Bambaataa in Africa: Documentary evidence of the legendary “essay contest” trip
By Soren Schoff. The story of Afrika Bambaataa (Lance Taylor) winning a trip to Africa in an essay contest has long been a part of Hip Hop’s founding mythology. The trip inspired the young man by virtue of “seeing black people controlling their own destiny” and contributed to Bambaataa’s vision for the formation of the Zulu Nation. Elements of the story that are often retold include how Bambaataa had won a similar contest the year before with an essay on why he should go to India, but that when it came time for him to meet “the decision staff” he was handing out party flyers and missed his chance. Bambaataa has told the story in multiple interviews, which in turn have been cited by scholars and historians (Broughton, 2017). The sponsor of the trip is usually given as either UNICEF or the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the year of the trip is often said to have been 1975. However, to my knowledge, no independent sources or contemporary documentation has been cited in t...