Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa dies at age 68

Hip hop DJ pioneer Afrika Bambaataa speaks at a news conference in New York on Feb. 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File) 2026-04-09T23:58:07Z Afrika Bambaataa, a man widely considered one of the main pioneers of hip-hop, died in Pennsylvania of prostate cancer on Thursday, according to his lawyer. He was 68. Bambaataa’s sudden death was met with an outpouring of condolences from friends, family and fans across the world, who paid tribute to his profound and unmistakable impact on one of the world’s most popular and politically influential music genres. But others have said that his impact was overshadowed in recent years after numerous men who knew Bambaataa when they were boys accused him of sexual abuse. The rapper and producer is best known for breakthrough tracks like 1982’s “Planet Rock” and for founding the Universal Zulu Nation art collective. “Hip Hop will never be the same without him -- but everything hip hop is today, it is because of him. His spirit lives in every beat, every cypher and every corner of this globe he touched,” his talent agency, Naf Management Entertainment, wrote in an emailed statement on Tuesday. The birthplace of hip hop Bambaataa was Lance Taylor born in 1957 in the South Bronx, and he came of age at a time when the New York City neighborhood was rapidly deteriorating after intensifying segregation and years of economic neglect. By the 1970s and 1980s, landlords were burning apartment buildings to collect insurance money instead of investing in repairs, leaving low-income mostly Puerto Rican and Black families without socioeconomic opportunity. Bambaataa had Jamaican and Barbadian heritage, and he was raised in a low-income public housing complex by his mother, according to an interview he gave Frank Broughton in 1998. He was exposed to music at an early age through his mother’s vinyl record collection. The ability to repurpose and mix old hits became one of his signatures at the parties he began to throw in community centers across the neighborhood in the early 1970s, Bambaataa said in the interview. He was deeply inspired by the work of Kool Herc, who is often deemed the father of hip-hop. Bambaataa and the parties where he DJ’ed swelled in popularity throughout the decade and well into the 1980s, when he released a series of electro tracks that helped shaped the burgeoning hip-hop and electro-funk music movements. He also was one of the first DJs to use beat breaks, incorporating the iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine. /* Desktop-first: fully collapse by default */ #ap-readmore-embed { display: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 0; min-height: 0; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; position: relative; z-index: 2; } /* Only show on mobile */ @media (max-width: 767px) { #ap-readmore-embed { display: block; margin: 28px 0; height: auto; overflow: visible; } } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn { appearance: none; -webkit-appearance: none; border: 0; background: #000; color: #fff; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; gap: 10px; padding: 14px 22px; border-radius: 999px; font-family: inherit, "AP Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 1; box-shadow: 0 10px 18px rgba(0,0,0,0.12); transition: transform 120ms ease, box-shadow 120ms ease, opacity 120ms ease; touch-action: manipulation; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; position: relative; z-index: 3; } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn:hover { transform: translateY(-1px); box-shadow: 0 14px 22px rgba(0,0,0,0.16); } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn:active { transform: translateY(0); box-shadow: 0 10px 18px rgba(0,0,0,0.12); opacity: 0.95; } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-btn:focus-visible { outline: 3px solid rgba(228, 0, 43, 0.35); outline-offset: 3px; } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-icon { width: 10px; height: 10px; border-right: 2px solid currentColor; border-bottom: 2px solid currentColor; transform: rotate(45deg); margin-top: -2px; } #ap-readmore-embed .ap-readmore-fade { display: none; height: 48px; margin-top: -48px; pointer-events: none; background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(255,255,255,0), rgba(255,255,255,1)); } Read More (function () { var APRM_EMBED_ID = "ap-readmore-embed"; var APRM_MOBILE_MQ = "(max-width: 767px)"; function