Hip-hop and electro pioneer Afrika Bambaataa has reportedly died at age 67.
According to a report from TMZ, Bambaataa died from complications of cancer in Pennsylvania on Thursday (April 9).
The artist, real name Lance Taylor, was born to Jamaican and Barbadian parents. He grew up in the Bronx River Projects in New York City and became known for hosting parties parties in the Bronx, including block parties.
Bambaataa was one of the defining artists during the early days of hip-hop. His album Planet Rock, which consisted of singles released from 1980 to 1986, was one of the genre’s earliest successes.
Bambaataa was also one of the founders of the hip-hop awareness group, Universal Zulu Nation.
In the later years of his life, Bambaataa was accused of sexual abuse by several individuals who said they were underage at the time they were abused. Many members of the Zulu Nation resigned following the allegations, and Bambaataa also stood down from his leadership role as a result.
In late 2024, French rapper Solo, of the Assassin collective, said that he was sexually victimized by Bambaataa when he was 17 years old.
The string of allegations against Bambaataa first surfaced in 2016 when hip-hop artist and political activist Ronald “Bee-Stinger” Savage alleged he was molested by Bambaataa when he was 15.
Further allegations followed, all of which Bambaataa denied.
As reported by The Guardian, a lawsuit was filed against Bambaataa by an anonymous John Doe who claimed that age 12, he was sexually abused by the artist.
Last year, Bambaataa lost the civil case accusing him of child sexual abuse and trafficking after a default judgment. He failed to respond to the lawsuit years after it was first filed, and he did not publicly respond to the development at the time.
