Afrika Bambaataa Accused of Sexual Abuse by French Rapper Solo

Afrika Bambaataa, influential New York rapper and DJ, has been accused of sexual assault by French rapper Solo.

Solo, who is a member of French rap collective Assassin, came forward in an interview with CliqueTV. In a translation of the interview per, the rapper recalled the incident, which allegedly took place when he was 16. He does not divulge details but said he witnessed Bambaataa watching porn upon being asked to meet him.

“Being confronted by a predator, especially someone you admire, is very difficult because you admire this person,” Solo said. “Realizing they have flaws that lead to inappropriate behavior is a shock.”

The allegations arrive 40 years after the alleged incident. According to Solo, he said he needed “personal development and support” to come to terms with the abuse. “That was the hardest part.”

Bambaataa has been accused of child sexual abuse multiple times. In 2016, political activist Ronald “Bee-Stinger” Savage accused the DJ of molesting him in 1980. The accusations led to three other victims coming forward. Bambaataa denied all of them.

Savage eventually recanted his accusations. “In 2016 and beyond, I completely forgot that when I was younger, when I was 15, I had a fake ID that stated I was 18 to get into clubs,” Savage said in a statement. “Bambaataa is not a pedophile, and in my eyes, he was engaging in something consensual with someone he believed was of age.”

The most recent accusations came in 2021 when he was sued by an anonymous man alleging he was molested and trafficked between 1991 and 1995 when he was a minor.

Fellow New York rapper Melle Mel said “everyone knew” about Bambaataa’s alleged history of sexual abuse in an interview with VladTV in 2021.