Afrika Bambaataa
Bambaataa (left) with DJ Yutaka (right) in 2004.
Background information
Born	April 19, 1957 (1957-04-19) (age 51)
Origin	The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip Hop, Electro
Occupation(s)	DJ, Producer Activist
Instrument(s)	Vocals, DJ
Years active	1970 - Present
Label(s)	Tommy Boy Records EMI,[Capitol], [DMC Records Italy] [ Planet Rock Music ]
Associated acts	Soulsonic Force, Time Zone,Shango, Hydrauic Funk, Nebula Funk,Afrika Bambaataa and Family,Cosmic Force, Jazzy 5, Arthur Baker John Lydon James Brown,George Clinton,Bootsy, Sly and the Family Stone,Bill Laswell

Afrika Bambaataa (born April 19, 1957), is a DJ and community leader from the South Bronx, who was instrumental in the early development of Hip Hop throughout the 1970s. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with Electro ( electro-boogie, electro-funk) is a Genre of Electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and Funk A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Activism, in a general sense can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience Events Charles Wuorinen, aged 32 becomes the youngest composer ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in The Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force) are an American Hip-hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped established Arthur Baker (born April 22, 1955) is an American Record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956 in London England also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British Rock musician best known as lead vocalist for the Punk James Joseph Brown Jr (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006 commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" the "King of Funk" and "The Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience The South Bronx is a region of the New York City Borough of The Bronx. Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three main originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture as well as The Father of The Electro Funk Sound. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation, he is responsible for spreading rap and hip-hop culture throughout the world ^[1]. The Black Spades was one of the largest and most violent black street gangs in New York City during the 1970s Like many of the early pioneers in Hip-Hop, he is of West Indian descent. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting On September 27, 2007, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States

History

Bambaataa was a founding member of the Bronx River Projects-area street gang, The Savage Seven. Gangsters redirects here For the computer game see Gangsters (video game. Due to the explosive growth of the gang, it later became known as the Black Spades, and he rose to the position of Division Leader. The Black Spades was one of the largest and most violent black street gangs in New York City during the 1970s After a life-changing visit to Africa, he changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chief Bhambatha, who led an armed rebellion against unfair economic practices in early 20th century South Africa that can be seen as a precursor to the anti-Apartheid movement. For other articles named Bhambatha see Bhambatha (disambiguation. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Bambaataa was influenced by the courage and strategic brilliance of Shaka Zulu seen in the movie and TV series "Shaka Zulu". Shaka (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca 1787 – ca

Inspired by DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee, he too began hosting Hip-Hop parties. Clive Campbell (born April 16 1955 AKA Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is credited as originating Hip hop After he returned from his life changing trip to Africa, he vowed to use Hip-Hop to draw angry kids out of gangs and formed Zulu Nation ^[2]

During 1982 Afrika Bambaataa and his followers group of dancers, artists and DJs went outside the United States on the first Hip-Hop tour. Bambataa saw that the Hip-Hop tours will be the key to help expand Hip-Hop and Universal Zulu Nation. In addition it will help promote the values of Hip-Hop that he believed are based on peace, unity, love, and having fun. His influence inspired many overseas artists like the French rapper MC. Solaar. ^[2] he was a popular DJ in South Bronx rap scene and became known not only as Afrika Bambaataa but also as the "Master of Records. " He established two rap crews: the Jazzy 5 including MCs Ice, Mr. Freeze, Master D. E. E, and AJ Les, and the second Crew referred to as Soulsonic Force including Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow and Emcee G. L. O. B. E. ^[3] In that same year Bambaataa and Solusonic Force dropped the live band to go high-tech. He was provided an eerie keyboard hook by Kraftwerk whose been known for robotic trance music and popular among inner-city youth and also provided electronic "beat-box" by producer Arther Baker and synthesizer player John Robie. That however resulted in a pop hit "Planet Rock" it went gold and generated an entire school of "electro-boggie" rap and dance music. Bambaataa formed his own label to release the Time Zone Compilation. He created "turntablism" as its own subgenre and the ratification of "electronica" as an industry-certified trend in the late '90s. Bambaataa established a name to be recognized not only inside the hip-hop community but outside as well. ^[3]

