Events

[HIP HOP] In November, Buffalo learned why Afrika Bambaataa earned the nickname “Master of Records,” when DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist brought his would famous record collection to Buffalo. Now, Afrika Bambaataa himself will make a stop in Buffalo, at Duke’s Bohemian Grove Bar, for a unique, intimate performance on Saturday, April 25.

Bambaataa is known for his comprehensive knowledge of funk, hip hop, soul and electro records, but the legendary DJ and MC isn’t only a tastemaker, he’s an innovator and cultural leader—and has been since the release of his 1986 masterpiece, Planet Rock: The Album. Made up primarily of singles released between 1982 and 1986, Planet Rock cleverly and courageously repurposed the music of influential German electronic kraut-rock band Kraftwerk into grooving proto-hip hop beats which were used as a foundation to extend the concept of black excellence through the use of select samples and specific cultural references. The album’s title track, “Planet Rock,” written in 1982 was Bambaataa’s seminal breakthrough, a track that would inspire a generation of hip hop producers. By interpolating Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express” as the foundational beat and rapping about ancient civilizations alongside references to black civil rights leaders, Bambaataa expanded upon the afrofuturistic themes presented by forebearers like Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth Wind and Fire, and Sun Ra.

To base this piece of work on the mechanical, robotic rhythms of Kraftwerk made sense to Bambaataa because it was a way of extending black culture into the future, incidentally helping to pave the way for the birth of house and techno music soon to come. In the opening moments of Planet Rock’s centerpiece, “Renegades of Funk,” Bambaataa softly sings the hook from The Temptations 1969 song “Message From A Black Man”—from the album Puzzle People—instantly fusing the Bronx with Motown, and the roots of soul with contemporary electronic beats—envisioning the future of hip hop to come. Hip hop, as a genre,was barely an idea at the time, and though the term was first coined by Sugarhill Gang in the 1979 song “Rapper’s Delight,” Bambaataa is credited with helping to popularize the term to describe not only music, but the culture surrounding it. Bambaataa extended the concept of black excellence into his personal life too, forming the music-minded cultural group Universal Zulu Nation, which was instrumental in drawing vulnerable kids away from street gangs and into music. 

It was Planet Rock that caught their attention, though.