Afrika Bambaataa is facing a new set of sexual assault accusations from French rapper and jiu-jitsu champion Solo.
The rapper, a member of the iconic hip-hop group Assassin, shared his shocking assault at the hands of Bambaataa during an interview with the French show CliqueTV.
“Being confronted by a predator, especially someone you admire, is very difficult because you respect this person. Realizing they have flaws that lead to inappropriate behavior is shocking,” Solo stated, according to a translation of the interview.
The performer claims that at just 16, he was assaulted by Bambaataa, who had asked to meet with Solo. Once he arrived, Solo found the hip-hop OG watching pornography, something he says was also a factor in a separate assault on a young boy. Solo explained that it took him 40 years to come forward with his story because he needed time to reflect on what happened to him.
“I needed personal development and support to even recognize that I was a victim. That was the hardest part.” He added, “There’s this feeling that you didn’t react the right way at the right time. Over time, I understood that mechanisms are triggered that make it impossible to respond appropriately.”
The former leader of the Zulu Nation has not responded to these latest allegations, though they are not unfamiliar to him. Bambaataa has faced multiple allegations of sexual assault, including from Ronald Savage, who initially claimed to have been abused by the rapper as a 15-year-old. However, Savage recanted those statements and instead claimed to have been in a consensual romantic relationship with Bambaataa at that time.
“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 his follow-up statement. He added, “Bambaataa is not a pedophile, and in my eyes, he was engaging in something consensual with someone he believed was of age.”
The 67-year-old previously denied being sexually inappropriate with Savage and other accusers. However, other men have not been willing to back down from their accounts of rape and molestation. In a 2021 lawsuit, a John Doe claimed that Bambaataa not only assaulted him but also sex trafficked him between 1991 and 1995 when he was between 12 and 16 years old.
Despite this, Bambaataa has not faced criminal charges.
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