Most old-old-school hip-hop fans consider Afrika Bambaataa’s massive record collection to be the Holy Grail. The Bronx DJ’s huge hoard of beats and breaks meant he was known as “Master of Records,” and he used them to essentially define the genre during the 1970s.
In the decades since, Bambaataa’s records have been gathering dust in storage, but this week, they’ll be coming out of their sleeves again. DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist will be playing them this Thursday and Friday at Irving Plaza.
“It took us two or three days to get through everything,” Shadow tells The Post of Bambaataa’s collection, which numbers around 40,000 pieces. “We found some of our own records in there, which was cool!”
The idea for this live DJ set came about when Bambaataa agreed to sell his vinyl to Cornell University in 2013. New York City-based cultural curator Johan Kugelberg brokered the deal, but also contacted Shadow and Cut Chemist, modern hip-hop pioneers in their own right, with the idea of using the records for performance instead of just consigning them to history. They both jumped at the opportunity to work with Bambaataa.
“There aren’t too many figures that loom larger than him in hip-hop,” says Shadow.
Born Kevin Donovan in 1957, Bambaataa became embroiled in gang culture and was a member of the notorious Black Spades. But after winning a trip to Africa during high school, he changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa and became intent on using his interest in music to usher gang members down a more positive, unified path. This week’s show has his blessing.
“We want to tell his story through the show,” says Shadow.