Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation Sued for Child Sex Trafficking
Child Victims Act Lawsuit Filed Against Hip Hop Pioneer and Zulu Nation Organization
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse
Read official statement from the Zulu Nation
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Bronx, NY–Afrika Bambaataa was recently served his copy of a lawsuit filed against him and the Zulu Nation claiming the disgraced hip hop pioneer sexually abused and repeatedly sex-trafficked a 12-year-old boy to other adult males in exchange for money for four years.
Child sex trafficking, by definition, refers to the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a minor for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
We are the first to report on the suit that was filed in Bronx Supreme Court that says one location that the child sexual abuse and child prostitution took place was in Bambaataa’s Bronx River apartment, which doubled as the Zulu Nation Headquarters at 1609 East 174th Street. Bambaataa shared this apartment with Billy “Amid” Henderson, not yet named in the suit.
John Doe’s lawyer filed the lawsuit on August 4, 2021, ten days before the August 14th deadline of the Child Victims Act (CVA). John Doe, in John Doe vs. Lance Taylor, is represented by Tanner and Ortega and attorney Hugo Ortega explains the nature of the action:
“The CVA opened a historic one-year onetime window for victims and survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the State of New York to pursue lapsed claims. Prior to the passage of the CVA, each Plaintiff's claims were time-barred the day they turned 22 years old.”
In 2016, Troi “Star” Torain had an interview with a Zulu Nation member who said he was sexually abused by Afrika Bambaataa and other Zulu Nation members while in the ninth grade. This began a litany of allegations on Torain’s show against Bambaataa as more and more alleged victims came forward.
John Doe was not one of those men.
This writer also interviewed alleged victims of Afrika Bambaataa and members of the Zulu Nation for a documentary and these interviews are currently airing on YouTube.
John Doe was not one of these men.
Everybody Loves Bam
Sign in Bronx River Houses Photo: Leila Wills
According to several alleged victims, Afrika Bambaataa considered himself an intergalactic being who had to protect himself from wicked forces. He put tape over his VCR and Betamax to prevent Big Brother from spying on him and believed all phones were tapped. A new world order would soon be here and Bambaataa believed he gained superpowers by swallowing the semen of young boys.
His song, Planet Rock, perfectly emulated his world; aliens, hip hop, and rock (sex). His apartment was a mix of an office and an LSD trip. On the walls were images of spaceships. Vinyl records strewn all over the floor and photo albums of naked male Zulu Nation members and naked New York DJs were always in close reach. Gay and heterosexual porn played often on his floor model television.
Bambaataa developed his technique to captivate followers with rhythm, intonation, buzzwords, and thought-stopping phrases. He studied the cadence of Nation of Islam ministers and immersed himself in the teachings of Malachi York and other doctrines. He used what he learned from other thought leaders to entrance Bronx youth.
Soon, these kids that were dancing in the streets and becoming petty criminals started attending his classes. It wouldn’t be long before they began using terms like King, Queen, Ahki, and Malika.
After Bambaataa became an international celebrity, the youth credited their “knowledge of self” and all that they would become to Afrika Bambaataa. If the long-standing allegations against Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation were a singular course in prosody, then “Everybody loves Bam,” would be the refrain.
The newer members of the group projected a new image and sincerity, but Bambaataa surrounded himself with hardened criminals and the Zulu Nation never fully abandoned illegal street activities. It can now add child sex trafficking to the list of allegations.
Bronx River Houses Neighborhood Center, Photo: Leila Wills
John Doe
According to the lawsuit, John Doe met Bambaataa in 1991 at 12. He began attending meetings at the Bronx River Community Center. Bambaataa took a liking to him and John Doe joined the Zulu Nation and eventually became a part of his security force.
After reaching global status as a celebrity, Bambaataa never left Bronx River Houses. He and Amid Henderson set up the Zulu Nation headquarters office in an apartment they shared at 1609 E 174th Street, Apartment 8K. Henderson’s Nubian Productions was also operating out of this apartment. It was in this apartment where Bambaataa began inviting 12-year-old John Doe to work out in his home gym.
The suit alleges that Bambaataa began grooming the adolescent by complimenting the twelve-year-old on his muscular body. He began inappropriately touching the boy’s shoulders, biceps, and abdomen. Eventually, this led to Bambaataa increasing his abuse by touching the child’s private area.
Bambaataa’s apartment building in Bronx River Houses, Photo: Leila Wills
The claim describes how stage after stage, moment after moment, visit after visit, Bambaataa methodically, patiently, and expertly groomed the pre-teen into acceptance of this illegal contact and illicit behavior. According to the suit, Bambaataa then began exposing the child to pornography videos while encouraging him to masturbate.
According to the lawsuit, Bambaataa himself freely masturbated in front of the 12-year-old boy and continued his sexual assault by committing full rape by sodomy on the minor child. The suit also alleges that while parading himself as a pillar in the community and the leader of a righteous organization, Bambaataa’s degradation and humiliation of this young boy knew no bounds.
The suit alleges Bambaataa had no regard for human life because he transported and supplied this young boy to other deviant, perverted males for cash. According to the Department of Justice, this is the definition of Child Sex Trafficking.
The lawsuit says Bambaataa even took John Doe to other locations where he watched other adult men sodomize this child for money.
The founder, leader, and owner of the Zulu Nation was allegedly heavily involved in a child sex trafficking ring that used Zulu Nation Headquarters at 1609 East 174th Street as one of their locations. An apartment that was buzzing with people and activity 24 hours a day, but no one saw anything.
