Hip-hop pioneer, DJ Afrika Bambaataa has died

Pioneering Hip-Hop DJ, Afrika Bambaataa,  has died at the age of 68.

According to a report from TMZ, Bambaataa died from complications of cancer in Pennsylvania on Thursday (April 9).

The artist, real name Lance Taylor, was born in 1957 to Jamaican and Barbadian parents. He grew up in the Bronx River Projects in New York City and became known for hosting parties in the Bronx, including block parties.

Bambaataa was one of the defining artists during the early days of hip-hop. His album Planet Rock, which consisted of singles released from 1980 to 1986, was one of the genre’s earliest successes.

Bambaataa was also one of the founders of the hip-hop awareness group, Universal Zulu Nation.

However. Bambaataa’s reputation took a massive hit in 2016, when he was accused by multiple men of child sex abuse dating back to the 1970’s. Many members of the Zulu Nation resigned following the allegations, and Bambaataa also stood down from his leadership role as a result.

He released his first single, “Zulu Nation Throwdown” that year, and in 1982, he had a hit, “Planet Rock” which rose to No. 4 on the U.S. R&B Chart.

He wound up with 22 albums, the last of which, “Death Mix ‘2’” came out in 2006.

Aside from his music, Bambaataa was given a three-year appointment as a visiting scholar at Cornell University in 2012. His music and recordings as well as manuscripts and papers, are all part of the Cornell University hip-hop collection.