APRM_onReady(fn) { if (document.readyState === "loading") { document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", fn); } else { fn(); } } APRM_onReady(function () { var APRM_embedEl = document.getElementById(APRM_EMBED_ID); if (!APRM_embedEl) return; // 🚨 DESKTOP: remove entire module wrapper and bail early if (!window.matchMedia(APRM_MOBILE_MQ).matches) { var APRM_rootModule = APRM_embedEl.closest(".HTMLModuleEnhancement") || APRM_embedEl.closest(".HtmlModule"); if (APRM_rootModule && APRM_rootModule.parentNode) { APRM_rootModule.parentNode.removeChild(APRM_rootModule); } else if (APRM_embedEl.parentNode) { APRM_embedEl.parentNode.removeChild(APRM_embedEl); } return; // stop the rest of the script from running } }); })(); (function () { var EMBED_ID = "ap-readmore-embed"; var BTN_ID = "apReadMoreBtn"; var FADE_ID = "apReadMoreFade"; var STOP_SELECTOR = ".Page-below"; var SIGN_IN_GATE_SELECTOR = ".sign-in-gate-content"; var HIDDEN_ATTR = "data-ap-readmore-hidden"; var MOBILE_MQ = "(max-width: 767px)"; function ready(fn) { if (document.readyState === "loading") { document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", fn); } else { fn(); } } function isElementNode(n) { return n && n.nodeType === 1; } function cancelEvent(e) { if (!e) return; if (typeof e.preventDefault === "function") e.preventDefault(); if (typeof e.stopPropagation === "function") e.stopPropagation(); if (typeof e.stopImmediatePropagation === "function") e.stopImmediatePropagation(); e.cancelBubble = true; e.returnValue = false; } function collapseDesktopEmbed(embed) { if (!embed) return true; if (!window.matchMedia(MOBILE_MQ).matches) { var maybeWrappers = [ embed.parentElement, embed.closest(".html-embed"), embed.closest("[data-type='htmlembed']"), embed.closest("[class*='embed']"), embed.closest("[class*='Embed']") ].filter(Boolean); embed.style.display = "none"; embed.style.margin = "0"; embed.style.padding = "0"; embed.style.height = "0"; embed.style.minHeight = "0"; embed.style.overflow = "hidden"; maybeWrappers.forEach(function (el) { el.style.margin = "0"; el.style.padding = "0"; el.style.height = "0"; el.style.minHeight = "0"; el.style.overflow = "hidden"; }); if (embed.parentNode) { embed.parentNode.removeChild(embed); } return true; } return false; } ready(function () { var embed = document.getElementById(EMBED_ID); var btn = document.getElementById(BTN_ID); var fade = document.getElementById(FADE_ID); if (!embed || !btn) return; if (collapseDesktopEmbed(embed)) return; var signInGate = document.querySelector(SIGN_IN_GATE_SELECTOR); if (signInGate) { embed.innerHTML = ""; return; } // — Analytics: impression when embed enters viewport — if ("IntersectionObserver" in window) { var io = new IntersectionObserver(function (entries, observer) { if (entries[0].isIntersecting) { window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; window.dataLayer.push({ event: "ap_readmore_impression" }); observer.disconnect(); } }, { threshold: 0 }); io.observe(btn); } var stopEl = document.querySelector(STOP_SELECTOR); if (!stopEl) return; var rootCandidates = [ embed.closest(".Page"), embed.closest("article"), embed.closest("main"), document.body ].filter(Boolean); var root = rootCandidates.find(function (c) { return c.contains(stopEl); }) || document.body; var all = root.getElementsByTagName("*"); var hidden = []; for (var i = 0; i “We was playin’ everything, everything that was funky,” he said. He later added that what set his parties apart was that “other DJs would play they great records for fifteen, twenty minutes. We was changing ours every minute or two. I couldn’t have no breakbeat go longer than a minute or two.” At that time, Bambaataa said in previous interviews that he was able to leverage his affiliation with the local street gang the Black Spades in order to form a group he called the Zulu Nation, a nod to a South African ethnic group that he drew inspiration from. His slogan eventually became known as “peace, love, unity and having fun,” and he said that he sought to use hip-hops’ ballooning popularity to resolve local gang conflicts. Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day. Email address Sign up By checking this box, you agree to AP's Terms of Use and acknowledge that AP may collect and use your data pursuant to our Privacy Policy. [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] { display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-start; gap: 16px; width: 100%; max-width: 720px; min-width: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 16px; box-sizing: border-box; border-radius: 8px; border: 1px solid #E6E6E7; background: #F2F2F2; box-shadow: 0 4px 4px 4px rgba(102, 102, 102, 0.40); font-family: "AP Var", system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: #000; container-type: inline-size; container-name: ap-nl-nlmw25; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; align-self: center; justify-self: center; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-accent-nlmw25 { width: 48px; height: 6px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-title-nlmw25 { align-self: stretch; color: #000; font-family: "AP Var", system-ui, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 150%; margin: 0; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-title-nlmw25 strong { font-weight: 700; line-height: 130%; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-form-nlmw25 { margin: 0; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 16px; width: 100%; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-row-nlmw25 { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 12px; width: 100%; flex-wrap: nowrap; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25 { width: 100%; min-width: 0; border: 1px solid #E6E6E7; border-radius: 10px; padding: 11px 12px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.2; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; background: #fff; color: #000; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-wrapper-nlmw25 { display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-start; gap: 8px; flex: 1 0 0; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25:focus { border-color: rgba(0,0,0,.35); box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px rgba(255, 50, 46, 0.18); } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-button-nlmw25 { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; height: 40px; max-height: 40px; padding: 8px 16px; border-radius: 24px; background: #191919; color: #ffffff; border: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1; cursor: pointer; white-space: nowrap; transition: background 150ms ease, transform 120ms ease; flex: 0 0 auto; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-button-nlmw25:hover { background: #000000; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-button-nlmw25:active { transform: scale(0.98); } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-disclaimer-nlmw25 { display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: flex-start; gap: 8px; align-self: stretch; background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); background-blend-mode: multiply; margin: 0; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-check-nlmw25 { display: flex; gap: 8px; align-items: flex-start; user-select: none; cursor: pointer; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-checkbox-nlmw25 { margin-top: 2px; width: 16px; height: 16px; accent-color: var(--ap-accent); flex: 0 0 auto; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-checktext-nlmw25 { font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.35; color: var(--ap-muted); } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] a { color: var(--ap-text); text-decoration: underline; text-underline-offset: 2px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] a:hover { color: var(--ap-accent); } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-messages-nlmw25 { margin: 0; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-error-nlmw25:empty, [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-help-nlmw25:empty { display: none; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-help-nlmw25 { margin: 0; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-messages-nlmw25:has(.ap-newsletter-error-nlmw25:empty):has(.ap-newsletter-help-nlmw25:empty) { display: none; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-error-nlmw25 { margin: 0; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.35; color: var(--ap-error); min-height: 1.2em; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-help-nlmw25 { margin: 6px 0 0; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.35; color: var(--ap-muted); } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25].is-submitted-nlmw25 .ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25 { background: rgba(0,0,0,.04); border-color: rgba(0,0,0,.10); color: rgba(0,0,0,.70); cursor: default; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25].is-submitted-nlmw25 .ap-newsletter-button-nlmw25 { display: none; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25].is-submitted-nlmw25 .ap-newsletter-disclaimer-nlmw25 { display: none; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-bot-field-nlmw25 { position: absolute !important; left: -9999px; top: -9999px; width: 1px; height: 1px; opacity: 0; pointer-events: none; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-sr-only-nlmw25 { position: absolute !important; width: 1px; height: 1px; padding: 0; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; clip: rect(0,0,0,0); white-space: nowrap; border: 0; } @container ap-nl-nlmw25 (max-width: 420px) { [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] { max-width: 350px; padding: 16px; gap: 12px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-form-nlmw25 { gap: 12px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-row-nlmw25 { flex-direction: column; align-items: stretch; gap: 12px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-button-nlmw25 { width: 100%; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-wrapper-nlmw25, [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25 { width: 100%; } } @media (max-width: 420px) { [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] { max-width: 350px; padding: 16px; gap: 12px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-form-nlmw25 { gap: 12px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-row-nlmw25 { flex-direction: column; align-items: stretch; gap: 12px; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-button-nlmw25 { width: 100%; } [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-wrapper-nlmw25, [data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25] .ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25 { width: 100%; } } const NL_DEFAULT_CONFIG_NLMW25 = { apiUrl: '/api/newsletter/signup', defaultNewsletterList: ['Morning Wire Subscribers'], recaptchaSiteKey: '6Lf06WQrAAAAABB9Ms3Gru2SFLSxUYrLqP5YLDMn', recaptchaHeader: 'X-ReCaptcha-Token', /* UTM params to append to the page URL used as the request referrer. This does NOT modify the subscription payload. */ referrerUtmParams: { utm_source: 'embed' }, messages: { invalidEmail: 'Please use a valid email address.', disclaimerRequired: 'Please check disclaimer before proceeding.', invalidBoth: 'Please provide a valid email address, and check disclaimer.', genericError: 'Something went wrong. Please try again later.', botBlocked: 'Please try again.', recaptchaLoadFail: 'Failed to load reCAPTCHA. Please refresh the page and try again.', recaptchaRequired: 'reCAPTCHA verification is required. Please ensure reCAPTCHA is loaded on this page.', recaptchaFailed: 'reCAPTCHA verification failed. Please refresh the page and try again.', verificationFailed: 'Verification failed. Please try again.' } }; (function (nlConfigNLMW25) { const nlEmailRegexNLMW25 = /^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]{2,}$/; const nlRecaptchaCheckIntervalNLMW25 = 100; const nlRecaptchaMaxAttemptsNLMW25 = 50; function nlIsValidEmailNLMW25(email) { return nlEmailRegexNLMW25.test(String(email || '').trim()); } function nlBuildReferrerUrlNLMW25(utmParams) { try { const url = new URL(window.location.href); Object.entries(utmParams || {}).forEach(([key, value]) => { if (value !== undefined && value !== null && value !== '') { url.searchParams.set(key, value); } }); return url.toString(); } catch (err) { console.warn('Unable to build referrer URL with UTM params:', err); return window.location.href; } } function nlLoadRecaptchaScriptNLMW25(siteKey, callback) { if (typeof window.grecaptcha !== 'undefined') { callback && callback(); return; } const existingScript = document.querySelector('script[src*="recaptcha/api.js"]'); if (existingScript) { const checkInterval = setInterval(() => { if (typeof window.grecaptcha !== 'undefined') { clearInterval(checkInterval); callback && callback(); } }, nlRecaptchaCheckIntervalNLMW25); return; } const script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = `https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?render=${encodeURIComponent(siteKey)}`; script.async = true; script.defer = true; script.onload = () => callback && callback(); script.onerror = () => { console.error('Failed to load reCAPTCHA script'); callback && callback(false); }; document.head.appendChild(script); } function nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(callback, maxAttempts = nlRecaptchaMaxAttemptsNLMW25) { let attempts = 0; const checkRecaptcha = () => { attempts++; if ( typeof window.grecaptcha !