Afrika Bambaataa cause of death: How did the hip hop pioneer die? Details surface

Afrika Bambaataa died Thursday morning at the age of 67. According to TMZ, the hip-hop pioneer died at roughly 3 a.m. in Pennsylvania.

Afrika Bambaataa cause of death

According to the publication, Afrika Bambaataa died of cancer-related complications.

Who was Afrika Bambaataa?

Afrika Bambaataa, born Lance Taylor on April 17, 1957, in the Bronx, New York, was an early American DJ, rapper, and producer. He is largely regarded as a founding character of hip-hop culture, alongside DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash.

He was raised in the Bronx River Houses by Jamaican and Barbadian parents in an activist household with a broad music collection. As a youngster, he rose to the rank of “warlord” in the Black Spades gang amid a time of violence and poverty in the South Bronx.

Bambaataa formed the Universal Zulu Nation in the early 1970s, to transform former gang members into a positive cultural movement focused on peace, togetherness, love, and creativity via music and knowledge.

Planet Rock, which he co-created with Soul Sonic Force in 1982, combined hip-hop and Kraftwerk-inspired electronic influences. The song helped pioneer the electro-funk sound and left an indelible mark on global dance music, especially techno.

Follow-up singles like Looking for the Perfect Beat solidified his image as a hip-hop innovator. Bambaataa was instrumental in bringing hip-hop to a global audience via Zulu Nation chapters, foreign tours, and cultural outreach.

However, his later years were marred by serious claims of child sexual assault that went back decades. He disputed the allegations, resigned from the Zulu Nation in 2016, and faced many civil lawsuits.