Moreover Bambaataa believed that the core values of Hip-Hop were: peace, unity, love and having fun. He was the "Godfather" of hip-hop as he is responsible for the Hip-Hop movement in Europe, Africa and Asia as well as the first one to name the culture Hip Hop. Bambaataa brought peace to the gangs as many artists and gang members say that "Hip-Hop saved a lot of lives". ^[4] Bambaataa became famous in the industry to due to his early use of drum machines and computer sounds. He was instrumental in changing the way R&B and other forms of Black music were recorded.

Birth of the Zulu Nation

Bambaataa decided to use his leadership to turn those involved in the gang life into something more positive to the community. This began the development of which later became known as the Universal Zulu Nation, a group of socially & politically aware rappers, B-boys, graffiti artists and other people involved in Hip Hop culture. The Universal Zulu Nation is an "international hip hop awareness" group formed and headed by Hip hop godfather Afrika Bambaataa. For information on the breakdancers see B-boy. Benjamin "Benny" Cuntapay (born December 29, 1978) is an American Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property By 1977, inspired by DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee and after Disco King Mario loaned him his first equipment, Bambaataa began organizing block parties all around the South Bronx. Disco King Mario was a pioneer of Hip hop. Mario belonged in the 1970s to the prominent DJs of the New York Bronx. A block party is a large public celebration in which many members of a single Neighborhood congregate either to observe an event of some importance or simply He even faced his long time friend, Disco King Mario in a DJ battle. He then began performing at Stevenson High School and formed the Bronx River Organization, then later simply "The Organization". Bambaataa had deejayed with his own sound system at the Bronx River Community Center, with Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, and Cowboy, who accompanied him in performances in the community. Because of his prior status in the Black Spades, he already had an established Army party crowd drawn from former members of the gang. He became known as one of the best DJs in the Bronx.

About a year later he reformed the group, calling it the Zulu Nation (inspired by his wide studies on African history at the time). Five b-boys (break dancers) joined him who he called the ZULU Kings,and later formed the Zulu Queens. Breakdance, breaking, b-boying or b-girling is a Street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among and the Shaka ZULU Kings and Queens. As he continued deejaying, more DJs, rappers, break dancers, graffiti writers, and artists followed him , and he took them under his wing and made them all members of his Zulu Nation. He was also the founder of the SoulSonic Force, which originally consisted of approximately twenty Zulu Nation members: Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, DJ Cowboy SoulSonic Force (#2), Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow, G. L. 0. B. E. (creator of the "MC popping" rap style), DJ Jazzy Jay, Cosmic Force, Queen Lisa Lee, Prince Ikey C, Ice Ice (#1), Chubby Chub; Jazzy Five-DJ Jazzy Jay, Mr. Jazzy Jay (b John Byas in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States, November 18, 1961) also known as The Original Freeze, Master D. E. E. , Kool DJ Red Alert, Sundance, Ice Ice (#2), CharlieChew, Master Bee, Busy Bee Starski, Akbar (Lil Starski), and Raheim. The personnel for the Soul Sonic Force were groups within groups with whom he would perform and make records.

In 1980, his groups made their first recording with Paul Winley Records titled, "Death Mix". Winley also recorded Soul Sonic Force's landmark single, "Zulu Nation Throwdown", produced Paul Winley. Afrika Bambaataa (born Kevin Donovan on April 17, 1957) is an American DJ from the South Bronx, who was instrumental in the Disappointed with the results of the single, he left the company.

