A Thread for Afrika Bambaataa Badass Synthesizer Hip Hop Motherfucker

Looking For The Perfect Beat

Can a moderator please spell his last name correctly in the thread title please? Thank you.

Great thread.

Newcleus "Jam On It"

thnx for the hot tips guys

Bimble discovers Electro!

Jonzun Crew - Pac Jam

Man Parrish - Hip Hop, Bebop (Don't Stop)

Quadrant Six - Body Mechanic

Hashim - Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)

Twilight 22 - Electric Kingdom

Aleem - Release Yourself

Check this collection of medleys of lesser known Electro gems:

1) PC Crew -- Space Invadas
2) X.25 Band -- Black Hole Bop
3) The P Crew -- Party Rock (aka James Garrett)

1) The Incredible Body Mechanix - B-Boy Your Best
2) Davy DMX - 1 for the Treble
3) Pumpkin - King of the Beat
4) Cybotron - Clear
5) The "P" Crew - Nasty Rock

1) The Boogie Boys - Zodiac Break Dance
2) Nairobi & The Awesome Foursome - The Funky Breakdown
3) CD III -- Success
4) Bad Boys ft. K Love - Bad Boys

Well this isn't the way I thought this thread would go, but I'm not complaining. This is some fun stuff, thanks Wheelie. I'm definitely getting the hint that I need those damn Street Jams comps. Sigh. So much to listen to...

Street Jams Electro series is the 101

hashim killed it.

I have the first 2 Street Jams. Killer.

But the comp that got me into all of this looks like this:

http://bp0.blogger.com/_bMJI7arDPqw/R0pMlpFKR3I/AAAAAAAAF2A/7228-chOL0Y/s400/eb.jpg

It blows my mind that an 11 year old cracker like me was able to hear/get into this stuff in Corvallis, OR in 1984.

Actually that record sleeve looks familiar somehow. LOL.

What I think is funny is the way parents were all like "oh no, no kid of mine is going to be doing any of this break dancing"...

Our parents made us breakdance for their amusement. Not that we were good at it. It was a great segue into freestyle biking though!

we had a party at my place for my girlfriend's birthday and i blasted 'looking for the perfect beat' through my PA and now have a new found appreciation for this stuff. not that i didn't like it before, but it's not really music to listen to on your headphones while walking to school, and dancing to it being played super fucking loud in my living room was some of the most fun i've ever had. anyways these youtubes are v good but does anyone here have really extensive knowledge of this stuff? or a comprehensive anthology to recommend? if not just dump more youtubes please.

As mentioned, get this and this, which will start you off well, or just get this and be set for life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R3LBqKE4qs

Admittedly though, the Streetsounds series makes a pretty quick turn into drum-machine hiphop, rather than straight electrofunk…xpost

ya i have a feeling this stuff had a pretty short lifespan. apparently bambataa has been steadily releasing music all these years, i wonder what it all sounds like.

BOOM BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
BOOM BOOM
BOOM BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
DEEJAYS!!

^^^really best moment of music ever recorded

i just scored a copy of "death mix"

holy shit

I love Bambaataa, Man Parrish, Jonzun Crew, Planet Patrol, Hashim, etc, but the best old school electro act was actually Warp 9:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d24KlC7HlYw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mZaKcl6lUE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8hHxJTP05o

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/afrika-bambaataa-sex-abuse-accuser-ronald-savage-speaks-article-1.2594599

dang

yeah this is so fucked up and sad. i guess this puts an end to bambaataa's embrace by the academy.

Wow. I am p surprised.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/afrika-bambaataa-molested-hundreds-boys-bodyguard-article-1.2626593

Sleeve, your comments please. I'm sure you've been busy, so missed this story.

It's pretty fucked up all the accounts that's out there from Bronx ppl on YouTube, sounds like this was known for years

Yeah. Surprising and sad.

Incredibly surprising. It's not like people (albeit in a politically incorrect way) weren't writing about it three years ago. This thread is destined to die on ILM because nobody cares, and AB was never anywhere near the star that Michael Gira is.

http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/493985/afrika-bambaataa-allegedly-is-a-homo

The abuse of kids is new to me but not that he's gay. That's been known for a look long time.

I shouldn't have read the four pages of that AllHipHop thread.

Yeah unfortunately the conversation that needs to be had has been subsumed by the homophobic star chamber/DJ Vlad/lord Jamar asshole crew

Legendary hip-hop rapper and DJ Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation are reportedly being sued for child sex trafficking, according to a new lawsuit.

Per Okayplayer, in a report by Chicago’s Metropolis Newspaper, an unnamed accuser filed a suit last month against the hip-hop icon in which he alleged Bambaataa sexually abused and repeatedly prostituted him to other men for four years beginning when he was 12 years old. The suit also claims that a majority of the assaults took place at Bambaataa’s Bronx River home, which also served as The Zulu Nation’s headquarters at the time.

This new suit marks the fourth time in the last five years that the hip-hop pioneer has been accused of sexual abuse. As previously reported by The Root, Ronald Savage was the first to come forward in 2016; he described an initial sexual assault by Bambaataa in disturbing detail during an interview with the New York Daily News. Not too long after, three more men recounted similar stories of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Bambaataa which reportedly started when they were also children. At the time, the “Planet Rock” rapper denied any and all allegations in a statement, while the Zulu Nation issued a lengthy letter apologizing to the accusers and have since distanced themselves from their former leader.

https://www.theroot.com/afrika-bambaataa-and-the-zulu-nation-sued-for-child-sex-1847643346

This new suit marks the fourth time in the last five years that the hip-hop pioneer has been accused of sexual abuse. As previously reported by The Root, Ronald Savage was the first to come forward in 2016; he described an initial sexual assault by Bambaataa in disturbing detail during an interview with the New York Daily News. Not too long after, three more men recounted similar stories of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Bambaataa which reportedly started when they were also children.

somehow i missed all of this. what a fucking terrible world

RIP

I'm very glad I don't have to write any obits right now. His impact on modern music is monumental and obviously the allegations make his legacy incredibly complicated. There's so much about the way music sounds in the last 50 years just based on which records in his crate he chose to play.

ya this a tricky one, one where I feel I actually can separate the art from the artist. guess it helps I only really liked 2 tracks from him and never really knew a thing about him or even really cared. Looking for the Perfect Beat still sounds like it was beamed in from the future.

His recorded legacy is surprisingly small - it really rests on three A-sides with a handful of excellent collaborations and guest spots ("World Destruction," "Unity," "Sun City, etc.) Equally (possibly more) important was what he did as a pioneering DJ before he made those records. But what he did was horrible and how it was allegedly known for years before anyone made it public knowledge is extremely disheartening. The obits I've seen have done a decent-to-excellent job of getting the full picture, particularly how the reaction to his wrongdoings have been different across the hip-hop community.

*But what he did to his sex crime victims

“Zulu Nation Throwdown,” “Jazzy Sensation,” “Planet Rock,” “Looking for the Perfect Beat,” “Renegades of Funk,” “Zulu War Chant” plus the Death Mix 12” … His reign as a top tier recording artist was brief but there was plenty of important music

Important and timeless! 40+ years on, we're still poppin sockin rockin puttin a side of hip-hop(in) 'cause where we're goin, there ain't no stoppin

For the nerds, there was an interview with Arthur Baker on Questlove's podcast a few months ago that went really deep on how those early tracks were made, super interesting.

There's also a huge amount of detail on the making of Planet Rock in Arthur Baker's biography (plus Arthur talked to Greg Wilson and myself about it when he guested on our podcast). My conclusion: Bam was a long way from being the prime musical force in its construction.

I just feel like we should say what it is, that be sexually molested dozens of young boys and specifically used the respect he had as a hip hop pioneer and the Zulu Nation to shield himself. There are credible interviews with so many of the victims and a lot of people who were there at the time and directly tied to the Zulu Nation who have confirmed that it was an open secret at the time.

I'm already getting a little weary of seeing the word "complicated" thrown around. He very likely might have more victims that R. Kelly.

did see one bizarre post about it from someone on the inside..."these allegations were never proven. but they were definitely true."

didn't mean to sound dismissive that there's only 2 tracks from him I really like...everything Whiney listed is classic. for me it's Planet Rock and Perfect Beat that's in constant rotation. maybe Zulu Nation Throwdown as well. I love those tracks dearly.

