Afrika Bambaataa’s Former Bodyguard Opens Up About Molestation Allegations: “I’ve Walked in on Stuff”

A man claiming to be Afrika Bambaataa's former bodyguard alleges that the hip-hop pioneer is a pedophile. In the midst of the child molestation accusations surrounding Afrika Bambaataa, radio personality Star interviewed a man named Shamsideen Shariyf Ali Bey who says he was a bodyguard for the "Planet Rock" artist.

During the interview, the man identified as Lord Shariyf repeatedly called Afrika Bambaataa a pedophile and said he witnessed some troubling things with his own eyes.

"I can say I’ve walked in on stuff where I say, what the fuck is going on?” Shariyf said.

Lord Shariyf stated that Afrika Bambaataa's alleged sexual encounters with underage boys were a "well known fact in the Zulu Nation." He said that Bambaataa interacted in some way with hundreds of boys since the 70s.

The bodyguard also asserted that boys were constantly at the home of Afrika Bambaataa. Lord Shariyf claimed that Bambaataa would take these young men on tour and stay in the same room with them.

"There’s always a boy in his house," Shariyf said. "When he leaves and gets home, there’s always a boy there. I’ve seen them camped, asking him for money. He travels with late teens. Those are the ones he takes overseas with him. When I went with him on tour in the states, I would stay in one room and he would have boys in the room with him."

Four men, including Bronx politician Ronald Savage, have accused Afrika Bambaataa of sexually assaulting them when they were children. Bambaataa has denied all of these allegations.

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