Short answers, pulled from the story.
Afrika Bambaataa, born Lance Taylor on the 17th of April, 1957, in the Bronx, was a DJ, rapper, and record producer credited as one of the originators of breakbeat DJing and a founder of hip-hop culture. He founded the Universal Zulu Nation in 1977, released the genre-defining electro-funk track "Planet Rock" in 1982, and led the first hip-hop tour outside the United States.
"Planet Rock" was a 1982 single by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, produced with Arthur Baker and synthesizer player John Robie. It melded a keyboard hook from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" with electronic drum patterns from their track "Numbers", samples from Babe Ruth and Captain Sky, and traditional funk elements. The record went gold, reached number 3 on the US Dance chart, and is credited with establishing electro-funk as a distinct genre.
The Universal Zulu Nation, founded by Afrika Bambaataa, is a hip-hop organization with an official birth date of the 12th of November, 1977. It began as a transformation of the Black Spades street gang into a music and culture-oriented group promoting peace, unity, love, and having fun. It grew to include DJs, rappers, break dancers, graffiti artists, and community members, and helped spread hip-hop culture internationally.
In April 2016, Bronx activist Ronald Savage accused Bambaataa of molesting him in 1980 when Savage was 15; three more men made similar accusations soon after. In October 2021, an anonymous man sued Bambaataa under the New York Child Victims Act, alleging repeated abuse between 1991 and 1995 beginning when the plaintiff was 12. No criminal charges were ever filed.
In May 2025, Judge Alexander M. Tisch of the New York state supreme court granted a default judgment against Bambaataa in a civil sex abuse case filed under the New York Child Victims Act. Bambaataa never entered a legal response to the suit and failed to appear in court, so the judgment was granted without opposition.
Afrika Bambaataa died of prostate cancer in Pennsylvania on the 9th of April, 2026, at the age of 68.