Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation Sued for Child Sex Trafficking — Metropolis
Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation Sued for Child Sex Trafficking
Leila WillsSep 7
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
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 deviant adult males in exchange of 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 which 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.
Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation Sued for Child Sex Trafficking
Leila WillsSep 7
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
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 deviant adult males in exchange of 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 which 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.
