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Bambaataa went on to collaborate with an eclectic roster of artists including James Brown, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols, and George Clinton, breaking down barriers between punk, funk and rap at a time when such crossovers were virtually unheard of. His 1984 single "Unity," recorded with Brown, brought two generations of Black music together on a single record.

A Complicated Legacy

Bambaataa's later years were clouded by serious allegations. Beginning in 2016, multiple men came forward publicly to accuse the DJ of sexually abusing them when they were adolescents during the 1970s and 1980s. Bambaataa denied the allegations, but stepped down from his leadership role at the Universal Zulu Nation in the wake of the accusations. In 2021, a civil lawsuit was filed in New York by one accuser; the case was allowed to proceed under the state's Child Victims Act, though it was later dismissed on procedural grounds.

For many in the hip-hop community, the allegations created a painful dilemma, forcing fans and peers to reckon with how to honor a man whose musical contributions reshaped the culture while taking seriously the experiences of those who came forward. His name was quietly removed from several museum exhibits and curricula in the years that followed, even as his records continued to be sampled and celebrated by new generations of producers.

Tributes Pour In From Around the World

News of Bambaataa's death prompted an immediate outpouring of reflection across the music industry. DJs, producers and artists shared memories of being changed forever by the first time they heard "Planet Rock" pulse out of a boombox or a club sound system. Hip-hop historians noted that with the deaths in recent years of several other pioneering figures, another link to the foundational era of the culture has now been lost.

"Whatever else you want to say about him, you cannot tell the story of hip-hop — and you cannot tell the story of modern dance music — without Afrika Bambaataa," one veteran music journalist wrote on social media Thursday night. "The records speak for themselves."

What His Passing Means

For Americans of a certain age, Bambaataa's death is a reminder of how recent and how fragile the origins of hip-hop really are. The genre that now dominates the Billboard charts, fills stadiums around the world and generates billions of dollars in revenue every year began just five decades ago with a handful of kids in the Bronx plugging turntables into streetlights and throwing parties in park rec rooms. The men who started it all are now reaching the final chapters of their lives.