Universal Zulu Nation

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Zulu Nation logo
Afrika Bambaataa (left) with DJ Yutaka of Zulu Nation Japan, 2004.

The Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop awareness group formed and headed by hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa.[1]:101 Originally known simply as the Organization, it arose in the 1970s as reformed New York City gang members began to organize cultural events for youths, combining local dance and music movements into what would become known as the various elements of hip hop culture. By the 1980s, hip hop had spread globally, and the Zulu Nation has since established (autonomous) branches in Japan, France, the UK, Australia, South Korea and the Cape Flats in Cape Town South Africa.

The Zulu Nation has undergone changes over the past decade. From the late 1980s, at the height of the Afrocentric movement in hip hop (when artists such as KRS-One, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, the Native Tongues, and Rakim hit success), the movement seemed to be incorporating many doctrines from the Nation of Islam, the Nation of Gods and Earths, and the Nuwaubians. In the 2000s, however, its official Web site affirmed that the Zulu Nation has left the system of "believing" and instead adheres to Factology versus Beliefs, a philosophy and doctrine that can often be seen in, though is not always exclusive to, Nuwaubianism.

The imagery of the Zulu Nation has changed considerably as well. During the 1970s, and 1980s, Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation members would often clothe themselves in costumes representing different cultures of the world. These costumes were seen as symbols for the Zulu Nation's desire to help others regardless of nationality or skin color and also to symbolize people who were generally peaceful and good until they were oppressed by those who were not. Normal members, including whites and Latinos, would often wear necklaces or shirts depicting an outline of the African continent or a crude tribal drawing of a man's face. This was a symbol of the Zulu nations of Africa[citation needed], from which the organization got its name. Nowadays, however, these things have been replaced by Egyptian symbols such as ankhs and pagan jewelry depicting pentagrams, though the older symbols and images can still be seen accompanying these.

Zulu Nation in France

The Zulu movement was introduced to France in the early 1980s by Afrika Bambaataa. The Zulu Nation was well received in suburban Paris since most African immigrants lived beyond the city limits. The growing popularity of Afrika Bambaataa's sound introduced hip hop music and culture to these poor suburban neighborhoods. The Zulu Nation's ties to the French hip hop community have waned since 1987, and few contemporary emcees continue to represent the ideals of the group, but since Afrika Bambaataa's successful tour of France in 2008 and a big Zulu Nation reunion in Paris, France, there has been a new movement of the Universal Zulu Nation springing up in different cites again throughout France.[2] According to Veronique Henelon, "French rap specifically has been a multi-dimensional expression of ties with Africa."[3] The Zulu Nation Web site reaffirms this notion in their report of the French hip-hop community. The first hip-hop television show reportedly appeared in France. It was called "H.I.P.-H.O.P.", aired by the TF1 channel and was hosted by "a guy named Sydney who also was the first Leader of The Universal Zulu Nation of France."[4]

The Beliefs of the Universal Zulu Nation

As stated on its official Web site, the Universal Zulu Nation believes that in the new millennium it is time to abandon belief systems in favor of factology. The following fifteen tenets then represent the Zulu Nation of the last millennium:[5]

  • Belief in the Abrahamic God
  • Belief in the validity of the Bible (Old and New), Qur'an and in the scriptures of all the Prophets of God.
  • Belief that the scriptures have been tampered with
  • Belief that history textbooks and other educational materials have been negatively influenced by white-supremacist doctrines
  • "We believe in truth whatever it is. If the truth or idea you bring us is backed by facts, then we as Amazulu bear witness to this truth. Truth is truth."
  • Belief that religion should not make adherents into a slave or zombie but should instead make them a fighter for freedom, justice, and equality for all human beings.
  • Belief that racism is attempting to destroy civilization.
  • Belief that humanity must stop destroying the environment.
  • "We believe in the mental resurrection of the dead. There are many of the Human race who are blind, deaf, and dumb to the knowledge of self and others, and we feel the ones who know should teach."
  • Belief that mathematics is the foundation of all reality.
  • "We believe in the seen and what is to be known of the unseen. We believe in the power of the mind, and that knowledge is as infinite as God himself."
  • Belief in equal justice for all.
  • Belief in peace unless provoked.
  • "We believe in power, education in truth, freedom, justice, equality, work for the people, and the up-liftment of the people."
  • "The Universal Zulu Nation stands for knowledge, wisdom, understanding, freedom, justice, equality, peace, unity, love, respect, work, fun, overcoming the negative, economics, mathematics, science, life, truth facts, faith, and the oneness of God."

It's important to understand that though the Zulu Nation website for the American branch states that these beliefs represent the Zulu Nation of the "past millennium," many Zulu Nation members and branches(old and new) still follow the 15 Beliefs as factual. Thus it can be understood that the Zulu Nation's adoption of "Factology vs Beliefs," was an effort to reorganize the Nation to be more accessible by more people of even more different belief systems, due to the ever expansion of Hip Hop culture worldwide causing a bigger need for a much more universal Hip Hop preservation society.


References

  1. ↑ Chang, Jeff (2005). Can't Stop Won't Stop. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30143-X. 
  2. ↑ Prevos, A.J.M., "Post-colonial Popular Music in France: Rap Music and Hip-Hop Culture in the 1980s and 1990s." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA. Tony Mitchell ed., , pp. 29–56. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
  3. ↑ Henelon, V. "Africa on Their Mind: Rap, Blackness, and Citizenship in France." In The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hnoop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture. Dipannita Basu and Disney J. Lemelle, eds., pp. 151–66. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press
  4. ↑ Welcome to The Official site of The Universal Zulu Nation
  5. ↑ The Beliefs of the Universal Zulu Nation, ZuluNation.com, accessed 27 June 2007.

External links

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