Afrika Bambaataa
Can't stop the Planet Rock
Who is Afrika Bambaataa?
He is: The Godfather of Hip Hop Culture. Knowledge. Wisdom. Understanding. Freedom. Justice. Equality. Peace. Unity. Love. Respect. Work. Fun. Economics. Mathematics. Science. Facts. Faith. Life. Truth.
Reborn on Planet Earth sometime between 1957 and 1960, the man born as Kevin Donovan was just another child surviving with his family in the ghettos of America. In time, his experiments would radically change New York City. As a rebellious youth running the streets, he was a gang member and eventually a division leader of the notorious Black Spades, a crew that virtually dominated the streets of New York City. Afrika Bambaataa took his status in the Black Spades seriously and eventually decided to elevate the concept into a community organization that preached self-defence and personal empowerment.
Forming 'The Organization', which was a performing group of friends, he threw successful parties all over the city. He was christened the notorious "Master of Records” for his uncomparable collection of vinyl from every genre of music: rock, disco, funk, soul, country, and so much more. Nearly a year later, he renamed the group "The Zulu Nation", inspired by the African tribe of the same name. Shaka Zulu Kings and Queens were the b-boys and b-girls that built the legacy with Afrika Bambaataa around New York City.
Bam soon after created the SoulSonic Force, which consisted of members from the ever-expanding Zulu Nation. He started recording with virtually every pioneering deejay and emcee of the day, creating timeless electro-funk masterpieces with a variety of record labels, including Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy Records.
Since the early 1980's, Afrika Bambaataa has been a peaceful leader, a pioneer, a godfather, a creator, and a legend to hip hop culture while it has grown into the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. His records are numerous, his travels are global, his influence is immeasurable, and the respect due to be given to him, is without equal. He has worked with a who's who list of artists, some of which include George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Boy George, Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, and the legendary James Brown. He has produced some of the most important pieces of wax in the history of the record player, including 'Planet Rock', 'Looking For The Perfect Beat', 'Renegades of Funk' and 'Wild Style' to name a few.
To attempt to encapsulate the contributions of Afrika Bambaataa in one piece of writing is to try and hear 30 years of hip hop history in one day. He has given so much art, energy, thought, and spirituality to the world This man is a living legend if there ever was one produced by hip hop culture. Check the interview:
EW: Black Spades was your game and you all became Zulu Nation. It’s a beautiful thing to see you transform something negative to a positive, but what if the government saw Zulu Nation as terrorist group?
AB: Well the government can look at anything as terror. They could look at they own selves, they could look at any street goose as terror, they could look at their own police force, they could look at politicians, it’s how you define what is a terrorist. What is a terrorist in the eyes of the supreme force? Where do all these funny words come from? We’re just human beings on a planet, so what a terrorist might be to someone, might be a freedom fighter to another. It’s how you define the word terrorist.
EW: Did you have a dream when you were younger about hip hop culture's expansion and the way it is today?
AB: The Zulu Nation and myself had a vision on where we wanted to take this. It was through the Universal Zulu Nation and my travels that I was going to make sure that it was going to get into many different countries around our planet. My vision in this millennium that as we become galactic people, intergalactic human beings, that we see hip hop in many other planets or solar systems. And it’s not far fetched, because the guy from Virgin Records [Richard Branson] claims that he takes $100,000 and people be ready to go into space just to visit.
EW: How about Planet Rock, did you feel at the time that the record would have thousands of remixes?
AB: Well I never thought it was going to last this long and still be strongly played. When I started seeing that it was the most sampled record ever in hip hop history and the people just keep remixing it and doing it over, it’s amazing. It stands the test of time, just like some of the great records thats been out there for many other artists. I am blessed to be among all them. The creators blessed me and my group and the people to really make it. They still play Planet Rock or any other songs they got, we just want people to stop thinking that Planet Rock is my only record that I have. I have hundreds of other records and many other different styles of records in other countries too!
