Just a week after Ronald Savage gave an interview alleging that hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa had sexually abused him decades ago, and another three men have stepped forward with allegations of their own. Speaking to the same publication that ran Savage's story, the New York Daily News, Hassan Campbell and another two men revealed the kinds of abuse that they were forced to endure at the hands of Bambaataa.
"He had the most fun house in the world," recalled Campbell. "There were celebrities there, musicians, neighborhood heroes. It was the best place to be - and the worst place to be." Campbell was just around 12 and 13 years old when he fell in Bambaataa's orbit and as he put plainly to the Daily News, he thinks the DJ is, "a pervert," who "likes little boys."
Echoing Campbell's claim was another man, now 51-years old, named Troy who remembered that Bambaataa, "showed me a book with a picture of a penis and said, ‘You don’t have to be gay for me to suck your d—." Another person, who chose to remain anonymous told the Daily News that, "I know what Ronald Savage is saying is true because he did it to me...I have never spoken to anybody about this and when I did, I said 'Holy s---, they finally caught up to him.'"
In the piece that kicked off this story, Savage recalled that Bamabaataa began sexually abusing him at only 15-years old. His stated goal for finally speaking out was two-fold: one, to help try and raise the statute of limitations for felony sexual assault cases pertaining to minors under the age of 18 in New York State, and to let Bambaataa know that his supposed actions had real consequences. "“I want him to know how much he damaged me growing up,” Savage said.
