born as lance taylor to jamaican and barbadian immigrants, bambaataa grew up in the bronx river projects, with an activist mother and uncle. as a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movement, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. he was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection. gangs in the area became the law, clearing their turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf. bambaataa was a member of the black spades. he quickly rose to the position of warlord of one of the divisions. as warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the young spades. he was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. as a result, the spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.