I'm not disputing the importance of those songs, which are amazing and were very influential. And, I think his biggest influence was as a DJ which we'll never be able to understand because we weren't there.

I was just seeing so much soft pedaling of what he actually did yesterday.

Mr C from the Shamen made a very good post.

The post in question.

Never looked into it that much before but reading in between the lines of how he would allegedly "shape" the records it's clear he was a bullshitter who hooked up with the right people.

The DJ Khaled of his day?

When asked about how much Bambaataa contributed to the record, Baker felt that he was "more of an inspiration" and "definitely had [an] influence" but was unfamiliar with studio equipment.[2] When asked in 1985 about his contributions to his records, Bambaataa said he did not do "much rapping" but helped develop the records, stating that: "They may be written or produced by whomever, but you can be sure I had something to do with getting the sound I want, whether it's a certain chant, keyboard riff, drum pattern or a speed-up on the synthesizers."[13] Bambaataa added that whether he works with Bill Laswell of Material or Baker, he "usually act[s] as a co-producer" and brings "one of my groups to come up with a strong rap".[13] Among Bambaataa's suggestions, was using a beat from Captain Sky's "Super Sporm".[2][1

In spite of the temptation to discredit his contributions because he's an abuser, my understanding was that it was pretty commonplace in the early days of hip hop for the artists to bring records and ideas to the studio, and have the engineers figure out how to get everything synced up and on tape (lots of wild methods and gear before samplers and techniques became more available and standardized).

otm

Another good post.

It’s a photo but post is really the caption

Bam is example of the duality of man and his good and evil sides. So much light and positivity came from this man but also darkness and evil.

I know it’s difficult to address these things honestly but that quote comes close to “In conclusion, Africa Bambaataa is a land of contrasts.”

https://media1.tenor.com/m/6KvGWdwqLpsAAAAd/duality-of-man-full-metal-jacket.gif

one of his victims

Hassan Campbell Reacts To Reports Of Afrika Bambaataa's Death https://share.google/QF3mJrxpIOyjKnCE3

Wrote about Electro Funk Breakdown in Voice, really liked that 'un:
https://myvil.blogspot.com/2005/12/trans-era-express.html

I never heard about his crimes 'til much later.

I just feel like we should say what it is, that be sexually molested dozens of young boys and specifically used the respect he had as a hip hop pioneer and the Zulu Nation to shield himself. There are credible interviews with so many of the victims and a lot of people who were there at the time and directly tied to the Zulu Nation who have confirmed that it was an open secret at the time.

I'm already getting a little weary of seeing the word "complicated" thrown around. He very likely might have more victims that R. Kelly.

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, April 10, 2026 5:51 AM (four days ago)

the sad thing is that it's not really complicated these days for me. i've seen it so, so often. i agree with you, ums - it's important to say these things openly. it's natural when someone is a role model - and afrika bambaataa was a role model to many children - to want to believe that they're not going to do awful things, and it's... it feeds the problem, i think. ultimately, to me, something like what afrika bambaataa did, what all predators do... they do this shit because they _can_, because they can do it and get away with it, because people are afraid to accuse Role Models. i say this knowing that role models do get falsely accused, have been falsely accused. i know what it feels like to be falsely accused of being complicit in SA, i know the fear and the shame and the emotional devastation that comes as a result of that, and i also, from that, have gained the understanding that there's nothing someone can say that can hurt me the way afrika bambaataa hurt hassan campbell. to me, afrika bambaataa was a serial CSA perpetrator and a hip-hop pioneer. being a CSA perpetrator doesn't erase or efface his being a hip-hop pioneer, but his being a CSA perp comes first for me. always. and i mean i think there is... part of being a pioneer is about having earned that respect, right? that's the other thing, i acknowledge and recognize his artistic contributions and i _like_ a lot of his work (there's that terrible quality official live cassette out there, i like that one a lot) and i don't feel shame or guilt about calling some of the music he made "great". but when a person does the kinds of stuff he did it's meaningless for me to talk about "respect".