Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaattaa recently sat down with Vlad TV to discuss the evolution of Hip Hop.

From its origins to the Golden Era, Gangsta Rap and beyond, Bambaattaa has seen Hip Hop progress and regress during its 30-plus years of existence.

“It’s very interesting to see the evolution of Hip Hop going from breakbeat parties, to sometimes violence, to happy days of the electro-funk back to the gangsta rap but it’s interesting to see how the corporations have taken control of our culture,” Bambaataa says.

“We’re calling for all Hip Hop people worldwide, especially these so-called radio stations to start playing all Hip Hop music from around the planet,” he continues.

Bambaattaa is regarded as “The Godfather” of the genre. Alongside DJ Kool Herc, Bambaattaa is credited as one of the original deejays to instill the breakbeat on the turntables.

As a founder of the Zulu Nation, Bambaattaa has been advancing and critiquing the culture since the late ’70s.

“We try our best to stay out there and keep everybody on a path of knowing about the true-school days,” he says. “For most of the  people that really want to know about the true culture of Hip Hop, whether it’s Kool Herc, or Grandmaster Flash, or any of the other great pioneer Hip Hop rap groups or b-boys or b-girls but when they want to know the true factology about Hip Hop as a culture, they’ve got to come back to the Universal Zulu Nation.”

Watch the brief interview below: