Kurtis Blow

Kurtis Blow stands as an imposing pioneer among rap’s earliest commercial trailblazers, his broad appeal and magnetic stage presence demonstrating that the genre could sustain itself beyond momentary novelty and thereby clearing space for the wider breakthroughs later achieved by Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C. He became the first MC to secure a contract with a major label and issue a full album on it, the first to earn gold certification for a single with the landmark 1980 track “The Breaks,” the first to mount nationwide and overseas concert tours, and the first to underscore rap’s commercial viability through a corporate endorsement arrangement. As the inaugural prominent solo rapper committed to wax, he naturally drew the focus of countless aspiring young MCs during hip-hop’s formative period. Despite this lasting significance, many of his recordings have not aged gracefully; although agile by the standards of their era, his flows lacked the sophistication displayed by the more advanced lyricists who absorbed his approach and surpassed him on the charts. Even so, at peak moments he embodies classic old-school virtues—buoyant, boastful party anthems that preserve the wide-eyed vitality of a still-developing art form.

Born Kurtis Walker in Harlem in 1959, he participated in hip-hop’s nascent expressions during the 1970s, first as a breakdancer and later as a block-party and club DJ known as Kool DJ Kurt. After matriculating at CCNY in 1976 he also assumed the role of program director at the campus radio station. Around 1977 he began performing as an MC and adopted the name Kurtis Blow—suggested by his manager, the future Def Jam founder and rap impresario Russell Simmons. He shared bills with storied turntablists including Grandmaster Flash, and for a stretch his regular DJ was Simmons’ younger brother Joseph, who would later shorten his own stage moniker from “Son of Kurtis Blow” and form the other half of Run-D.M.C. Between 1977 and 1978 his regular appearances throughout Harlem and the Bronx elevated him to underground acclaim, prompting Billboard writer Robert Ford to discuss a recording project with Simmons. Blow laid down the track “Christmas Rappin’,” co-authored by Ford and investor J.B. Moore; once the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” reached the R&B Top Five, Mercury Records offered him a deal.

His follow-up single, “The Breaks,” achieved immediate success in 1980, mirroring the path of “Rapper’s Delight” into the R&B Top Five and eventually attaining gold status; it remains one of the most revered and lasting statements from the old-school era. The self-titled debut album Kurtis Blow arrived the same year and climbed into the R&B Top Ten, countering widespread skepticism that the Sugarhill Gang’s breakthrough had been an isolated anomaly. While its excursions into soul singing and rock covers have not worn well, the socially aware “Hard Times” represented an early foray into hip-hop’s conscience and was later revisited by Run-D.M.C. Subsequent efforts proved harder to sustain commercially, even though Blow issued nearly an album annually throughout most of the decade. Deuce in 1981 and Tough in 1982 moved modestly, while the 1983 Party Time EP recruited D.C. go-go ensemble E.U. for a fresh rhythmic direction. Concurrently he established himself as a producer, overseeing sessions for numerous hip-hop and R&B acts and, most prominently, guiding the majority of the Fat Boys’ output after securing their recording contract. Ego Trip, released in 1984, performed solidly thanks to the DJ homage “AJ Scratch,” the buoyant “Basketball,” and the Run-D.M.C. collaboration “8 Million Stories.” He next appeared in the cult hip-hop film Krush Groove, delivering “If I Ruled the World,” his strongest chart success since “The Breaks.”

That single marked the close of Blow’s mainstream peak, as hip-hop’s swift evolution rendered his style increasingly dated. America in 1985 attracted little attention, and Kingdom Blow in 1986 received a cool response even after spawning one final chart entry, “I’m Chillin’.” Reviewers harshly dismissed his last attempt at a comeback, 1988’s Back by Popular Demand, repeatedly noting that the title no longer reflected reality. Afterward he stepped away from recording yet continued to champion early hip-hop culture through other avenues. In the early 1990s he supplied rap material for the daytime drama One Life to Live and later hosted an old-school program on Los Angeles station Power 106. In 1997 Rhino Records enlisted him, in his capacity as a revered elder statesman, to produce, annotate, and curate the three-volume anthology Kurtis Blow Presents the History of Rap. That year he also figured prominently in the documentary Rhyme and Reason. Younger artists have paid homage by revisiting his catalog: Nas alluded to “If I Ruled the World” on the 1996 album It Was Written, while R&B trio Next sampled “Christmas Rappin’” for their 1998 hit “Too Close.” In the ensuing decade Blow established the Hip Hop Church in New York, was ordained as a minister, and released faith-based rap projects with the Trinity.