The godfather of hip hop Afrika Bambaataa may have been famously born in the Bronx, but the last few years have seen the legendary DJ make Ithaca something of a home away from home. In November, Bambaataa began his three-year term as Cornell University's first visiting hip hop scholar.

I don't do a ton of interviews, in fact I've only done two in this site's history. One with Craig Newmark of Craigslist and one with Alex Bogusky formerly of CP+B. I only interview folks who I think bring a unique perspective to social media marketing.

"THE ROOTS OF HIP HOP" - RM HIP HOP MAGAZINE 1986 In the beginning there was Africa, and it is from Africa that all today's black American music, be it Jazz, R'n'B, Soul or Electro, is either directly or indirectly descended.

It's about an hour past lunchtime, and the man who invented hip-hop is nowhere to be found. The restaurant on Lenox Avenue where we'd planned to meet is closed-and has been for two weeks, according to a passerby. A call from a publicist is even less reassuring.

Bambaataa sent out this interview he recently did with . There you'll actually catch some audio and a some other cool interviews with Hip Hop pioneers.. I think it's always important to peep what he says and contrast that with things he said over the years.

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview, and transformed American politics and culture.

From its humble beginnings in the Bronx to its transformation into a multibillion-dollar global industry, hip hop has stirred constant and contentious debate. Avoiding the simple caricatures that either celebrate or condemn this powerful movement, S.