Time Zone (band)

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Time Zone was a hip hop band headed by Afrika Bambaataa. Bambaataa worked with different musicians for each Time Zone project.

The first Time Zone single was the 1983 electro song "The Wildstyle" which featured music from a German project called Wunderwerke. Bambaataa was introduced to their music by Rusty Egan of Visage. The song became very popular among breakdancers at the time.

In 1984, Time Zone released their most well-known single, "World Destruction". A collaboration between Bambaataa, Public Image Ltd. leader John Lydon, and producer/bassist Bill Laswell, this single is the first real rapcore song; predating Run-DMC and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". The single was arranged by Laswell after Lydon and Bambaataa had acknowledged respect for each others work:

Afrika Bambaataa: "I was talking to Bill Laswell saying I need somebody who's really crazy, man, and he thought of John Lydon. I knew he was perfect because I'd seen this movie that he'd made (Copkiller), I knew about all the Sex Pistols and Public Image stuff, so we got together and we did a smashing crazy version, and a version where he cussed the Queen something terrible, which was never released."

John Lydon: "We went in, put a drum beat down on the machine and did the whole thing in about four-and-a-half hours. It was very, very quick."[1]

The single also includes renowned musicians Bernie Worrell, Nicky Skopelitis & Aiyb Dieng, all of whom would later play on PiL's Album. Laswell also played bass and produced that album.

Although the song was critically acclaimed, Bambaataa put the Time Zone project on hold while he worked on other projects. In 1992, Bambaataa revived the project with the single "Zulu War Chant" which was well-received among fans of old school hip hop. Time Zone released a handful of singles in the early-1990s which were compiled in the 1992 album Thy Will B Funk. In 1995, the band released another album titled Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You. The album featured contributions from George Clinton and his P-Funk Horns. But neither album sold well and Bambaataa retired Time Zone.

In 2005, Bambaataa again revived the Time Zone moniker for an album of breakbeats titled Everyday People: The Breakbeat Party Album.