Afrika Bambaataa, hip-hop pioneer, has died

• Published

Afrika Bambaataa, one of the founding figures of hip-hop culture, has died at the age of 68, the Hip Hop Alliance has confirmed.

In a statement, the organisation said Bambaataa helped shape a "global movement rooted in peace, unity, love, and having fun", paying tribute to his role in the emergence of hip-hop as both a musical genre and a cultural force.

Born Lance Taylor in the Bronx, Bambaataa grew up during the era of the black liberation movement. In 1973, he co-founded the Universal Zulu Nation, an international hipâhop awareness group.

In his later years, Bambaataa's reputation was overshadowed by allegations of child sexual abuse and trafficking, which he denied.

TMZ, which was first to report his death, said the artist died in Pennsylvania due to complications from cancer on Thursday.

Bambaataa was born to Jamaican and Barbadian immigrant parents.

As a teen, he became a member of the Black Spades gang, parlaying his leadership abilities to form the Universal Zulu Nation, that sought to channel youth culture away from violence and towards creativity.

His 1982 hit Planet Rock, won him global recognition and is credited with shaping hip-hop in the 1980s.

His vision for hip-hop transformed the Bronx borough into "the birthplace of a culture that now reaches every corner of the world", said Reverend Dr Kurtis Blow Walker, the executive director of Hip Hop Alliance.

Throughout the 1980s and beyond, he continued to collaborate widely, working with musicians including James Brown and John Lydon, and contributing to politically conscious projects such as the anti-apartheid song Sun City in 1985.

Bambaataa led Universal Zulu Nation until 2016, stepping down after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced from the 1980s and 1990s.

He denied the accusations in a statement, saying they "are baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time".

In 2025, the rapper lost a civil case in which he was accused of child sexual abuse and trafficking after failing to show up in court, The Guardian reported.

Hip Hop Alliance acknowledged that the allegations complicated his musical legacy, which "has been the subject of serious conversations within our community".

Correction 10 April: This story and headline has been updated to say Afrika Bambaataa died aged 68. An earlier version stated he had died at 67.