During a just-released VladTV interview with Afrika Bambaataa that was filmed in 2015, the Hip Hop founding father is asked about Lord Jamar’s stance that homosexuality has no place in Hip Hop.
“Well, you got all type of people out there with all type of things, whether they be gay, straight or whatever’s out there,” Afrika Bambaataa says. “They do their different style or whatever they doing on the planet. So you don’t know what styles of Hip Hop or what people are doing. Whatever they do behind their closed doors, that’s to each and all of them. That’s just saying that ain’t got nothing to do with Christianity, Islam or Judaism ain’t got nothing to do with whatever politicians or whatever’s happening out there. You cannot say who’s what and who’s what.”
Last month, former New York State Democratic Committee Member and author Ronald Savage conducted an interview that discussed claims in his latest book, Impulse, Urges and Fantasies, that Afrika Bambaataa molested him several times as a teenager.
Tuesday (April 12), the Hip Hop icon issued a statement about the regarding the molestation allegations leveled against him.
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“I, Afrika Bambaataa, want to take this opportunity at the advice of my legal counsel to personally deny any and all allegations of any type of sexual molestation of anyone,” the statement said in part. “These allegations are baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time. This negligent attack on my character will not stop me from continuing my battle and standing up against the violence in our communities, the violence in the nation and the violence worldwide.”
During the 2015 VladTV interview, Afrika Bambaataa was asked whether or not a gay rapper could be accepted by the rap community.
“I couldn’t even say,” Afrika Bambaataa says. “You’d have to look online to all that to see who’s the gay rapper, who said that they’re a gay rapper out there rapping whatever they’re rapping to.”
