Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa dies at 68
Born in a Bronx tenement complex on April 17, 1957, he co-founded Zulu Nation, an organization that stood against gang violence and used hip-hop to convey peaceful values, in 1973 (considered the birth year of hip-hop in New York).
Afrika Bambaataa, the legendary American DJ (Archive).
(AFP) US DJ and hip-hop pioneerAfrika Bambaataa, accused in recent years of sexual assaults on minors, died at 68, his storied record label Tommy Boy Records announced Thursday on Instagram.
"Afrika Bambaataa is widely considered a pioneer of hip-hop and electronic music. Upon the announcement of his passing, we think of his contributions to the genre and culture in a broad sense, which endure to this day," reads the caption of a black-and-white image of the artist.
Celebrity news portal TMZ, citing anonymous sources, reports that Afrika Bambaataa (Lance Taylor, his real name) died of cancer on Wednesday night into Thursday in Pennsylvania.
The founding fathers of hip-hop
Author of the 1982 hit Planet Rock, Bambaataa figured, along with DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, among the founding fathers of hip-hop, a musical and cultural movement based on four pillars: DJing, rapping, graffiti and breakdancing.
Born in a Bronx housing complex on April 17, 1957, he co-founded in 1973 (considered the year of the birth of hip-hop in New York) the Zulu Nation, an organization that stood against gang violence and used hip-hop to transmit peaceful values, in particular through "block parties" in that district of the American megalopolis.
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