Afrika Bambaataa has one of hip-hop's most complicated, controversial, and crucial legacies in legendary and ugly ways alike. The hip-hop originator and pioneer also faced a slew of child sex trafficking and sexual assault accusations over the past eight years or so, which have really tainted his contributions to the culture in at least a small but nonetheless significant way. However, one of his accusers, Ronald "Bee-Stinger" Savage, linked up with him at an event for a Zulu Nation member, and Savage gave the following statement exclusively to AllHipHop: "Never underestimate the power of God when he intervenes in an affair he sets everything straight."
"Bambaataa is not a pedophile and, in my eyes, he was doing something that was consensual with someone that he thought was of age," Savage said of Afrika Bambaataa during a recent interview with Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur. "I wish, back in 2016, I remembered about the fake ID, I wasn’t thinking about that I had forgot about that I was in deep depression and still dealing with the trauma as an adult. I want to apologize for the little kid that didn’t know anybody and just wanted to be down with this thing called hip-hop so I pretended to be older.
Afrika Bambaataa's Accuser Changes His Perspective
"This is something that took place 35 to over 40 years ago," Savage continued concerning Afrikaa Bambaataa. "This man has never been convicted of anything. Let it go. I needed to set the record straight [and get] my closure. I just hope this brings healing to people around the world. If I can have forgiveness and healing, so can you." Ronald Savage is a former hip-hop artist that also got involved in a lot of politics and activism in New York, particularly in regards to child molestation.
He accused Afrika Bambaataa of sexually abusing him back in 1980 when Savage was just 15 years old. This kicked off a wave of accusations against the rap legend. This will probably be quite a complex and controversial walk-back to see evolve in the public consciousness. Let's see how people respond to this shifting legacy.