Afrika Bambaataa, the ‘founder of hip-hop’ has addressed the accusations that he sexually abused Ronald “Bee Stinger” Savage, a former member of Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation, when he was 15 and Bambaataa was 23.
Bambaataa has denied the accusations in a statement to Rolling Stone:
“I, Afrika Bambaataa, want to take this opportunity at the advice of my legal counsel to personally deny any and all allegations of any type of sexual molestation of anyone. These allegations are baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time. This negligent attack on my character will not stop me from continuing my battle and standing up against the violence in our communities, the violence in the nation and the violence worldwide.”
Savage first broke his silence and accused Bambaataa of molesting him in his self-published memoir, Impulse Urges and Fantasies.
Savage, now a New York politician, said he wanted to go public with the story in an effort to extend New York’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse, which blocks criminal and civil charges after the victim turns 23. At the time the story broke, Bambaataa’s lawyer shared a statement saying, “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.”
Bambaataa’s statement in Rolling Stone continues:
“In the name of the Supreme Force, who is called by many names, whom All Praise is due. Good Spiritual Human, I pray for all of you and ask in returns your prayers, and let us all do what we must to help change our ways on how we treat each other in evilness, to respect and love for each other as Humans Beings. May Peace and Blessings be upon each and everyone of you. Who would stand up to save us and our planet with so much chaos going on? Peace, Love, Honor and Respect to all.”
We’re not sure how this one will play out, but we hope that if anything it can bring attention to the plight victims suffer under the statute of limitations. Hopefully with the media attention about this case, as well as that of Kesha recently, victims can see more justice come their way despite circumstances that may have made it difficult to deal with sooner.
Image: BBC.com