| Name | Afrika Bambaataa |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Kevin Donovan |
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| Born | April 19, 1957 |
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| Origin | The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
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| Instrument | Vocals, turntables |
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| Genre | Hip hop, electro, disco |
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| Occupation | DJ, producer, activist |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
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| Label | Tommy Boy RecordsEMIWinley RecordsCapitol RecordsDMC RecordsPlanet Rock Music |
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| Associated acts | Soulsonic Force, Time Zone, Shango, Hydraulic Funk, Nebula Funk, Afrika Bambaataa and Family, Cosmic Force, Jazzy Five, Arthur Baker, John Lydon, Lee Evans (producer) Rae Serrano (producer), James Brown, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Sly and the Family Stone, Bill Laswell, Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Busy Bee Starski, Lovage, Nujabes |
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Afrika Bambaataa (born April 19, 1957) is an
American DJ from the
South Bronx,
New York who was instrumental in the early development of
hip hop throughout the 1980s. Gangs in the area became the law in the absence of law, clearing their
turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf. Bambaataa was a founding member of the Bronx River Projects-area
street gang The Savage Seven. Due to the explosive growth of the gang, it later became known as the
Black Spades, and Bambaataa quickly rose to the position of warlord. As warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the Black Spades. Bambaataa was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.
After Bambaataa won an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa, his worldview shifted. He had seen the movie Zulu and was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by the Zulu in that film. During his trip to Africa, the communities he visited inspired him to stop the violence and create a community in his own neighborhood. 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 that can be seen as a precursor to the anti-apartheid movement. He told people that his name was Zulu for "affectionate leader". A young Afrika Bambaataa began to think about how he could turn his turf-building skills to peacemaking. He formed the "Bronx River Organization" as an alternative to the Black Spades.
Inspired by DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee, he too began hosting hip hop parties. He vowed to use hip hop to draw angry kids out of gangs and formed the Universal Zulu Nation. Bambaataa saw that the hip hop tours would be the key to help expand hip hop and his Universal Zulu Nation. In addition it would help promote the values of hip hop that he believed are based on peace, unity, love, and having fun. Bambaataa brought peace to the gangs as many artists and gang members say that "hip hop saved a lot of lives". He was a popular DJ in South Bronx rap scene and became known not only as Afrika Bambaataa but also as the "Master of Records". By 1977, inspired by DJ Kool Herc and DJ Dee, and after Disco King Mario loaned him his first equipment, Bambaataa began organizing block parties all around the South Bronx. He even faced his long time friend, Disco King Mario in a DJ battle. He then began performing at Stevenson High School and formed the Bronx River Organization, then later simply "The Organization". Bambaataa had deejayed with his own sound system at the Bronx River Community Center, with Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, and Cowboy, who accompanied him in performances in the community. Because of his prior status in the Black Spades, he already had an established Army party crowd drawn from former members of the gang. Hip hop culture was spreading through the streets via house parties, block parties, gym dances and mix tapes. Winley recorded two versions of Soulsonic Force's landmark single, "Zulu Nation Throwdown", with authorization from the musicians. Disappointed with the results of the single, Bambaataa left the company.
The Zulu Nation was the first hip-hop organization, with an official birth date of November 12, 1973.
Recognition
In 1982, hip hop artist
Fab Five Freddy was putting together music packages in the largely white downtown
Manhattan New Wave clubs, and invited Bambaataa to perform at one of them, the
Mudd Club. It was the first time Bam had performed before a predominantly white crowd. Attendance for Bambaataa's parties downtown became so large that he had to move to larger venues, first to the Ritz, with
Malcolm McLaren's group "
Bow Wow Wow", then to the
Peppermint Lounge, The Jefferson, Negril,
Danceteria and the
Roxy. "
Planet Rock", a popular single, came out that June under the name Afrika Bambaataa and the
Soulsonic Force. The song borrowed musical motifs from German
electronic music, funk, and rock. Different elements and musical styles were used together. The song became an immediate hit and stormed the music charts worldwide. The song melded the main melody from
Kraftwerk's "
Trans-Europe Express" with electronic beats based on their track "
Numbers" as well as portions from records by
Babe Ruth and
Captain Sky,
In 1990, Bambaataa made Life magazine's "Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" issue. He was also involved in the anti-apartheid work "Hip Hop Artists Against Apartheid" for Warlock Records. He teamed with the Jungle Brothers to record the album "Return to Planet Rock (The Second Coming)".
