The arranger credit on these recordings is correctly attributed to Harlem Underground Band leader, Kevin Donovan. Disappoined with the results of the single, Bambaataa left the company. Winley recorded two versions of Soulsonic Force's landmark single, "Zulu Nation Throwdown", with authorisation from the musicians. According to Bambaataa, this was an unauthorised release. In 1980, Bambaataa's groups made Death Mix, their first recording with Paul Winley Records. He became a popular DJ in the South Bronx scene and became known not only as Bambaataa but also as the "Master of Records" for his extensive record collection. He established two rap crews: the Jazzy 5 and the Soulsonic Force. As he continued deejaying, more DJs, rappers, b-boys, b-girls, graffiti writers, and artists followed him, and he took them under his wing and made them members of the Zulu Nation. Five b-boys joined him, whom he called the Zulu Kings. Because of his prior high status in the Black Spades, he already had an established party crowd and group of followers drawn from former members of the gang.Ībout a year later, Bambaataa reformed the group, calling it the Zulu Nation, inspired by his wide studies on African history at the time and, specifically, the 1964 film Zulu. Stevenson High School in the Bronx and formed the Bronx River Organization, which he intended to be an alternative to the Black Spades. Bambaataa would deejay with his own sound system at The Bronx River Houses' Community Center. Inspired by DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee, Bambaataa began hosting hip hop parties beginning in 1976. He told people that his name was Zulu for "affectionate leader".Ĭareer Early career and formation of the Zulu Nation He changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chief Bhambatha, who led an armed rebellion against unfair economic practices in early 20th century South Africa. During his trip to Africa, the communities he visited inspired him to create one in his own neighbourhood. He had seen the movie Zulu and was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by the Zulu in that film. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.Īfter Bambaataa won an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa, his worldview shifted. He was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. As warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the young Spades. He quickly rose to the position of warlord of one of the divisions. Bambaataa became a member of the Black Spades, a street gang active since the late 1960s. Gangs in the area became the law, clearing their turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf. He was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection. As a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movement, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. 2.1 Early career and formation of the Zulu Nationīorn as Lance Taylor (previously falsely assumed as Kevin Donovan) to Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, Bambaataa grew up in The Bronx River Projects, with an activist mother and uncle.He left his position as head of the Zulu Nation in 2016 following sexual abuse allegations committed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation, he has helped spread hip hop culture throughout the world. Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing and is respectfully known as "The Godfather" and "Amen Ra of Hip Hop Culture", as well as the father of electro funk. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Busy Bee Starski, DJ Jazzy Jay, DJ Kool Herc, Jazzy Five, MC G.L.O.B.E., Melle Mel, Time ZoneĪfrika Bambaataa Aasim (born Lance Taylor 19 April 1957) is an American DJ, record producer and activist from the Bronx, New York.
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