Rappin' - Music

Curtis "Kurtis Blow" Walker Born On August 9 1959 In Harlem New York Is One Of The Pioneer Rappers In The Recording Industry And Hip Hop's First Mainstream Star. "The Breaks" 1980 Is One Of Hip Hop's Undisputed Classics With Its Catchy Disco Tune And Rapping Style. Blow Was Influenced By DJ Hollywood. He Became An MC In His Own Right Around 1977 And Changed His Name To Kurtis Blow As In A Body Blow At The Suggestion Of His Manager Future Rap Mogul Russell Simmons. Blow Began His Career In New York City In The Mid-1970s When He Was A Breakdancer Until Switching To DJing Under The Name Kool DJ Kurt And Then Finally Rapping. He Was The First Rapper To Record A Full Length Album On A Major Label 1979 . This Occurred After Recording "Christmas Rappin" His First Single During This Time "Rapper's Delight" By The Sugarhill Gang Became The First Hit For Hip Hop. The Whole Field Was Derided As A Fad Though And Thus There Was Much Resistance To Signing Blow. In 1980 He Opened For Reggae Legend Bob Marley At The Madison Square Garden Where He Performed For An Audience Of 20 000. He Has Appeared In Several Feature Films Including Krush Groove And The Show. A Duet With Rock Icon Bob Dylan Called "Street Rock" Appeared On Blow's 1986 Album Kingdom Blow 1 By Special Arrangement Of Wayne Garfield Garfield And Blow Co-Wrote "Reasons For Wanting You" On Kingdom Blow 2 And Debra Byrd American Idol's Head Vocal Coach And Former Dylan Backup Singer See Album Credits . Citation Needed And In 2004 He Recorded The Song "Hey Everybody" With Max C And Bomfunk MC's For Their Album Reverse Psychology. He Also Co-Wrote Songs With The Fat Boys Including Their Signature Songs "Fat Boys" 1984 And "The Fat Boys Are Back" 1985 . Kurtis Blow Also Became The First Hip Hop Musician Embraced By The Mainstream Advertising Industry With His Appearance In A Commercial For The Soft Drink Sprite. He Is Currently A DJ On Backspin 43 Which Is The Old School Hip Hop Station On The Sirius Satellite Radio Service. According To An Interview With I Suppose Productions He Is Also Currently A Theology Major At Nyack College Working To Enter The Ministry. According To Blow "Man's Real Telos... The Real Purpose In Life Is To Serve God." read less