Hip-hop pioneer from New York: Afrika Bambaataa dies at 68

The celebrity portal TMZ reported that Bambaataa died on Thursday in the US state of Pennsylvania from complications related to cancer.

Bambaataa was born Lance Taylor in public housing in the Bronx, New York. He began his music career by hosting block parties. He was inspired by electronic music early on. For “Planet Rock” he used a sample from the Düsseldorf band Kraftwerk. Bambaataa grew up in New York during a time marked by gang violence. In 1973, he founded the musical group Universal Zulu Nation, which used hip-hop to convey peaceful values.

Companions expressed their sadness over the death of the hip-hop veteran. “As founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, Afrika Bambaataa helped shape hip-hop’s early identity as a global movement rooted in peace, unity, love and fun,” said musician Kurtis Blow, who leads labor rights organization The Hip Hop Alliance.

“His vision transformed the Bronx into the birthplace of a culture that now reaches every corner of the world.” Bambaataa’s influence on the history of hip-hop is “irrefutable”.

At the same time, Blow mentioned that the late artist was not without controversy. Bambaataa’s “legacy is complex and has been the subject of serious discussion within our community.” Bambaataa had been accused of sexual assault.

Those affected said they were minors at the time of the alleged incidents in the 1980s and 1990s. Bambaataa denied the allegations and was never criminally convicted. In 2025, Bambaataa lost a civil case for abuse after failing to appear in court.