Time Zone was a hip-hop band headed by Afrika Bambaataa. Bambaataa worked with different musicians for each Time Zone project. The first Time Zone single was the 1983 electro song "The Wildstyle" which featured music from a German project called Wunderwerke. Bambaataa was introduced to their music by Rusty Egan of Visage. ...show more

Time Zone was a hip-hop band headed by Afrika Bambaataa. Bambaataa worked with different musicians for each Time Zone project. The first Time Zone single was the 1983 electro song "The Wildstyle" which featured music from a German project called Wunderwerke. Bambaataa was introduced to their music by Rusty Egan of Visage.

The song became very popular among break-dancers at the time. In 1984, Time Zone released their most well-known single, "World Destruction". A collaboration between Bambaataa, Public Image Ltd. leader John Lydon, and producer/bassist Bill Laswell, this single is the first real rapcore song; predating Run-DMC & Aerosmith's "Walk This Way".

The single was arranged by Laswell after Lydon and Bambaataa had acknowledged respect for each other's work: Afrika Bambaataa: "I was talking to Bill Laswell saying I need somebody who's really crazy, man, and he thought of John Lydon. I knew he was perfect because I'd seen this movie that he'd made (Copkiller), I knew about all the Sex Pistols and Public Image stuff, so we got together and we did a smashing crazy version, and a version where he cussed the Queen something terrible, which was never released." John Lydon: "We went in, put a drum beat down on the machine and did the whole thing in about four-and-a-half hours. It was very, very quick." The single also includes renowned musicians Bernie Worrell, Nicky Skopelitis, and Aiyb Dieng, all of whom would later play on PiL's Album. Laswell also played bass and produced that album. ...show less