Universal Zulu Nation

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 the reformed New York City gang the Black Spades, a street gang from South Bronx. While the Black Spades were the base of the organization, other reformed gangs contributed additional members, notably the Savage Nomads, Seven Immortals and Savage Skulls among others.[2] 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, Canada, 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 mid 1990s some members began to break off starting their own projects or organizations like Ill Crew Universal.[3][4] 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 has its roots in the Nuwaubian Nation of Moors.

The imagery of the Zulu Nation has varied at times 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 and different factions of the Nation throughout the world may utilize different cultural symbols and themes to express basic Zulu philosophy.

In many interviews, Afrika Bambaataa has spoken of the name "Zulu" as being inspired by the 1964 film of the same name.

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.[5] According to Veronique Henelon, "French rap specifically has been a multi-dimensional expression of ties with Africa."[6] 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."[7]

References

  1. ↑ Chang, Jeff (2005). Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30143-X.
  2. ↑ http://www.zulunation.com/about-zulunation/
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/19970409171116/http://illcrew.com/
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081205072050/http://www.illcrew.org/dabri.html
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ 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
  7. ↑ Welcome to The Official site of The Universal Zulu Nation

External links