PENNSYLVANIA — Afrika Bambaataa, a pioneering figure in hip-hop music, died Thursday in Pennsylvania at the age of 68. The cause of death was complications from prostate cancer, according to his lawyer.

Born Lance Taylor in 1957 in the Bronx to Jamaican and Barbadian immigrant parents, Bambaataa grew up during the era of the black liberation movement. As a teenager, he became a member of the Black Spades gang before turning his attention to music and community organizing.

Bambaataa was exposed to music at an early age through his mother's vinyl record collection and was deeply inspired by the work of DJ Kool Herc. In the early 1970s, he hosted parties at community centers across the South Bronx. He co-founded the Universal Zulu Nation in 1973, an international hip-hop awareness group that sought to channel youth culture away from violence and toward creativity.

Bambaataa was one of the first DJs to use breakbeats, incorporating the Roland TR-808 drum machine into his productions. In 1982, he released "Planet Rock," a track credited with shaping hip-hop in the 1980s. He also released a series of electro tracks that helped shape both the hip-hop and electro-funk movements during that decade. He worked with artists including James Brown and John Lydon and contributed to the 1985 anti-apartheid song "Sun City."

Bambaataa led the Universal Zulu Nation until 2016, when he stepped down after allegations of sexual abuse from the 1980s and 1990s surfaced. Numerous men who knew him as boys accused him of child sexual abuse and trafficking. Bambaataa denied the allegations.

In 2025, he lost a civil case in which he was accused of child sexual abuse and trafficking after failing to appear in court. The Hip Hop Alliance said the allegations complicated his musical legacy. His death prompted condolences and tributes from friends, family and fans worldwide.