SOUL SONIC...........ZULU GESTAPO

SOUL SONIC FORCE

Afrika Bambaataa is to Hip Hop what George Clinton is to Funk. He formed many different crews.Perhaps the best known of these crews is the Soul Sonic Force....because of Planet Rock . But Bam formed Cosmic Force , Shango , Time Zone , Jazzy 5 , Hydraulic Funk , Funk Queens and many many more . Originally Bam was a member of the Black Spades....a Ny gang , in the 70s. ...After reading about Afrikan culture , Bam (also a Dj with a taste for strange records to set off parties) , started the Universal Zulu Nation . This organization took ancient Afrikan principles and merged them with Hip Hop culture . Bam suggested that instead of killing each other with guns and knives , that members use their skills as Djs , Break Dancers , Emcees and Graf artists to battle each other . The idea caught on and most crews in the 70s and 80s were affiliated with the " Zulu Gestapo " .

As a Dj Bam use to mix some pretty wild things together . He would take themes from tv shows like the munsters and mix them with funk , soul , reggae and soca records . He certainly brought a universal mixture of music to the party scene . In 1982 , after putting out the Jazzy 5s " Jazzy Sensation " - Bam dropped the ultimate bomb..still heavily felt today . Bam mixed sounds simular to Kraftwerks " Transeurope Express " with a futuristic beat and rhymes from Mr Biggs , Pow Wow and Emcee G.L.O.B.E . The result was " Planet Rock " - the song that RULED the summer of 82 and made everyone want to be a popper/breaker . This song still a party starter today gave birth to Miami bass music , Electronica , Breakbeat , jungle and many other forms of music.

The follow up to Planet Rock was " Looking for the perfect beat " . This too was a classic , followed by " Renegades Of Funk "

which solidified their position as masters of the beats . A collab with Shango " Frantic Situation " from the Beat Street soundtrack was not as well recieved but did well . Bam is one 3rd of what many call Hip hops holy trinity...Bam , Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash . ...no doubt one of , if not thee most important figures inHip Hop.