31.

In 1990, Afrika Bambaataa made Life magazine's "Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" issue.

32.

Afrika Bambaataa was involved in the anti-apartheid work "Hip Hop Artists Against Apartheid" for Warlock Records.

33.

Afrika Bambaataa teamed with the Jungle Brothers to record the album Return to Planet Rock.

34.

Afrika Bambaataa performed the lyrics on the track "Is There Anybody Out There" by the Bassheads.

35.

Afrika 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 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions.

37.

Afrika Bambaataa's 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.

38.

Afrika Bambaataa issued a statement to Rolling Stone denying the allegations.

39.

In October 2016, Vice published an investigative article titled "Afrika Bambaataa Allegedly Molested Young Men For Decades" and reported stories from the alleged victims and witnesses.