EW: You have done some very serious anti-apartheid ventures in life. How do you feel social change can be accomplished through music? What new approaches do you feel people should take these days?
AB: Music always played a big role in social change and changing peoples ideologies or their feelings. There are certain songs that always stand a test of time, that made people get up or rally. You had your war songs, “Ring About War”. You had your peace songs in the sixties in the Woodstock era, Sly and the Family Stone 's “You Can Make It If You Try”, James Brown's “Say It Loud Black and Proud,” Country Joe McDonald's “Fixing The Dow”, “What You Fighting For In Vietnam”, Jonn Lennon, “Power To The People” the Isaac Brothers, “Fight the Power” Public Enemy; so there is certain songs that always grab certain people. They give them a feeling or make them get up and do something, so you respect all those artists that might have come together against apartheid, or to feed the world or to teach the world or the Farm Aid or the Live Aid and with my man Bono U2 helping out in Africa. You know people starving and hungry ‘cus there should be no one starving on the planet. Africa could feed the world 10-15 times over. Who’s paying the money to keep farmland, or keep making people stay poor or in bad health? Nobody should be sick over the planet, health should be insured for everybody.
EW: You bring such an amazing artistic imagination to hip hop culture. Where do you feel your imagination comes from?
AB: I say, from the supreme forces called by many names. Ali Jahoa, Yahoeh, Elohim, Jah, or the ancient of all ancient names Atum Amun-Ra. I get my inspiration from the supreme forces and then as well as some of the greats who went before me. Sly Stone, John Lennon, James Brown, Elijah Mohammad, Minister Fry, Malcolm X. Too many different groups that I have seen and too many of the profits, gods and goddesses of the world of the universe and Extraterrestrials.
EW: I am a believer in that too -- a mind is only as big as you imagine it to be.
AB: Most definitely.
EW: Do you want to speak on that?
AB: Anyone who thinks that we are the only beings on this planet is crazy as hell. We are on a planet with beings that are different beings on this planet. I mean you could just look at roaches, insects, the things that are in the water, we still don’t know what’s in the water. People say "You really believe there is things out there?" I said, "No, I know there’s things out there!" And I say, "Where do you think we're at? The earth is sitting up there as part of the universe!” Zulu Nation has been telling people there are more then nine planets in our solar system for many years, people used to think we crazy. But now what do they tell us? They don’t even think Pluto is a planet and they say they found another one, Planet X, and then they found 250 more, and other galaxies. And that number is going to keep rising. So when you start getting into astrology and the zodiac, and the cosmos and the universe, you will see how deep it will really get. What you think, you are the only person or the only being on the planet? That’s making God look like a chump!
EW: I feel ya. Also, speak about the conspiracy to destroy hip hop, about corporations and labels. How do you feel we can take our power back?
AB: We have a campaign happening. In February, many nationalities and races came down, because people are sick and tired of many of these radio stations who are playing the same ten records over and over. All the payouts that have been going on for many years, and not playing good music. We've got twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, and you going to tell me you're going to play these same records over and over again; there’s no point in playing some of them. We want the balance, as we say the balance of Maya, saying that if you play new hip hop we want to hear old hip hop. You playing 50 Cent we want to hear Common Sense, you play Limp Bizkit, Korn, and rock music; we want to hear the Beatles and the Rolling Stones even Chuck Berry and Little Richard. You play all new soul, new artists like Mary J and any groups is out there, we still want to hear the Temptations, Sly and the Family Stone. And electro, we still want to hear Kraftwork and the Yellow Magic Orchestra. In reggae, you play Sean Paul but we still want to hear Bob Marley, Yellow Man. Salsa: we still want to hear Sylvia Cruise, Billy Cologne. Calypso: you still want to hear Calypso Rolls and Kisna Spiral. So we saying, whatever you play, new baroque, your classical; whatever you play anything new, also play the old, and this way its a balance. We aren’t saying censorship, and if you wanna keep using the B and the N word, more power to you. But we want to hear something from other artists and other groups and some local groups on the air. The Balance of Maya.