According to the lawsuit, Bambaataa prostituted this child for over four years.
Five Causes of Action in the John Doe vs. Lance Taylor lawsuit
Photo: Keira Burton
Assault - Lance Taylor’s intentioned sexual assault of John Doe was for his own sexual gratification and without regard for John Doe’s well-being, resulted in the apprehension of harm, unwanted physical contact, and without consent (minors cannot consent)
Civil Battery - Lance Taylor committed battery by intentionally trafficking John Doe to other adult men who sexually assaulted him in the presence of Lance Taylor
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress - engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct when he transported the minor to the locations where adult men sexually assaulted him in the presence of Lance Taylor for the sole purpose of offering John Doe to perform sex acts in exchange for money and for his own sexual gratification. As a result, John Doe has suffered and sustained severe mental anguish and depression. Such conduct exceeds what is tolerated in a civilized society and has gone beyond all reasonable bounds of decency thereby indicating Lance Taylor’s utter disregard for the consequences of his actions. Lance Taylor knew that his extreme and outrageous conduct would give multiple adult men the ability to sexually assault the minor which would inflict severe emotional and psychological distress.
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress - Lance Taylor breached his duty to exercise reasonable care when he escorted the minor to the apartments belonging to adult men for the sole purpose of offering him to perform sexual acts in exchange for money. It is foreseeable that sex trafficking an individual, especially a minor, would result in the infliction of severe emotional and psychological distress.
Gross Negligence - evinced extreme indifference to John Doe’s health, safety, and rights by breaching his duty to exercise reasonable care when he transported the minor Plaintiff to the apartments belonging to adult men for the sole purpose of offering the Plaintiff to perform sexual acts in exchange for money.
*I will follow this case closely, and provide updates as they come in. Lance Taylor aka Afrika Bambaataa must answer the court summons within 30 days of being served.
Will the Feds finally investigate the Zulu Nation?
Known Aliases of Lance Taylor
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Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa Aasim
Kevin Donovan
Aasim Bambaataa Bey
Bambaataa Khayan Aasim
Chief Dragon Fly
Child trafficking is a federal offense with no statute of limitations and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice needs to launch a full investigation of Lance Taylor aka Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation.
John Doe’s lawsuit says he has sustained physical injury, severe emotional distress, psychological distress, and depression. Because of Bambaataa’s conduct, he has suffered anguish, embarrassment, and was prevented from obtaining the full enjoyment of life.
Other alleged victims of Bambaataa say that he has several explicit photo albums of naked children, teens, and adults in sexually exploitative poses. This writer has learned that Bambaataa is also a pack-rat and, based on his collection at Cornell University, rarely parts with any memorabilia.
If he is in fact a pedophile, the science shows they keep trophies and these books are most likely somewhere law enforcement could find if they would only investigate the allegations of these black and latino survivors.
Lance Taylor Before Afrika Bambaataa
Bronx River Neighborhood Center, Photo: Leila Wills
It is difficult to get people from Bronx River to speak on record about Afrika Bambaataa’s early days, but the story goes like this: Lance Taylor grew up in Bronx River Housing with his single mother and older brother. Ms. Taylor worked long hours as a nurse, and his older brother was killed. Lance became a Young Spade and after his Division Leader, Kool DJ Dee, became the first Black Spade to start DJing, the Spades eventually fizzled out.
In 1971, there had been a Peace Treaty at the Hoe Avenue Peace Meeting, and Kool DJ Dee started doing more music and less gang activity. Lance was his treasurer and then filled in as war counselor after the previous warlord quit. If a conflict with another gang was brewing, they would commission Lance to get the information and bring it back to the leadership. After Kool DJ Dee and other Black Spades started doing music and other endeavors, the gang dissipated.
Lance Taylor started the Organization and many former Spades came along with him. The group went through several name iterations as it started incorporating more and more areas from the Bronx. What started as The Organization became The Bronx River Organization, and finally, The Bronx Organization. Bambaataa would recruit younger males by visiting their school yards, basketball courts, and other places young boys hung out.
In August 1973, Kool Herc would spin at his sister’s party and extend the break of a song with two turntables and hip hop was officially born. It was not called Hip Hop, but the genre and surrounding breakdancing culture took hold.
By now, Lance Taylor took on the name Afrika Bambaataa and tried his hand at DJing. He used his mother’s extensive record collection, borrowed some equipment, and threw his first party. Grandmixer DST taught him how to spin on beat and Disco King Mario lent him the equipment.
By the late 70s, Bambaataa changed the name of The Bronx Organization to the Zulu Nation and focused the group on hip hop and parties. His longtime bodyguard Lord Shariyf estimates this last name change took place in 1975 or 1976 while Bambaataa claims the hip hop awareness group Zulu Nation started in 1973.
Former International Spokesman of the Zulu Nation, TC Izlam, took issue with this claim and also said the Zulu Nation was “banging until ‘96.”
He also said the Zulu Nation extorted, killed, and did “all kinds of shit” to get in the industry.
It is not clear if hip hop journalists, authors, historians, and documentarians have investigated this claim of November 1973 being the start of the Zulu Nation. The United States Senate has even declared November as Hip Hop History month based on this assertion.
Lance Taylor aka Afrika Bambaataa must answer the court summons within 30 days of being served.
Next in this series: Bambaataa’s Inner Circle and Hip Hop Apologists–Metropolis
