Afrika Bambaataa, the hip-hop pioneer accused of sexual abuse and child sex trafficking, has died at the age of 68.
According to TMZ, the New York-born rapper, DJ and producer passed away in Pennsylvania from complications of cancer.
Born Lance Taylor in the Bronx borough of NYC, the artist rose to fame in the hip-hop scene for DJing house shows and block parties. In 1973, he launched the international hip-hop awareness group Universal Zulu Nation.
His first single, 1980s ‘Zulu Nation Throwdown’, celebrated Black creative excellence. Taylor hit his commercial peak in the ’80s with the track ‘Planet Rock’, which peaked at Number 4 on the US R&B chart.
The artist was a fan of Kraftwerk and futuristic electronic music, and an early advocate of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Songs like ‘Planet Rock’ featured digital delays and vocoder-style effects. Paul Oakenfold created a remix of the track in 2001.
Taylor also collaborated with the likes of Leftfield (on 1999’s ‘Afrika Shox’) and synth-pop legend Gary Numan (2004’s ‘Metal’). In 1985, he helped make the anti-apartheid album ‘Sun City’ along with U2‘s Bono, Run-DMC, The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards and many more.
However, his legacy was tarnished by multiple serious allegations. In 2016, he was accused of child molestation by Ronald Savage. The latter claimed that the DJ had forced him to perform oral sex when he was 13 or 14. Taylor denied the accusations. Savage walked back on the abuse claims in 2024, saying (via The Source): “Bambaataa is not a pedophile and, in my eyes, he was doing something that was consensual with someone that he thought was of age.”
In 2021, Taylor was sued for child sex trafficking by a man who alleged that he had abused and trafficked him when he was 12 for four years, from 1991 to 1995. He did not respond to this. Afrika Bambaataa ultimately lost the civil case after failing to show up in court, per The Guardian.
The Hip Hop Alliance, a non-profit labour force organisation for creatives working within the genre, has shared a tribute to Afrika Bambaataa on social media. “Today, we acknowledge the transition of a foundational architect of Hip Hop culture, Afrika Bambaataa,” it reads.
“[…] Today, we extend our condolences to all who were impacted by his life, his work, and his presence.”