Abuse allegations against Afrika Bambaataa explored as accuser Ronald Savage takes back 2016 claim

Hip Hop artist Ronald Savage recently took back his 2016 claims against the American DJ and rapper Afrika Bambaataa that he allegedly s*xually abused Savage in 1980 when he was 15 years old. In the late 2010s, Savage publicly accused Bambaataa of the crime in his book, Impulse, Urges and Fantasies.

However, Savage's opinions toward Bambaataa have recently changed. The former appeared in an interview with Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur of AllHipHop on August 12, where he offered his view about the man he once accused of being a m*lester.

During the interview, Savage took back his allegations and stated that Bambaataa was not a “p*dophile”. He further said,

“I guess with him seeing me in the clubs, what are you obviously going to think? ‘He’s of age, he’s in here with us.’ I guess I’m partly to blame, too, because I never told him I was 15.”

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Ronald Savage initially accused Afrika Bambaataa of being a p*dophile

Ronald Savage took back the claims against the rapper (Image via Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)

Ronald Savage acknowledged that he was underage and that Afrika Bambaataa was much older when they had a s*xual relationship, but he also admitted that he shared some of the blame because he never disclosed to the Planet Rock hitmaker that he was only 15 at the time.

Speaking about the same, he said,

“In 2016 and beyond, I had totally forgot that when I was younger, when I was 15, I had a fake ID that said that I was 18 to get into the clubs.”

He further added,

“During the trauma and everything, I had totally forgot about that. The only thing that I wanted to know was: why me? I said that in 2016 and I guess I got that answer.”

Savage then added that he needed to get his relationship with Bambaataa off his chest and that's why he came forward with his story eight years ago. He further stated that he did everything voluntarily and that no one forced him to do anything.

He then went on to defend Afrika Bambaataa and said,

“Bambaataa is not a p*dophile and, in my eyes, he was doing something that was consensual with someone that he thought was of age.”

This happened 8 years after Savage claimed that Afrika m*lested him. In his book Impulse, Urges and Fantasies, the author and the former member of the New York State Democratic Committee alleged that he was abused multiple times as a kid by the hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa.

In an interview with Shot97 presenter STAR, Savage also provided a thorough description of the alleged m*lestation he suffered at the hands of the founder of Universal Zulu Nation.

He added that Afrika Bambaataa would frequently ask him to have oral s*x, and he would always comply, and that the m*lestation started when he was about 13 or 14 years old. In the book, the 50-year-old author further stated,

"I was a kid when this happened. I wanted to be down with the in-crowd, not really understanding that what Bambaataa was doing to me was m*lesting me. I knew it was wrong. I had these feelings that were like, 'Yuck.'"

Savage went on to say that he was ashamed and feared what the Zulu Nation would do to his family, so he never reported the events.

Moreover, three other men accused Bambaataa of s*xual abuse after Savage's accusations. According to a story published in Essence on October 27, 2020, one of the victims, who wanted to stay anonymous, claimed,

“I know what Ronald Savage is saying is true because he did it to me. I have never spoken to anybody about this….”

Other alleged victims, Troy and famous YouTuber Hassan Campbell, also shared similar stories.

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However, in a 2016 statement, Afrika Bambaataa refuted the accusations in a statement to Rolling Stone. Furthermore, after Savage took back the claims, Bambaataa didn’t say anything about that.

Additionally, one needs to remember that these are all allegations and nothing has been proven yet.