Can't Stop, Won't Stop Chapter 5

Soul Salvation: The Mystery and Faith of Afrika Bambaataa
by: Jenna Stein and Jaimie Horning

Afrika Bambaataa was born in Manhattan to parents of Jamaican and Barbadian descent. He was drawn into the gang life as many young boys were during this era in the Bronx, joining them as young as 9. He first joined the P.O.W.E.R. gang (People’s Organization for War and Energetic Revolutionaries), and then became a Black Spade. In this gang, he started to build a reputation as an individual who had the power to build relationships with people in other gangs, and the president of the Black Spades quickly made Bambaataa a warlord, who was responsible for building the ranks and expanding the turf of the gang. It quickly grew to one of the city’s largest. Many gangs in the South Bronx joined together in a peace treaty in 1971, which inspired Bambatta to search for a way out of gang life. DJ Kool Herc offered Bambaataa a way forward by allowing him to apprentice under former Black Spade DJs on his way to becoming an independent DJ. Bambatta had a unique style that was symbolic of his peace-making philosophy. He mixed just about everything into his music, and became known as the most renowned programmer in the Bronx. During this time, he formed the Bronx River Organization as an alternative to the Spades.

Throughout his life, and particularly from a trip overseas and the move “Zulu,” Bambatta had been inspired by Africans and their ability to unite and work towards a common goal. Renaming the Bronx River Organization to the Universal Zulu Organization, he had a vision to grow the organization into the “brown” or Puerto Rican population and gangs whose territory was on the other side of the Bronx river. They had reached a high point of violence amongst themselves, and with other gangs. He invited them to come to one of his parties to expand his peace movement with the promise of a “good time.” The Universal Zulu Nation organization grew more structured and had a ten point platform of beliefs in place, and quickly proliferated the Bronx with the motto of “Peace, Love, Unity and having fun.” It was intentionally NOT a political organization, but instead encouraged its members to live by a fundamental code of conduct and Zulu “way of life,” which included being open minded, teaching each other truth, respect others, and to be at peace with self and others.