Afrika Bambaataarenowned rapper and considered one of the creators of the hip hop, He died this Thursday, April 9, after complications with a cancer he suffered from. The information was released by the specialized media TMZ.
Bambaataa died at his home in Pennsylvania, at the age of 67.
The rapper is known as one of the creators of the musical genre due to his influence on the cradle of hip hop. He was born in the Bronx of New York, where organizing street parties began to experiment with the nascent sounds.
A trajectory of history and music
In the middle of the seventiesBambaataa transformed his neighborhood Black Spades gang into the Universal Zulu Nation, an organization dedicated to peace, unity, and the spread of hip hop culture; This was probably the greatest contribution to the genre.
The organization that sought to get young people away from problems and find a way towards music, dance and art, outside of gang violence. Thanks to this initiative, essential hip hop movements such as DJing, MCing (rap), breakdance and graffiti were consolidated.
He released his first single in 1980 titled Zulu Nation throwdown and, later, what could be the first topic electro-funk, planet rockfrom 1982, which climbed to number four on the R&B chart. of the United States.
According to Deadline in the mid-eighties, Bambaataa appeared playing himself in the film Beat Street, where his song also played Frantic Situation. Furthermore, in those years he collaborated with great artists of the genre such as Artists Against Apartheid and James Brown.
His legacy remains in the memory of those who applaud his work over the years.
The Hip-Hop Alliance, led by veteran rapper Kurtis Blow, posted on Instagram: “Today we recognize the passing of a fundamental architect of hip hop culture, Afrika Bambaataa. As founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, Afrika Bambaataa helped forge the initial identity of hip hop as a global movement based on peace, unity, love and fun,” he wrote.
The farewell message also says: “We recognize that his legacy is complex and has been the subject of important debates within our community. As an organization committed to truth, accountability and the preservation of hip hop culture, we believe it is essential to give everyone a voice and continue to promote what empowers and protects people,” he concludes.
Legal problems
Not everything was good in the artist’s story, since in 2016 he was accused of sexually abusing a teenager in the 1980s.
As reported by TMZ, the renowned DJ continued to have several legal problems during his career, the most recent last year, when he was forced to pay compensation to a man who accused him of human trafficking for sexual purposes in the 1990s. This after a judge handed down a default sentence due to his absence in court.
