Ronald Savage: Afrika Bambaataa 'molested' me

[Employee]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.2594599" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

EXCLUSIVE: Afrika Bambaataa sex abuse accuser Ronald Savage details years of torment following hip-hop icon's molestation: ‘He damaged me'

As one of the artists who helped invent the music that exploded out of South Bronx block parties and Boys Club dances, hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa was already a New York legend in the late 1970s.

Ronald Savage was just a kid thrilled to be part of the burgeoning Bronx hip-hop scene when he met Bambaataa, whose 1982 hit “Planet Rock” helped turn rap into a global phenomenon. But the thrill of hanging out with the influential artist evaporated quickly, Savage says, when Bambaataa sexually abused him in 1980, inflicting deep emotional wounds that continue to torture him to this day.

The former music industry executive and author says he struggled privately with intimacy and struggled with suicidal thoughts for decades from the abuse that occurred when he was 15 years old, but he broke his silence in recent weeks with the release of a self-published memoir entitled “Impulse Urges and Fantasies” that includes the explosive Bambaataa allegations as well as a YouTube interview with urban radio veteran “Star” that has rocked the hip-hop world.

“I want him to know how much he damaged me growing up,” says Savage, 50, who was known as “Bee Stinger” when he was running with the Zulu Nation, the international hip-hop organization Bambaataa founded in the 1970s.

“I was just a child,” he told the Daily News. “Why did he take my innocence away? Why did he do this to me?”

[Philaflava]

First Cosby and now this.

[Employee]

http://www.tv3.ie/xpose/article/enterta ... ion-claims" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Recently, defamatory statements were published seeking to harm my client's reputation so as to lower him in the estimation of the community while deterring others from associating or dealing with him," attorney Vivian K. Tozaki tells AllHipHop.com. "The statements show a reckless disregard for the truth, were published with knowledge of their falsity, and are being made by a lesser-known person seeking publicity. Valuable cultural resources, such as Afrika Bambaataa's good name and time, should never be used to assist a mediocre person's asinine quest for social media popularity and superficial gain."

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

this has been common knowledge for years

[Employee]

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

i believe survivors. if they were faking, they'd accuse someone with money.

[Versive]

The $400 Jim Mahfood portrait over my desk at home looking at me like this now:

[Vlad Analogue]

That tape does seem young tho

[Blockhead]

this has been common knowledge for years

Yup. Bambaataa BEEN fucking his record carriers since forever. I assumed everyone knew that. That said, I always assumed it was consensual and not molestation.

[Philaflava]

Damn really? I don't doubt it but is it taboo to talk about Bam like that? I would have thought it would have been brought up in song, interview or something. And I know we gotta respect the creators, but Prince Paul has done more for hip-hop than Bam to me. Always thought that Soulsonic shit was cute roller skating music (no Saturdays tho).

[Spartan]

Thought he was wearing jeggings for a split second.

[sleazy_j]

we gotta respect the creators

anybody act out of pocket, they can get gassed, regardless of previous authenticity.

but Prince Paul has done more for hip-hop than Bam to me.

definitely.

Always thought that Soulsonic shit was cute roller skating music (no Saturdays tho).

[/quote]
it is. electro.

[Versive]

Prince Paul has done more for hip-hop than Bam to me. Always thought that Soulsonic shit was cute roller skating music (no Saturdays tho).

Hold on. This is insane revisionism. Apart from diminishing how critical those records were to the development of multiple genres, you're basically speaking as if break-dancing never existed.

Post is essentially the online equivalent of Long Island Congressman's remarks about Michael Jackson. "Sure, he did a little singing and dancing..."



Also, are you sure you want to call it cute right now?

[Philaflava]

Nah, I'm saying apart from these allegations, I just never had that much interest in Bam, nor was I enamored with his music. I don't give a fuck about James Naismith or what he stood for, but I'm glad we have basketball.

[intuition]

when i read this the other day i was immediately reminded of this post:

http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=133071" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

really only need to read the first line of it.

[Versive]

Nah, I'm saying apart from these allegations, I just never had that much interest in Bam, nor was I enamored with his music. I don't give a fuck about James Naismith or what he stood for, but I'm glad we have basketball.