Gee Street Records, John Baker and Bambaataa organized a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1990 for the African National Congress (ANC), in honor of Nelson Mandela's release from prison. The concert brought together performances by British and American rappers, and also introduced both Nelson and Winnie Mandela and the ANC to hip hop audiences. In relation to the event, the recording Ndodemnyama (Free South Africa) helped raise approximately $30,000 for the ANC. Bambaataa also helped to raise funds for the organization in Italy.
From the mid-1990s, Bambaataa returned to his electro roots, collaborating with WestBam (who was named after him) which culminated in the 2004 album Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light which featured Gary Numan and many others. In 2000, Rage Against the Machine covered Afrika's song "Renegades of Funk" for their album, Renegades. The same year, Bambaataa collaborated with Leftfield on the song "Afrika Shox", the first single from Leftfield's Rhythm and Stealth. "Afrika Shox" is also popularly known from the soundtrack to Vanilla Sky. In 2006, he was featured on the British singer Jamelia's album Walk With Me on a song called "Do Me Right", and on Mekon's album Some Thing Came Up, on the track "D-Funktional". Bambaataa performed the lyrics on the track "Is There Anybody Out There" by The Bassheads (Desa Basshead). As an actor, he has played a variety of voice-over character roles on Kung Faux.
Bambaataa was a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. On September 27, 2007, it was announced that Afrika Bambaataa was one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. On December 22, 2007, he made a surprise appearance performing at the First Annual Tribute Fit For the King of King Records, Mr. Dynamite James Brown in Covington, Kentucky.
Discography
Albums
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!align="center" width="30"|Year
!align="center" width="225"|Album
!align="center" width="130"|Label
|-
|1983
|
Death Mix
|
Paul Winley Records
|-
|1985
|
Sun City
|
EMI
|-
|rowspan="2"|1986
|
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|
Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere)
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|1987
|
Death Mix Throwdown
|Blatant
|-
|1988
|
The Light
|
EMI America Records
|-
|1991
|
The Decade of Darkness 1990-2000
|EMI Records USA
|-
|1992
|
Don't Stop... Planet Rock (The Remix EP)
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|rowspan="3"|1996
|
Jazzin (Khayan album)
|
ZYX Music
|-
|
Lost Generation
|Hottie
|-
|
Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You
|Profile Records
|-
|1997
|
Zulu Groove (Compilation)
|Hudson Vandam
|-
|rowspan="2"|1999
|
Electro Funk Breakdown
|DMC
|-
|
Return to Planet Rock
|Berger Music
|-
|rowspan="2"|2000
|
Hydraulic Funk
|Strictly Hype
|-
|
Theme of the United Nations w/ DJ Yutaka
|
Avex Trax
|-
|rowspan="2"|2001
|
Electro Funk Breakdown (Compilation)
|DMX
|-
|
(Compilation)
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|2004
|
Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|rowspan="2"|2005
|
Metal
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|
Metal Remixes
|Tommy Boy Records
|-
|2006
|
Death Mix "2"
|Paul Winley Records
|}
Singles
References
External links
Afrika Bambaataa biography
[ Afrika Bambaataa] at
Allmusic
Afrika Bambaataa at Rolling Stone
Afrika Bambaataa at WhoSampled
Category:Living people
Category:African hip hop DJs
Category:American people of Barbadian descent
Category:American people of Jamaican descent
Category:African American rappers
Category:Electro musicians
Category:Musicians from New York City
Category:People from the Bronx
Category:1960 births
Category:Hip hop activists
