Afrika Bambaataa, the legendary DJ and considered one of the founders of hip hop culture, has passed away at the age of 67.
The man who turned Bronx gangs into a global art movement through Universal Zulu Nation has died in Pennsylvania after a battle with cancer.
Who was Afrika Bambaataa?
Bambaataa was born in the Bronx and joined the local “Black Spades” gang, quickly rising through the ranks to the position of “warlord.”
Starting in the 1970s, Bambaataa began throwing parties where hip hop flourished, which quickly grew into huge street parties in the South Bronx.
He released his first single in 1980 titled “Zulu Nation Throwdown”, a reference to the Universal Zulu Nation, an artistic collective for socially conscious rappers, graffiti artists, B-boys and other people in the hip hop culture.
His 1982 track “Planet Rock” charted at number 4 on the US R&B chart. In 1985, Bambaataa helped create the anti-apartheid album ‘Sun City’, alongside many major artists including Joey Ramone, Run-DMC, U2 and many others.
The legal battles
Towards the end of his life, Afrika Bambaataa faced a series of legal problems after several men accused him of sexual abuse during the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2025, he was forced to pay damages following an out-of-court settlement to a man who accused him of sex trafficking in the 1990s, after a judge issued a default judgment when he failed to appear in court.