Recognition

In 1982, Hip-Hop artist Fab 5 Freddy was putting together music packages in the largely white downtown Manhattan New Wave clubs, and invited Bam to perform at one of them, the Mudd Club. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York The Mudd Club was a TriBeCa Nightclub that was opened in October 1978 by publisher Steve Mass art curator Diego Cortez and singer Anya Philips. It was the first time Bam had performed before a predominantly white crowd, making it one of the first times that Hip-Hop had fused with White culture. Attendance for Bam's parties downtown became so large that he had to move to larger venues, first to the Ritz, with Malcolm McLaren's group Bow Wow Wow (and where the Rock Steady Crew b-boys became part of the Zulu Nation), then to the Peppermint Lounge, The Jefferson, Negril, Danceteria, and the Roxy. Bow Wow Wow was a 1980s New Wave band managed by former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren during 1980 The Peppermint Lounge was a popular Discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in midtown Manhattan that was open from 1961 to 1965 For other people and places named Roxy see Roxy and Roxy Theatre Roxy NYC (sometimes "Planet Rock", a popular single, came out that June under the name Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force. " Planet Rock " is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. The Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force) are an American Hip-hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped established The song borrowed musical motifs from German electro-pop, funk, and rock. All the different elements and musical styles were blended together; and in doing so, they offered Hip-Hop as a new vision for global harmony. The song became an immediate hit and stormed the music charts worldwide ^[2]. The song melded the main melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" with electronic beats based on their track "Numbers" as well as portions from records by Babe Ruth and Captain Sky^[5] - thus creating a new style of music altogether, electro funk. Kraftwerk (ˈkʁaftvɛɐk German for " power plant " or " Power station " is an influential Electronic music band from Trans-Europe Express is a 1977 album by German band Kraftwerk. George Herman Ruth Jr (February 6 1895 &ndash August 16 1948 also popularly known as " Babe " " The Bambino " and " The Sultan of Electro ( electro-boogie, electro-funk) is a Genre of Electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and Funk It influenced many styles of electronic and dance music, e. Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. g. freestyle music, house music and techno music. Freestyle or Latin Freestyle, also called Latin Hip Hop in its early years is a form of Electronic music that is heavily influenced by Latin American House music is a style of Electronic dance music initially popularized in mid-1980s Discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino Techno is a form of Electronic dance music (EDM that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s

Bambaataa organized the very first European hip hop tour. Along with himself were rapper and graffiti artist Rammellzee, Zulu Nation DJ Grand Mixer DXT (formerly Grand Mixer D. Rammellzee (or RAMMΣLLZΣΣ, pronounced "Ram Ell Zee" born 1960 in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York) is a Graffiti writer DJ Grandmixer DXT (formerly Grandmixer DST, born Derek Showard) is an American Turntablist. St), B-boy and B-girl crews the Rock Steady Crew, and the Double Dutch Girls, as well as legendary graffiti artists Fab 5 Freddy, PHASE 2, Futura 2000, and Dondi. Rock Steady Crew is a Breakdancing crew and hip hop group that was established in the Bronx, This article is on the Yo! MTV Raps host For the NHL player see Fred Brathwaite. This article is about the graffiti artist For information on clinical trials see Phase II clinical trials. Futura 2000 (born 1955) is an internationally acclaimed Graffiti artist This article is about the Graffiti artist For the Comic strip, see Dondi.

