Afrika Bambaataa, a rapper and DJ considered a pioneer of the hip-hop musical genre, has died aged 68.
TMZ was the first to report the news, sharing that he died from complications relating to cancer in the early hours of Thursday, before the Hip Hop Alliance confirmed his death.
The organisation, headed by musician Kurtis Blow, recognised Bambaataa as the founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, which ‘helped shape the early identity of hip-hop as a global movement rooted in peace, unity, love, and having fun’.
However, the allegations of child sexual abuse and trafficking which hung over the singer in his later years were also acknowleged, as the statement added that his ‘complex’ legcy had also ‘been the subject of serious conversations within our community’.
‘As an organisation committed to truth, accountability, and the preservation of Hip Hop culture, we believe it is important to hold space for all voices while continuing to uplift what empowers and protects the people.’
Bambaataa had always denied the accusations.
Born Lance Taylor in the Bronx to Jamaican and Barbadian immigrant parents, Bambaataa formed hip-hop collective Universal Zulu Nation, the first oraganisation of its kind, in the 1970s.
He was also known for collaborating with artists including James Brown, funk star George Clinton and the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon.
His breakthrough was the electro-funk track Planet Rock in 1982, which was credited as a shaping influence on hip-hop. That same year he embarked on the fist hip-hop tour outside of the US with his group of followers comprised of dancers, artists and DJs.
A member of the street gang the Black Spades as a youngster, a trip to Africa he won in an essay-writing competition changed his perspective.
Adopting the name Afrika Bambaataa and founding the Bronx River Organisation as an alternative to the Spades, he started hosting bloc parties inspired by ‘father of hip-hop’ DJ Kool Herc and vowed to use the music to draw kids away from gang violence.
His work in the ’80s also included politically conscious projects such as the anti-apartheid song Sun City in 1985 with the likes of Bob Dylan, Bono, Bruce Springsteen and Run-DMC.
He was also a popular DJ on the rap scene and established two rap crews: the Jazzy 5 and Soulsonic Force.
Bambaataa’s final album was Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light, released in 2004.
He stepped down from Universal Zulu Nation in 2016 after allegations of child sex abuse from the 1980s and ’90s surfaced, with multiple men from the Bronx accusing him of molestation.
The artist denied them at the time in a statement that called the allegations a ‘baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time’.
The Guardian reports that in 2025, Bambaataa lost a civil case in which he was accused of four years of sexual abuse from 1992 against a then 12-year-old after failing to appear in court.
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