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Hip hop DJ pioneer Afrika Bambaataa speaks at a news conference in New York in 2006. Associated Press File Photo<\/p>\n
\n HENNY RAY ABRAMS\n <\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2014 Pioneering rapper and DJ Afrika Bambaataa has died. The Bronx native was 67.<\/p>\n
The Hip Hop Alliance, headed by fellow hip-hop icon Kurtis Blow, announced his death Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we acknowledge the transition of a foundational architect of Hip Hop culture, Afrika Bambaataa,\u201d the message said. \u201cAs the founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, Afrika Bambaataa helped shape the early identity of Hip Hop as a global movement rooted in peace, unity, love, and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blow acknowledged the performer, born Lance Taylor, leaves behind a legacy that is \u201ccomplex and has been the subject of serious conversations in our community,\u201d likely a reference to the multiple allegations of child abuse<\/a> that have been brought against the musician.<\/p>\n Bambaataa died of complications from cancer<\/a> around 3 a.m. in Pennsylvania, according to TMZ.<\/p>\n Hip-hop\u2019s roots can be traced back to block parties hosted by Bambaataa in the South Bronx during the 1970s. The music and culture he helped incubate led to the formation of the Universal Zulu Nation. That organization<\/a> aspired to draw young people away from street violence.<\/p>\n Bambaataa\u2019s popularity as a musician spread in the early 1980s when he was tapped to perform in Lower Manhattan venues like Mudd Club<\/a>, according to the Museum of the City of New York. He would soon come to pack venues like The Ritz<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Village Voice claims the first time \u201chip-hop\u201d appeared in a major publication was when the downtown paper published a 1982 story titled \u201cAfrika Bambaataa\u2019s Hip-Hop<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n That same year he was part of a European tour that included artist and hip-hop personality Fab 5 Freddy, according to the Huffington Post. Those shows helped introduced the genre to an expanding audience.<\/p>\n In 1984, Bambaataa worked with James Brown<\/a> to record \u201cUnity\u201d and collaborated with former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon to release \u201cWorld Destruction.<\/a>\u201d That song was frequently played on MTV.<\/p>\n The following year, he teamed up with stars including Steven Van Zandt, Run-D.M.C., Lou Reed and U2 to record the anti-apartheid song \u201cSun City,\u201d encouraging musicians to boycott South Africa.<\/p>\n He would later be dogged by claims of sex abuse<\/a>, starting with a 2016 allegation<\/a> from Bronx Democratic Party activist Ronald Savage<\/a>, who told the Daily News he was 15 years old when Bambaataa began abusing him in 1980. Bambaataa\u2019s lawyer dismissed that accusation as a publicity stunt by someone trying to sell a book.<\/p>\n Complaints against the cultural trailblazer included a 2021 civil case in which he was accused of sexually abusing and trafficking a 12-year-old boy. That suit was settled<\/a> in the plaintiff\u2019s favor last year when Bambaataa didn\u2019t show up for court<\/a>.<\/p>\n A dozen more accusers reportedly came forward with similar allegations dating back decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hip hop DJ pioneer Afrika Bambaataa speaks at a news conference in New York in 2006. 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