Cornell University in Ithaca, NY has named Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa as a visiting scholar for the next three years. This is the first time a Hip Hop artist has been named to such a position at a major university.
Bambaataa has been a regular lecturer and performer at the university over the last few years showing the importance of the culture to the school and its community. The Cornell University Library is the home of the largest archive on Hip Hop culture with thousands of recordings, flyers, photographs and other items.
Afrika Bambaataa (born Kevin Donovan) was one of the most influential DJs in the early development of Hip Hop and used his music to draw youth gang members to his Universal Zulu Nation. He is sometimes credited with naming the burgeoning style as Hip Hop. His single, Planet Rock, made it to number 4 on the R&B charts in 1982. In 2007, he was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although he did not receive enough votes to be inducted.
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