Funk Flex Receives FCC Complaint Over Afrika Bambaataa Comments And “Disinformation”
Funk Flex has been hit with an FCC complaint over comments he made about Afrika Bambaataa. The latter, who is a DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, has been accused with multiple allegations of child molestation. Bambaataa recently played a DJ set on Funkmaster Flex’s show while facing an open civil case for child sex trafficking.
On Wednesday (Aug. 28), advocacy organization Hip-Hop Stands with Survivors filed the FCC complaint against New York radio station Hot 97 and Funkmaster Flex for allowing the Zulu Nation founder to appear on the platform and spreading misinformation.
“The station was reckless with allowing this man in there as a guest when he has an open case of the most horrific nature,” Leila Wills, co-founder of Hip-Hop Stands with Survivors, told Rolling Stone. “Bambaataa is alleged to have sold a 12-year-old for money to adult men to take advantage of. He has not defended himself, so Flex and HOT97 cannot protect him.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 1: DJ Funk Flex (aka Funkmaster Flex, Aston George Taylor Jr.) opens when Rapper Big Daddy Kane (aka Antonio Hardy) performs in concert with a live band at City Winery on February 1, 2024 in New York City.
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Bambaataa was accused of molestation by Zulu Nation member Ronald “Bee Stinger” Savage, Hassan Campbell, and others in 2016. Since then, he has not done many public appearances. On Flex’s radio show, the host referenced Savage’s recent recanting of his accusations that Taylor molested him. “It seems that there’s a discrepancy that has been cleared up with Afrika Bambaataa and the young man Bee Stinger,” Flex said. “It seems that the pedophile word that was being used, Bee Stinger is now saying that Afrika Bambaataa is not a pedophile.”
However, in Hip-Hop Stands with Survivors‘ statement, the org said Funk Flex “announced on public airwaves that Afrika Bambaataa had been ‘cleared’ of being a pedophile.”
It continued, “He also stated that ‘Afrika Bambaataa’s [sexual] preference is not illegal.’ … Knowingly or unknowingly, Flex used the people’s airwaves, maintained by the people’s tax dollars, to participate in a current disinformation campaign launched by Bambaataa loyalists in 2023.”
Wills also told Rolling Stone that there are still 12 other people that have accused Taylor, despite Savage’s recanting.