That's fine, but to say that Prince Paul did more for hip-hop than Bam is something else altogether. Paul did more in terms of shaping the sounds that appeal to your specific tastes. Same here, obviously, but that shouldn't be used to downplay Bam's contribution, which is what you did by dismissing his records as roller-skating music, which was just gross and ill-timed.

I'm not a huge electro fan, and if the molestation allegations are true and can be proven, Bam should of course be held accountable, but it'd be sad to see '90s hip-hop heads here and elsewhere widely dismissing him after this by saying stupid shit like, "Whatever, that electro shit was gay anyway." And your comment seemed about 3 steps shy of that.

[Mindbender Futurama]

this has been common knowledge for years

Yup. Bambaataa BEEN fucking his record carriers since forever. I assumed everyone knew that. That said, I always assumed it was consensual and not molestation.

Word. This is something I've also heard for over a decade. Kanyeshrug about one of the founding fathers being gay. That's all good.

What's NOT good is the molestation situation. If that's the case, then

[drizzle]

another person popped up today apparently, smh

[Versive]

Guy said he was 17 at the time, though. So he's basically just another dude who had sex with Bambaataa. Or in his words, "There was never no sex. It was just he loved sucking dick."

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Nah, I'm saying apart from these allegations, I just never had that much interest in Bam, nor was I enamored with his music. I don't give a fuck about James Naismith or what he stood for, but I'm glad we have basketball.

That's fine, but to say that Prince Paul did more for hip-hop than Bam is something else altogether. Paul did more in terms of shaping the sounds that appeal to your specific tastes. Same here, obviously, but that shouldn't be used to downplay Bam's contribution, which is what you did by dismissing his records as roller-skating music, which was just gross and ill-timed.

I'm not a huge electro fan, and if the molestation allegations are true and can be proven, Bam should of course be held accountable, but it'd be sad to see '90s hip-hop heads here and elsewhere widely dismissing him after this by saying stupid shit like, "Whatever, that electro shit was gay anyway." And your comment seemed about 3 steps shy of that.

Gloss is right tho. How many people here actually listen to bam's music outside of planet rock? His music just isn't very good, whereas prince Paul is legend status.

[Philaflava]

Versive it isnt like I suddenly felt this way. I am speaking on it because I don't recall many Bam threads made to where I can casually post my opinion about his music. This thread made it relevant not ill-timed. I think you are completely missing the point, completely.

but Prince Paul has done more for hip-hop than Bam to me.

[Versive]

This thread made it relevant not ill-timed.

Calling his music "cute roller skating music," when he's being accused of molesting children, is ill-timed, being that cuteness and rollerskating are things typically related to children. Or maybe it's perfectly timed. It was gross either way.

[ How many people here actually listen to bam's music outside of planet rock? His music just isn't very good, whereas prince Paul is legend status.

Drake and Young Thug are now the most popular artists on this forum, so yeah, probably not a lot of Bam fans here anymore. I'm one. And to say it "just isn't very good" is crazy to me.

Again, I also listen to more Prince Paul and RZA and Bomb Squad, etc. and personally enjoy their music more than Bam's, but just as I'm sure none of them would want their names roped into this conversation, I'm also sure our collective appreciation for their music does nothing to call Bam's "legend status" into question.

Think of it this way: if you asked any of those artists who was a more formative influence on them, Bambaataa or the Sugar Hill Records studio band, what do you think they'd say? My point is let's not dismiss Bam's music as bubblegum shit just because it turns out he may have been a kid toucher.

[TheBigSleep]

Ron Savage? More like son ravaged.

Perfectly timed.

[CRASH DDZ]

First Cosby and now this.

First Mr. Cee....

Ron Savage? More like son ravaged.

Perfectly timed.

Damn, son.

[gusty wingers]

lmao afrika bambooty is one of the worst artists ever versive... you can't even believe what you're saying

paging acthepd

[Versive]

this is insane

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

this is insane

Post bam songs you like...

#putuporshutup

[Employee]

this is insane

Your role as Ultra-Respectful White Guy Who Curates & Protects Hip Hop is tired, player.

[Versive]

Yeah, I was super-respectful in both threads about Bambaataa. What are you even talking about?

You people...

[Versive]

Just to clarify one more time, totally not trying to defend the man's character or excuse his actions or anything like that. If he did it, it's fucked up. All I'm saying is I've always liked his music, and thus this saddens me that much more.