Subscribe
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE

One of Hip-Hop’s most pioneering and praised figures is being accused of child molestation. Ronald Savage, former member of the New York State Democratic Committee, claims Afrika Bambaataa began sexually abusing him as a young teen.

Speaking to Star on Shot97.com, in an interview posted online this week, Savage recalled the first alleged round of sexual abuse, and explained why he hasn’t spoken up. “It took me this long to actually get this out and to be able to really talk about it.”

50-year-old Savage said that he’s worked in politics for “around 15 years,” and is a single father of three. With the exception of telling his mother and a city council member years later, Savage said he buried the story out of fear and shame because he believes molestation typically happens to girls. “ Guys don’t really talk about it,” he said.

According to his story, Savage was a child member of the Universal Zulu Nation, a now international Hip-Hop awareness group founded by Bambaataa. “I wanted to be down with the in crowd, not really understanding what Bambaataa was doing to me was actually molesting me.”

The allegations first came to light in Savage’s book, Impulses, Urges and Fantasies, though he said he used a different name.

Savage claims he met Bambaataa when he was around 12 or 13 years old (Bambaattaa would’ve been around 21). “The very first time this happened to me, I was in school and I was cutting, and I needed a place to go so I called Bambaataa to see if I could go hang out at his house.”

According to Savage, Bambaataa began masturbating, and instructed him to do the same. He goes into greater detail about the alleged incident, and attests that it happened more than once.

If Savage’s claims are true, the statute of limitations has passed, meaning he can’t file criminal charges. The Zulu Nation has not commented on the story.

Listen to the interview below.

Photo: WENN