Afrika Unite

Armed with an endless arsenal of records, Afrika Bambaataa threw park jams in the South Bronx as hip-hop took its first steps in the early ’70s. In the ’80s, he and his Soulsonic Force band set the Zulu Nation in motion and united restless youths with the song "Planet Rock."...

By Jose Gonzalez

June 5, 2008

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Armed with an endless arsenal of records, Afrika Bambaataa threw park jams in the South Bronx as hip-hop took its first steps in the early ’70s. In the ’80s, he and his Soulsonic Force band set the Zulu Nation in motion and united restless youths with the song "Planet Rock." The dance hit mined Kraftwerk's electro-pop masterpiece Trans-Europe Express and birthed electrofunk, laying down the blueprint for electronic dance music to come. From the ’90s forward, Bambaataa's been an ambassador and activist trotting the globe to get people on the good foot.

Bam lands at Club Red, where the weekly hip-hop mainstay Blunt Club and Universatile Music funkateers will hold down the fort.

Thu., June 5, 9 p.m., 2008

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