From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/arts/music/afrika-bambaataa-dead.html
Afrika Bambaataa, Often Called the rCyGodfather of Hip-Hop,rCO Dies at 68
A pioneering rapper and D.J. from the Bronx, he was a key force in
propelling hip-hop into the mainstream. He was accused of child sexual
abuse later in his career.
By Jonathan Abrams and Hannah Ziegler
Published April 9, 2026
Updated April 11, 2026, 12:02 p.m. ET
Afrika Bambaataa, whose spellbinding breakbeat deejaying at house and
street parties in the Bronx helped give shape to hip-hop in the early
1970s, but whose legacy was later tarnished by widespread accusations of sexual abuse, died on Thursday in Pennsylvania. He was 68.
Mickey Bentson, a close friend, confirmed the death but did not provide an exact location or cause.
Hip-hoprCOs origins are murky and debated, but Mr. Bambaataa was often credited as one of three Bronx D.J.s rCo along with D.J. Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash rCo who founded and propelled hip-hop forward.
Hip-hop in those early days revolved around the D.J. locating and
extending popular breaks rCo the parts of a song containing the percussion
and rhythm sections rCo so that B-boys and B-girls could perform their acrobatic dance moves.
Mr. Bambaataa, who was born Lance Taylor, was hailed as a master of
records and drew from a wide range of genres and sources, including
European industrial bands like Kraftwerk (rCLTrans-Europe Express,rCY rCLNumbersrCY) as well as funk and salsa. He often removed or masked the labels of his records to obscure the musicrCOs origins.
rCLI remember a park jam at the Bronx River projects in which kids start pogoing to rCyI Dream of JeannierCOsrCO theme song because they recognized that
he was sampling from various cultures and making it work within his style, within dance, within funk, within soul, within hip-hop,rCY said Michael Holman, a filmmaker who was active on the early hip-hop scene. rCLNot only
did he have an enormous record collection, but he knew how to wield it.rCY
Mr. Bambaataa often dressed as his music sounded, with a nod to the
future. He wore capes, huge jewelry and leather. Soon, he shifted with
hip-hop from jams, parks and playgrounds and into studios and record
labels.
Mr. Bambaataa defined the early culture of hip-hop when, in 1973, he
created the Universal Zulu Nation, an international hip-hop awareness
group. He also popularized the term hip-hop, defining it as encompassing
four distinct components: D.J.ing, M.C.ing, breaking and graffiti.
In 1981, he became the first major hip-hop artist to sign with Tommy Boy Records, a label that later recruited other influential hip-hop acts like
De La Soul and Queen Latifah.
rCLMany people have a misconception of what hip-hop is,rCY Mr. Bambaataa told The New York Times in 2014. rCLWhen they say hip-hop, they only say itrCOs the rapper, and thererCOs a whole culture and movement behind it.rCY
Sexual abuse allegations against Mr. Bambaataa became public in 2016, when
the political activist and former music industry executive Ronald Savage accused him of repeated abuse.
Mr. Savage later retracted his accusations, but more people soon emerged making similar allegations. Rolling Stone reported last year that 12 men
in addition to Mr. Savage had accused Mr. Bambaataa of sexually abusing
them.
Rolling Stone reported in 2016 that the Universal Zulu Nation had issued a letter apologizing to Mr. BambaataarCOs alleged victims. The group disassociated itself from him 2016. Mr. Bambaataa denied allegations of
sexual abuse.
A lawsuit filed against him in 2021 accused him of abusing his position
within the Universal Zulu Nation to groom and sexually molest children.
The lawsuit also accused the Universal Zulu Nation of providing Mr.
Bambaataa with access to children despite knowing about allegations of
sexual misconduct against him.
He lost the civil case in 2025.
Lance Taylor was born on April 17, 1957, in New York City and grew up in
the Bronx River Houses, a low-income public housing project in the
boroughrCOs Soundview neighborhood. In 2017, he told the Red Bull Music Academy that his parents were New Yorkers but that he had Caribbean roots.
His mother, Lamarse Taylor, a nurse, had an expansive record collection
that became his first introduction to popular music.
As a youth, he joined the Black Spades, a flourishing street gang. He told
Red Bull that his worldview began shifting after he won a school essay
contest that included a trip to Africa. Soon after returning, he began performing under the name Afrika Bambaataa, which he said was inspired by
a 19th-century Zulu chief, Bambatha kaMancinza.
rCLHe recognized that it was time to stop fighting and time to start partying,rCY Mr. Holman said. rCLBecause of his leadership in transforming the Bronx from a battlefield to a park jam, most people think of D.J. Afrika Bambaataa as the architect of hip-hop. So the world owes a debt to him,
and hip-hop culture owes a debt to him.rCY
Mr. Bambaataa released rCLJazzy SensationrCY with the Jazzy Five in 1981, which blended rap routines with a Gwen McCrae sample.
A list of survivors was not immediately available.
In 1982, Mr. Bambaataa released one of hip-hoprCOs most influential songs, rCLPlanet Rock,rCY with the Soulsonic Force. The recording, produced by Arthur Baker, combined rap with sophisticated electronic dance music. The track, later released on an album, influenced much of the hip-hop subgenres that followed, including West Coast electro funk and Miami bass.
Mr. Bambaataa did not receive the national name recognition of other acts
and producers as hip-hop crossed into the mainstream in the mid-1980s. Yet
he continued to make his mark with recordings like rCLLooking for the
Perfect BeatrCY (1983) and rCLUnity,rCY with James Brown (1984).
He returned to his electro roots in the 1990s through offerings like
rCLPlanet Rock rCO98,rCY and by 2006 he had released about 20 albums.
Clay Risen contributed reporting.
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