For Afrika Bambaataa.

He's called the Godfather of hip hop. Launching an art form that turned into a global phenom. In his passing, he teaches us to find our own groove.

I was 13 when I got hooked.

Hooked on a groove. Afrika Bambaattaa is one of the original dealers. Creators of a lyrical art form built on break beats in the Boggie Down Bronx, New York. As he passes on to his next adventure, this is a reflection on the depth of his impact through hip-hop.

It all starts with a bang, they say.

Hip Hop’s bang was parties. Bambaattaa threw the hottest parties in the 70’s. Bringing people together in the Bronx to boogie. Right near Yankee Stadium. A sound born out of New York City in the 70’s. Back then, the Big Apple was a tough place to live.

Eagle at Westchester Ave., Bronx, 1970 by Camilo José Vergara. Photograph from the Library of Congress.

Out of the concrete grew a rose.

Bambaattaa with DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash are hip hop’s roots. Choosing togetherness with thumpin’ beats while living in a failing city. Bambaattaa is the Godfather because he expanded hip hop’s reach.

Two decades later, the art form he helped create became a brand bigger than the Yankees. Lyrics are known worldwide, in the far reaches of Earth.

I was 200 miles away when I got hooked. In the early days of hip hop’s expansion into the mainstream. Not on Bambaattaa himself, but on what he gave life to. Shows like Rap City and Yo MTV Raps caught my attention. So did this radio station out of Boston, with a nightly hip-hop show.

After hearing OutKast on BET, I knew what I wanted to do. Play OutKast on the radio. On that radio show, 88.9@Nite, specifically.

Afrika Bambaataa’s influence is heard in OutKast. That ‘create your own groove’ vibe. Bambaattaa’s sounds are still unique fifty years later, just as OutKast’s will be fifty years from now. On 13th Floor: Growing Old Andre honors Bambaataa’s contribution. “So go ‘head and diss it, while real hop-hippers listen. Started by Afrika Bambaataa, so you and your partner gather your thoughts.” Bambaataa pushed boundaries and expanded the sound. Doing so opened up the path for artists like Dre and Big Boi.

(for the uninitiated, Andre 3000, aka 3Stacks Big Boi, aka Daddy Fat Sacks, are OutKast. If unfamiliar, I recommend the song Rosa Parks. ‘Focus on the past, your ass will be a has-what’).

I chose my career based on those gathered thoughts Andre mentioned about hip hop. Music notes that pointed me in the right direction.

Which is why I thank Afrika Bambaataa with gratitude.

To me, your legacy is “dance to what makes you groove and do it your way.”

For me, that groove was playing OutKast on the radio. At 16, that’s the first goal I set for myself. The first show I ever hosted was on December 31, 1997, on 88.9 WERS Boston. The first needle I dropped at my New Year’s Eve party as ATLiens.

I got to do cool shit during my career, and I’m grateful to Bambaataa and the Boogie Down for the inspiration. Because this music and these lyrics opened up a possibility for me that I could have never imagined. A career in broadcasting, playing OutKast on the radio.

For centuries, Elders have been respected for their wisdom. Because they learned how to live life on their terms. Bambaattaa is a modern-day Elder. In daring to stand apart, he created his own sound. As did OutKast.

Dance to what makes you groove.

Along the way, I produced a 6-day undercover broadcast along the US, Mexico border. That adventure expanded my horizons and almost caused an international incident.

I covered Hurricane Katrina live from New Orleans. And I would do it again.

I rode in a presidential motorcade, went on a high-risk SWAT raid, and attended four presidential conventions.

I won awards as a journalist and achieved my dream of being the top-rated show in Phoenix. I signed off September 18, 2023, using OutKast’s Chonkyfire as my intro song for ten years.

Do it your way.

None of that would have happened if it weren’t for hip hop. Hip hop wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Afrika Bambaataa. The older I get, the more I see the patterns while looking in the rearview. How these musical notes tuned me into an adventure.

May he be long remembered for the immeasurable impact one person can have on another. This is a man I have never met, and yet he’s had a profoundly positive influence on me.

For a moent, imagine the impact you could have on someone two generations from now.

Sometimes in the most indirect and unexpected ways.

For me, hip hop and Bambaataa helped me tune in to the right channel. My channel. A channel that has been met by obstacles and fulfilling rewards. I’ve fully embraced the idea that life is an adventure, inspired by OutKast and Bambaataa.

At 47, I’m still hooked, bumpin OutKast in my office while I create. In my groove like Afrika Bambaataa in the Bronx. I’ll be doing that until my last day. As Bambaataa did with his.

Boogie Down.