Afrika Bambaataa Named Visiting Scholar to Cornell U

By Lora Neng
WWW.STREETGANGS.COM STAFF WRITER
July 13, 2012

Hip-Hop is making rapid inroads into institutions, the latest of which is Cornell University’s announcement that Afrika Bambaataa has been appointed a “visiting scholar” to their Ithaca, NY campus for the next three years.

The school touts that “this is the first faculty appointment for a hip hop pioneer and legend at a major university,” enriching their Hip-Hop initiative, which already comprises a dedicated collection boasting over 15,000 Hip-Hop-related items.

Afrika Bambaataa started his art in the neighboring burrough of the South Bronx and became known as the “Grandfather” of Hip-Hop culture as an originator of break-beat deejaying. His early involvement with gangs was transformed into a keen interest in his community after a trip to Africa, and his growing knowledge of the Zulu struggle for fairness inspired the moniker by which he is known today. He maintains that Hip-Hop is a way to save lives in a volatile environment.

Photo credit: Joe Conzo

Tags: Afrika Bambaataa, Cornell University, visiting scholar

Posted by Lora on Jul 13 2012. Filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.