== 'undefined' && typeof window.grecaptcha.execute === 'function' ) { callback(true); } else if (attempts token && token.length > 0 ? token : null) .catch(error => { const errorMsg = error?.message || String(error); if ( errorMsg.includes('No reCAPTCHA clients') || errorMsg.includes('not initialized') || errorMsg.includes('Invalid site key') ) { throw new Error('recaptcha_failed'); } throw error; }); } const nlEmbedsNLMW25 = document.querySelectorAll('[data-ap-newsletter-embed-nlmw25]'); nlEmbedsNLMW25.forEach((rootNLMW25, idxNLMW25) => { const formNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-form-nlmw25'); const emailInputNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-input-nlmw25'); const checkboxNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-checkbox-nlmw25'); const errorElNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-error-nlmw25'); const helpElNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-help-nlmw25'); const botFieldNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-bot-field-nlmw25'); const recaptchaDivNLMW25 = rootNLMW25.querySelector('.ap-newsletter-recaptcha-nlmw25'); let nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; const newsletterListNLMW25 = nlConfigNLMW25.defaultNewsletterList; const recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25 = nlConfigNLMW25.recaptchaSiteKey; const requestReferrerNLMW25 = nlBuildReferrerUrlNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.referrerUtmParams); const emailIdNLMW25 = `nl-email-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; const helpIdNLMW25 = `nl-help-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; const errIdNLMW25 = `nl-error-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; const recaptchaIdNLMW25 = `recaptcha-nlmw25-${idxNLMW25}`; emailInputNLMW25.id = emailIdNLMW25; helpElNLMW25.id = helpIdNLMW25; errorElNLMW25.id = errIdNLMW25; if (recaptchaDivNLMW25) { recaptchaDivNLMW25.id = recaptchaIdNLMW25; if (recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25) { recaptchaDivNLMW25.setAttribute('data-sitekey', recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25); } } emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-describedby', `${helpIdNLMW25} ${errIdNLMW25}`); const nlSetErrorNLMW25 = (msg) => { errorElNLMW25.textContent = msg || ''; errorElNLMW25.style.display = msg ? 'block' : 'none'; }; const nlHideErrorNLMW25 = () => nlSetErrorNLMW25(''); const nlSetSubmittedNLMW25 = () => { rootNLMW25.classList.add('is-submitted-nlmw25'); emailInputNLMW25.value = 'SUBMITTED'; emailInputNLMW25.style.fontWeight = 'bold'; emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('readonly', 'readonly'); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'false'); nlHideErrorNLMW25(); }; const nlSubscribeNLMW25 = (tokenNLMW25) => { if (nlIsSubmittingNLMW25) return; if (botFieldNLMW25?.value) { console.warn('Bot field filled --', botFieldNLMW25.value); nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.botBlocked); return; } const emailNLMW25 = String(emailInputNLMW25.value || '').trim(); const emailOkNLMW25 = nlIsValidEmailNLMW25(emailNLMW25); const disclaimerOkNLMW25 = checkboxNLMW25.checked; if (!emailOkNLMW25 && !disclaimerOkNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.invalidBoth); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'true'); emailInputNLMW25.focus(); return; } if (!emailOkNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.invalidEmail); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'true'); emailInputNLMW25.focus(); return; } if (!disclaimerOkNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.disclaimerRequired); checkboxNLMW25.focus(); return; } nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = true; const headersNLMW25 = { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }; if (tokenNLMW25) { headersNLMW25[nlConfigNLMW25.recaptchaHeader] = tokenNLMW25; } fetch(nlConfigNLMW25.apiUrl, { method: 'POST', headers: headersNLMW25, body: JSON.stringify({ emailId: emailNLMW25, newsLetterListToSubscribe: newsletterListNLMW25 }), /* This is the key change: send the current page URL + UTM params as the referrer. Example: https://.../article/... ?utm_source=embed */ referrer: requestReferrerNLMW25, referrerPolicy: 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' }) .then(response => response.json() .then(data => ({ status: response.status, data })) .catch(() => ({ status: response.status, data: null })) ) .then(result => { nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; const hasVerificationErrorNLMW25 = result.data && ( result.data.message?.includes('Verification Failed') || result.data.error?.includes('Verification Failed') ); if (hasVerificationErrorNLMW25) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.verificationFailed); return; } if (result.status === 200) { if (typeof window.NLSignup === 'function') { try { window.NLSignup(emailNLMW25); } catch (err) {} } window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('nl:newsletterSignup:nlmw25', { detail: { email: emailNLMW25, source: 'Morning Wire Embed', newsletters: newsletterListNLMW25, referrer: requestReferrerNLMW25 } })); nlSetSubmittedNLMW25(); } else { const errorMsgNLMW25 = result.data?.message || result.data?.error || nlConfigNLMW25.messages.genericError; nlSetErrorNLMW25(errorMsgNLMW25); } }) .catch(error => { nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; console.error('Newsletter subscription error:', error); nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.genericError); }); }; const nlAttemptRecaptchaNLMW25 = () => { if (!recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25) { nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(isAvailable => { if (!isAvailable) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaRequired); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } nlExecuteRecaptchaNLMW25() .then(token => nlSubscribeNLMW25(token)) .catch(() => nlSubscribeNLMW25(null)); }); return; } nlLoadRecaptchaScriptNLMW25(recaptchaSiteKeyNLMW25, success => { if (success === false) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaLoadFail); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } nlWaitForRecaptchaNLMW25(isAvailable => { if (!isAvailable) { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaRequired); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; return; } const runExecuteNLMW25 = () => { nlExecuteRecaptchaNLMW25() .then(token => nlSubscribeNLMW25(token)) .catch(error => { if (error?.message === 'recaptcha_failed') { nlSetErrorNLMW25(nlConfigNLMW25.messages.recaptchaFailed); nlIsSubmittingNLMW25 = false; } else { console.warn('reCAPTCHA error:', error); nlSubscribeNLMW25(null); } }); }; if (typeof window.grecaptcha.ready === 'function') { window.grecaptcha.ready(runExecuteNLMW25); } else { runExecuteNLMW25(); } }); }); }; formNLMW25.addEventListener('submit', e => { e.preventDefault(); if (rootNLMW25.classList.contains('is-submitted-nlmw25') || nlIsSubmittingNLMW25) return; nlHideErrorNLMW25(); nlAttemptRecaptchaNLMW25(); }); emailInputNLMW25.addEventListener('input', () => { nlHideErrorNLMW25(); emailInputNLMW25.setAttribute('aria-invalid', 'false'); }); checkboxNLMW25.addEventListener('change', nlHideErrorNLMW25); }); })(NL_DEFAULT_CONFIG_NLMW25); Later, Bambaataa changed the name to the Universal Zulu Nation to signal the inclusion of “all people from the planet earth.” “At the core our music made people feel like they belong to a movement and not a moment, our music offered Hope something positive to believe in, it gave people identity, unity, and a way out,” Ellis Williams, a producer known as Mr. Biggs, wrote in an email to the AP. Mr. Biggs was a member of the group Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force that included Bambaataa. Accused of sexual abuse In recent years, numerous people have accused Bambaataa of sexual abuse. In 2016, Bronx political activist and former music industry executive Ronald Savage accused Bambaataa of abusing him in 1980, when he was Savage was a young teen. “I was scared, but at the same time I was like, ’This is Afrika Bambaataa,’ ” Savage told the AP in 2016. At the time he recalled, in detail, that encounter and four others that he said followed. Bambaataa has vehemently denied those allegations. After Savage went public with his claims, numerous other men came forward to share similar experiences about Bambaataa. In June 2016, the Universal Zulu Nation released a public letter apologizing to “the survivors of apparent sexual molestation by Bambaataa” saying that some members of the group knew about the abuse but “chose not to disclose” it. “We extend our deepest and most sincere apologies to the many people who have been hurt,” organization wrote. ___ Associated Press writer Maria Sherman contributed reporting from New York City. SAFIYAH RIDDLE Riddle is a national reporter reporter for the Associated Press working on the Rapid Response Team. She also covers law enforcement. mailto