Back in 2012 we told you about hip-hop legend/turntablist/Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaataa’s appointment as a visiting scholar at Cornell University. The university’s library boasts the largest national archive on hip-hop culture including thousands of recordings, flyers, photographs and other artifacts. The school is also home to over 40,000 records from Bambaataa’s record collection. Bam will be the subject of a tribute tour presented this fall by turntablists DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. Dubbed the Renegades of Rhythm tour, the idea for the tribute excursion was hatched by Johan Kugelberg, who established the Cornell Hip Hop Archive in 2007. The tour is intended to portray Bambaataa’s game-changing productions such as “Planet Rock” and show how he was a “peacemaker and force for social change”
Obligatory press release gush from DJ Shadow: “This has never been done before, definitely not on this scale. They’re HIS records, with his blessings. This isn’t just ANY copy of ‘X’ breakbeat, it’s THE copy, THE copy that started everything. Not just any records, the MASTER OF RECORDS’ records. His collection includes not just Soul and Rap, but also Soca, Calypso, Dub, Salsa…it’s obvious that this music was important to him, and it’s reflected in his own music. For example, when the Soulsonic Force is singing an African chant, it actually comes from a Manu Dibango record. That’s when being a crate-digger comes in handy – you have to be able to pick up on the references and reiterate them.”
Renegades Of Rhythm Tour Dates
9/1 – Toronto, ON – Guvernment
9/3 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
9/4 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
9/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
9/8 – Washington, DC – The Fillmore Silver Spring
9/9 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
9/11 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
9/12 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft At Center Stage
9/14 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
9/16 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
9/18 – Austin, TX – ACL Live
9/19 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
9/20 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
9/22 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom [
9/23 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
9/24 – Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theater
9/26 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
9/27 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen
9/29 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
10/1 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
10/2 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
10/3 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
10/7 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater
10/8 – Seattle, WA – Neptune
10/9 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom