Afrika Bambaataa

American DJ and pioneering hip hop artist most famous for fronting [[artist:2532]], born April 17, 1957 in the Bronx, NY, USA, died April 9, 2026, in Pennsylvania, USA. He adopted the stage name Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, after a nineteenth century Zulu chief. He is of West Indian descent and cousin of [[artist:Edward Rudolph]] AKA [[artist:Kool Rock Steady]]. He grew up in New York’s South Bronx, his musical eclecticism matched by his vision of African American social and racial unity. In the mid-1970's he was one of the pioneers of New York’s emergent Hip-Hop culture of Rapping, DJ Mixing/Scratching, Graffiti and Breakdancing. Along with two other Bronx DJs, [[artist:Grandmaster Flash]] and [[artist:DJ Kool Herc]] (both also of West Indian origin), he began playing small percussive sections from obscure and unexpected rock, funk and electro-pop records as a rhythm track for rappers, interspersing the beats with extracts from cartoon melodies and film themes. Inspired by the British film 'Zulu', Bambaataa had founded a loosely convened organization of hip-hop's cultural luminaries, called the 'Universal Zulu Nation'. Described as both a fan and a master of records, Bambaataa achieved one of his lifetime ambitions in 1984 by recording "Unity", a duet with [[artist:James Brown]]. Founder of the label [[label:Mellowvibes Records]] with German sprayer [[artist:Zulu Ben]].