This weekend I witnessed musical history, entered the oneness of supreme force, and watched FernGully: The Last Rainforest on a comedown. I feel like my interview with Afrika Bambaataa reached a level of spiritual intimacy that I have not previously been able to achieve with another musician. Maybe it was the incense he was burning, maybe it was the fact he pulled out a statue of Anubis before we started the interview, maybe it was the Universal Zulu Nation medallion he gave me, or maybe the fact he called me "sister." All I know for certain is that Afrika Bambaataa's jokes are way less funny than he thinks they are.
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Afrika Bambaataa: Well, that is to do with our ancient Kemetic history, the great history that all civilizations are based on—ancient Kerma, which is now known as Egypt. That's why we have obelisks over in England, you have obelisks in the Vatican, you've got obelisks in Washington DC, you got obelisks in Brazil, you got obelisks in Central Park in New York, you get ones with pyramids sittin' on top. That's because all civilization is based on Ancient Kerma.That's nice. Do all Ancient Egypt devotees have pharaohs printed on their hoodies?
If they don't that's because they don't know exactly what's goin' down, or how their civilization came to be. I wear somethin' to show my ancient history, to show where our ancient forefathers and mothers have come from, which is Africa, as they moved up the Nile to Ancient Kerma.Do you want to be mummified then?
Oh definitely. I ain't into all this frozen stuff. I want to witness the Neteru, the god of the divine principles.Afrika Bambaataa, are you still looking for the perfect beat?
We will never stop searching for the perfect beat. We may find it here, we may find it on another planet, but we will always be looking.Who's your favorite current hip-hop artist?
It's hard to name my favorite current hip-hop artist. There are many that I like from different sorts of hip-hop all over the world. It could be from Missy goin' to Busta Rhymes, goin' to Andre Simone to other hip-hop groups like The Chemical Brothers. Then there's the metro-funk styles of hip-hop, and of course the real funk groups. Its hard to say, there are so many different flavors. I just wish the radio stations would play all these different flavors.
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I much preferred it when there was more control by the people. Most hip-hop today is just controlled by corporations.Afrika Bambaataa, as the father of electro-funk, what do you think about the boom in 80s-influenced synth sounds and sampling in modern pop music?
Everything in this world goes around in circles, there ain't really nothin' new under the sun. We take from what is old to become what is new. It's good that people are sampling stuff from old songs—it gives respect back to the artist that you take from.Tell me a joke.
My favourite joke is seein' people smilin' when they got something to laugh about.I want one with a punch line.
I can't be diggin' a joke at the moment.Aren't there any good jokes about ancient Egypt?
One joke is the lies people have told about Egypt to try and make it appear evil—that's a big joke. Another joke is the lies people tell you about America being discovered by Christopher Columbus—that's a big joke. The lies about England and Germany never having black royalty—that's a big joke. Those are the big jokes of the world.Ha ha!BILLIE JD
