"Take one of the genre’s founding fathers, Afrika Bambaataa. He used to be a genuine hero of mine. Nobody could be said to have forged hip-hop with his own hands more than him. Through his group, the Zulu Nation, the DJ and community leader channelled toxic gang culture into a positive, nascent, working-class art form called hip-hop. But in 2016, after several allegations of having sexually abused and trafficked minors as young as 12 dating back to 1980, he was disowned by the Zulu Nation. The group issued an open apology to those who had allegedly been abused by Bambaataa. Hip-hop as a wider culture has absolutely not processed or commented on this, and there’s certainly no mention of it in the documentary – which flashes his name and image in episode one like it ain’t no thing."
~ Oliver Keens
"In its 50th year, hip-hop needs to acknowledge its failings" | The Independent
No comments:
Post a Comment