Wireless Festival 2009 Sponsored By Barclaycard

Bambaataa was a founding member of the Bronx River Projects-area street gang The Savage Seven. Due to the explosive growth of the gang, it later became known as the Black Spades, and he rose to the position of division leader. After a life changing visit to Africa, he changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim and began hosting hip hop parties. After he returned from his life changing trip to Africa, he vowed to use hip hop to draw angry kids out of gangs and formed the Universal Zulu Nation.

During 1982, Afrika Bambaataa and his followers went outside the United States on the first hip hop tour. Bambataa saw that the hip hop tours would be the key to help expand hip hop and his Universal Zulu Nation. In addition it will help promote the values of hip hop that he believed are based on peace, unity, love, and having fun. Bambaataa brought peace to the gangs as many artists and gang members say that "hip hop saved a lot of lives". He established two rap crews, one of which included Soulsonic Force including Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow and Emcee G.L.O.B.E.

In that same year Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force dropped the live band to go high-tech. That resulted in a pop hit "Planet Rock", which went to gold status and generated an entire school of "electro-boogie" rap and dance music. Bambaataa formed his own label to release the Time Zone Compilation. He created "turntablism" as its own subgenre and the ratification of "electronica" as an industry-certified trend in the late '90s. Bambaataa established a name to be recognized not only inside the hip-hop community but outside as well.

Wireless 2009 Sponsored by Barclaycard will be Afrika Bambaataa and the SoulSonic Force’s only festival appearance this year! Don’t miss out on a chance to see them live.