Afrika Bambaataa in the Building.. Incredible photos from this past weekends Zulu Anniversary.. Click HERE to see more
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Today November 12th we celebrate the 36th Anniversary of Hip Hop culture and the 37th Anniversary of the Universal Zulu Nation..Folks from all over the world are gathered in New York City this weekend for celebrations at the Hip Hop Cultural Theater 2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd..Special guests will be the legendary group X-Clan who are celebrating their 20th anniversary.
It’s at this time of year we dig deep and explore various aspects of culture and history. We decided to lace folks with excerpts from an in-depth interview myself and fellow journalist Mark Skillz did with Afrika Bambaataa several years ago. He went in and gave us a lot keen insight about the early days into the pioneering days of the ’70s. We talk about the gangs and gang culture and how that lead to the forming of Zulu nation. Bam opens up and talks about his Warlord days and the types of steps he and others took to raise consciousness. He puts an end to the misinformation about how everybody started breakdancing instead of fighting. Instead he goes in and explains how steps were taken to bring about peace during those rough and tumble years.
Bam clarifies when he first emerged on the scene. he talks about his early trips to Afrika and how he was inspired by Fela Kuti. Bam notes that many think he came around after Kool Herc. He goes in and explains in detail when he first emerged on the scene and why.
Bam talks about the work he did with the late Disco King Mario and he talks about the influence Brooklyn based deejays like DJ Plummer, Grandmaster Flowers, Maboya and others had on the early scene. He talks about the Jamaican and Caribbean Influence and how certain aspects of scenes were inspired Black radio deejays in the United States.
Bam also goes in and talks about how the Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam impacted early Hip Hop culture.
You can peep this incredible interview by clicking the links below.
Breakdown FM: Afrika Bambaataa Interview pt1