Afrika Bambaataa's second release around 1983 was "Looking for the Perfect Beat," then later, "Renegades of Funk," both with the same SoulSonic Force. " Looking For The Perfect Beat " is a 1983 electro / hip hop Song by Afrika Bambaataa. " Renegades of Funk " is a song written and recorded by Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force. He began working with producer Bill Laswell at Jean Karakos's Celluloid Records, where he developed and placed two groups on the label: "Time Zone" and "Shango". Celluloid Records, a French / American Record label, operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking He recorded "Wildstyle" with Time Zone, and he recorded a collaboration with punk-rocker John Lydon and Time Zone in 1984, titled "World Destruction". John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956 in London England also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British Rock musician best known as lead vocalist for the Punk World Destruction redirects here For the video game see World Destruction Michibikareshi Ishi. Shango's album Shango Funk Theology was also released by the label in 1984. That same year, Bam and other Hip-Hop celebrities appeared in the movie Beat Street. "Beat Street" may also refer to Orange Street in Kingston Jamaica. He also made a landmark recording with James Brown, titled "Unity. James Joseph Brown Jr (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006 commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" the "King of Funk" and "The " Unity " is a Song recorded by Afrika Bambaataa and James Brown as a Duet in 1984. " It was billed in music industry circles as "the Godfather of Soul meets the Godfather of Hip Hop. "

Around October 1985, Bambaataa and other music stars worked on the anti-apartheid album Sun City with Little Steven Van Zandt, Run-D.M.C., Lou Reed, and numerous others. Sun City was a 1985 Album that contained several versions of the Steven Van Zandt -led Artists United Against Apartheid 's " Sun Steven Van Zandt (born November 22, 1950) is an American Musician, Songwriter, Arranger, Record producer Run-DMC was a pioneering hip hop group during the 1980s founded by Joseph "[The Reverend] Run" Simmons, Darryl "D Lewis Allan Reed (born March 2 1942 is an American rock Singer-songwriter and Guitarist. During 1988, he recorded another landmark piece as "Afrika Bambaataa and Family" on Capitol Records, titled The Light^[6], featuring Nona Hendryx, UB40, Boy George, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Yellowman. Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as Nona Hendryx (born October 9 1944 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American Vocalist, Record producer, UB40 are a British Reggae band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. Featuring the same line-up of 8 musicians from 1978-2008 the band placed more than 50 Boy George (born George Alan O'Dowd 14 June 1961 in Eltham London) is an English Singer-songwriter, who was part of the English New William "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a Funk Bassist, Singer Yellowman (born Winston Foster in Negril, Jamaica in 1959 is a Jamaican Reggae (rub-a-dub and Dancehall Deejay, widely Bam had recorded a few other works with Family three years earlier, one titled "Funk you" in 85, and the other titled Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere) in 1986.

In 1990, Bambaataa made Life magazine's "Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" issue. He was also involved in the anti-apartheid work "Hip Hop Artists Against Apartheid" for Warlock Records. He teamed with the Jungle Brothers to record the album Return to Planet Rock (The Second Coming). The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group who pioneered the fusion of Jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music

Greenstreet Records, John Baker, and Bambaataa organized a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1990 for the A. original Wembley Stadium was a football Stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the N. C. (African National Congress), in honor of Nelson Mandela's release from prison (not to be confused with the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute held at the same venue two years earlier and organised by Jerry Dammers). The African National Congress (ANC has been South Africa 's governing party supported by its Tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a global broadcast event staged on June 11, 1988 at the Wembley Stadium, London Jerry Dammers (born Jeremy Dammers 22 May 1955, Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, South India) is a founder and keyboard player The concert brought together performances by British and American rappers, and also introduced both Nelson and Winnie Mandela and the A. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born September 26 1936 as Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela) is a South African politician who has held several government N. C. to hip-hop audiences. In relation to the event, the recording Ndodemnyama (Free South Africa) helped raise approximately $30,000 for the A. N. C. Bam also helped to raise funds for the organization in Italy.

