One of the so-called founding fathers of the hip-hop movement, alongside DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, he was also accused of sexually abusing several underage men in the 1980s and 1990s.
The American news site TMZ reports, citing anonymous sources, that DJ Afrika Bambaataa, the creator of the cult track Planet Rock, died in the night from Wednesday to Thursday, following a cancer battle. On Instagram, his historic label, Tommy Boy Records, writes “Afrika Bambaataa was an influential figure at the early days of the Tommy Boy label and is widely regarded as a pioneer of hip-hop and electro music. Following his death, we pay tribute to his contribution to the genre and to the culture in general, whose influence endures today.
Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1957, he co-founded the Zulu Nation in the early 1970s. The collective, at the forefront of the hip-hop movement, preached peace, unity, and artistic expression in the face of poverty and the violence of gangs. Through his New York block parties, Bambaataa helped to structure a culture that quickly spread beyond the Big Apple to become a global phenomenon.
Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse
But in recent years, the DJ faced accusations of sexually abusing several underage men in the 1980s and 1990s, allegations he has always denied and for which he was never convicted in a criminal court.
In 2016, Bronx activist and former industry figure Ronald Savage accused Bambaataa of sexually assaulting him when he was only 14 years old, in 1980. Following that first testimony, further accusations followed; he was then compelled to resign from his role as head of the Zulu Nation. A civil case was decided against him in 2025 in a matter involving abuse and trafficking of a 12-year-old victim at the start of the events, which occurred between 1991 and 1995. Bambaataa never appeared at court.