EW: Can you give a personal story from your travels around the world, something that people might get some insight from?
AB: People around the world want a roof over their head and want to be able to eat and take care of theyselves and their family. Health is a big thing that people really want throughout the planet. As well, people just want to be theyselves, and love their music and do what they got to do to work. This is a problem that people gotta start looking at themselves as human beings, and see what all of us as humans can do to make life better for every human being on the planet. If an earthquake or a problem happens in India then everybody from every country should try they best to help out to fix it. If a tsunami happened in another place, then we need to put our resources to help get that area back in order. Why are we trying to keep certain people poor or blind, deaf and dumb. Or keeping them from health, not being right. Where is all this tricknology coming from? Before you even step into the hospital they got a bill for you and give you a pill. What happened to the natural cures that take care of many people on the planet? Many of them don't want you to take care of yourself ‘cus it’s all about the money. When you make the money your God, then you become the devil.
EW: So why don’t hip hop stop, why don’t hip hop quit, WHY?
AB: ‘Cus they like rocking to the planet rock, hahahaha. Don’t Stop!!!
EW: In 2006 people talk about “Hip Hop is Dead!”
AB: They gotta be careful with that. When they say “hip hop is dead”, what hip hop is they talking about? Are they talking about rap, certain styles of rap? As most people, like I said,when you say hip hop think that its just rap records. They not talking about the culture hip hop, so they gotta be careful when they say hip hop is dead. ‘Cus if you hearing all these gangster records or B words and N words calling the women a lot of names, that’s when you think it's dead. But as a culture, the culture is still driving from countries to countries, from city to city, from town to town so it depends on how they look at the word hip hop. They never come back to the true school pioneers to find out what was you telling them about hip hop. They're taking the word, or what the MTV or the BETs or the media or the video talk shows give them instead of coming back and asking us true schoolers about what hip hop is.
EW: I could talk to you forever but I will end on this question. I can't thank you enough for the wisdom you have given. What do you want your legacy to be, Afrika Bambaattaa, Zulu Nation?
AB: The people and the supreme force that write whatever to be. But my thing is to always try to bring people together in unification and to see ourselves as humans on this planet so-called Earth, and what can we do to change the betterment of life for all people on the planet Earth and to respect what so-called black, brown, yellow, red and white people have done to better civilization for people to live on this planet so-called Earth, and recognize that we are not alone.
Fore more about Afrika Bambaata and the Zulu Nation, check out the Zulu Nation website.
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Now THATS Hip Hop!!!
Bambaata was there at the beginning,so he is in a position to say what real hip hop is.I dont want some foul mouthed, big headed 20 year old idiot,with no talent ,and less creativity,talking about real hip hop,just because has has a cousin - twice removed, who once went to prison,or once drove through the south bronx in the back of a taxi.just because you sell millions of records,dont make you talented,if that is the case,then the spice girls should have done a jazz fusion version of seargent pepper!I hope commercial does die a death,and the multinationals move on to something else (as happened to Disco -read up kids,cos its happening again!)then we will get get rid of all the posers and glory boys.and finally get back to Hip Hop as it should be - ideas ,innovation ,intelligence...and fun.yes FUN!!!
word
Now that's some shit to get down too...
good interview :-)
Hi,
your interview that was the best thing about Afrika Bambaataa that I have found when I searched for weblog results today. I will make a link from my weblog http://nordseemix.wordpress.com/.
I just found two mistakes in the text. He talks about "the balance of Ma'at", and I am sure he said "street groups" and not "street goose". But everything else is quite good, also thank you for the video.
Best regards from Hamburg, Germany ;-)
Daniela
Love your contribution and I need yur help (no its
Hello I'm highschool student
doing a project on hip-hop music (emphasis on b-boying)but every scource I have found has led me to Afrika Bambaataa and I would like to show my class the variety of artistic contributions laid in hip-hop. I was wondering if I could use your video to put in my power-point presentation. I would give you complete credit for your efforts here.