From the mid-1990s, Bam returned to his electro roots, collaborating with WestBam (who was named after him) which culminated in the 2004 album Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light which featured Gary Numan and many others. WestBam, also known as Maximillian Lenz (born 4 March 1965 in Münster, Westphalia, Germany) is one of the most successful Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958 is an English singer composer and musician In 2000, Rage Against the Machine covered Afrika's song "Renegades of Funk" for their album Renegades. Rage Against the Machine (sometimes shortened to RATM or Rage) is Renegades is the fourth and final album by Rage Against the Machine. In that same year, Afrika Bambaataa collaborated with Leftfield on the song "Afrika Shox", the first single from Leftfield's Rhythm and Stealth. Leftfield were a duo of Electronica artists and Record producers Paul Daley (formerly of The Rivals, A Man Called Adam and the "Afrika Shox" is a song by Leftfield, the first single released from their album Rhythm and Stealth. Leftfield were a duo of Electronica artists and Record producers Paul Daley (formerly of The Rivals, A Man Called Adam and the Rhythm and Stealth is an album by Leftfield released on 20th September 1999. "Afrika Shox" is also popularly known from the soundtrack to Vanilla Sky. Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American Psychological thriller Film, which has been variously characterized by published film critics as "an odd In 2006, he was featured on the British singer Jamelia's album Walk With Me on a song called Do Me Right, and on Mekon's album Some Thing Came Up, on the track D-Funktional. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Jamelia Niela Davis (born on 11 January 1981) known simply as Jamelia, is a Mercury Music Prize nominated English R&B Mekon, also known as Agent Provocateur was born John Gosling in the UK. Bambaataa has also performed the lyrics on the track "Is There Anybody Out There" by The Bassheads. As an actor, he has played a variety of both hilarious and serious voice-over character roles in the international television series known around the world as Kung Faux [1] from Dubtitled Entertainment and Tommy Boy Films [2]. The term voice-over refers to a production technique where a non-diagetic voice is broadcast live or pre-recorded in Radio, Television, Film, Kung Faux is a comedy television series that remixes classic kung fu movies with popular music comic book style editing and video game style special effects and new voice-over dubbing A " dubtitle " is a term for a Subtitled show recorded on DVD in which the subtitles are merely transcriptions of the Dialogue spoken on the

On September 27, 2007, it was announced that Afrika Bambaataa was one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[7]

Present

On December 22nd, 2007, he made a surprise appearance performing at the First Annual Tribute Fit For the King of King Records, Mr. Dynamite James Brown in Covington, KY. James Joseph Brown Jr (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006 commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" the "King of Funk" and "The

Activism

Around the early 1990s, many violent films were produced that glorified California gang life, fueling hype about "Bloods" and "Crips". The Bloods is one of the street Gangs originally founded in Los Angeles The Crips are a primarily but not exclusively African American gang founded in Los Angeles California in 1969 mainly by 16-year-old Raymond The Bloods and Crips, two major black street gangs that feud in West Coast ghettos, had now been adopted by New York and other East Coast youth who admired the image seen on screen. A rash of initiation assaults, raids, and gang violence ensued after being denounced in the early stages of hip hop. Suddenly a trend of Bloods and Crips association and attire was seen in rap music, and gangs began to target innocent people and fight with each other. Bambaataa, having seen it lead to increased negativity in the past, began holding peace conferences. He called on all gang leaders from the Latin Kings street gang, Crips, and Bloods and formed a peace treaty in the streets. The Latin Kings are the oldest largest and most organized Hispanic Street Gang which has its roots dating back to the 1940s in Chicago Illinois Bambaataa is credited for preventing huge gang wars and an outbreak of crime while outsiders and politicians credited Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City at the time. KBE Per, "Postnominal letters should be included when they are issued by a country or organization the subject has been closely associated with The Mayor of New York City is the head of the executive branch of the Government of New York City.

Discography

Singles

Albums

Music sample

Planet Rock (sample)

Planet Rock was released in 1982 and is widely known as a pioneering track for rap music as a whole, as well as for Bambaataa. ZYX Music is a German Record label which was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light was a 2004 album by Afrika Bambaata of Tommy Boy Records.

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References

External links

• Afrika Bambaataa discography at MusicBrainz
• Afrika Bambaataa at the Internet Movie Database
• Afrika Bambaataa interview from 2005 in Los Angeles by Street Gangs Media
• Afrika Bambaataa at Rolling Stone