A man once lauded as one of the godfathers of Hip-Hop has his name echoing in courtrooms instead of through turntables. It’s been a quiet but seismic development: A judge has issued a default judgment against the legendary artist after he ignored a child sex abuse and trafficking lawsuit brought against him in 2021.
The lawsuit was filed by a man who identified himself as John Doe, who alleged Bambaataa had sexually abused him and trafficked him between 1991 and 1995. Doe, who was only 12 when the alleged rapes started, claims the abuse went on for four years while Bambaataa was in his early 30s.
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Although the allegations were serious, Bambaataa never filed an answer with the court. So Judge Alexander M. Tisch awarded the default judgment in Doe’s favor. The court will now have to decide on the amount that Bambaataa will be required to pay in damages, which a Special Referee will determine.
These are not the first disturbing allegations to be brought against Bambaataa. In 2016, Ronald Savage came forward with similar allegations, accusing Bambaataa of sexually abusing him in the 1980s when he was a teenager. Savage’s account was the first bit other men quickly came forward to tell of similarly odd experiences. Bambaataa denied the accusations, calling them “baseless” and “false.”
Although he has denied doing so and following a free lawyer to represent any woman he allegedly raped in their reporting, the OG of the Universal Zulu Nation, the cultural and social movement he was instrumental in founding, issued a public apology for not investigating the accusations against him, and distanced itself from him. Bambaataa stepped down from his leadership position soon after and has largely disappeared from public view.
It’s a sorry comedown for a man whose music once sounded like the future. Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force, in the early ‘80s, changed the game of Hip-Hop. Their 1982 hit, “Planet Rock,” was a fusion of German electro-pop, disco rap, and futurist synths, a sound that went on to form the foundation of techno, house, and Miami bass for years to come. With anthems like “Looking for the Perfect Beat” and “Renegades of Funk,” Bambaataa helped move Hip-Hop away from party music toward an age of musical exploration and genre-blurring.
However, the same man who, at one time, was an icon of peace, unity, and social elevation now finds his legacy sullied by alarming allegations. For some, the music seems timeless, but the man behind it, once seen as a visionary responding to his dark world, is now being held to account in a way that goes beyond beats and rhymes.
Now, as the legal system gears up to decide how much money should be awarded in damages in the wake of this default judgment, those shadows over Bambaataa’s past are becoming more challenging to skirt. The turntables have stopped, but the reverberations of these allegations are anyone’s “truths” any more than anyone else’s? They are loud, still, and long overdue for their accusers.
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