Difference between revisions 106856028 and 106856703 on dewiki

{{Importartikel}}
[[File:Kurtis Blow im Musiktheater Bad (Hannover, Germany), 2012-03-30.JPG|thumb|Kurtis Blow in concert (Hannover, Germany), 2012-03-30]]cleanup-reorganize|date=October 2011}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox person
|name=Kurtis Blow
|birth_name=Kurt Walker
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1959|8|9}}
|birth_place=[[Harlem, New York]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|death_date=
|death_place=
|occupation=rapper, record producer
}}
'''Kurt Walker''' (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name '''Kurtis Blow''', is an [[United States|American]] [[rapping|rapper]] and [[record producer]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book
| first= Martin C.
| last= Strong
| year= 2000
| title= The Great Rock Discography
| edition= 5th
| publisher= Mojo Books
| location= Edinburgh
| page= 93
| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major [[record label]]. "[[The Breaks]]", a [[single (music)|single]] from his 1980 [[Kurtis Blow (album)|debut album]], is the first certified [[music recording sales certification|gold record]] rap song.

== Life and career ==

In 1979, aged twenty, Kurtis Blow became the first rapper to be signed by a major label, [[Mercury Records|Mercury]], which released "Christmas Rappin'". It sold over 400,000 copies. Its follow-up, "[[The Breaks]]", sold over half a million copies.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> He was also the first rapper to perform overseas.<ref name=raphistory>{{cite news|author=Benny Negro|title=Exclusive Interview with Kurtis Blow |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnk4dwy19Ks|work= ''Bcyde Video'' |publisher=''[[YouTube]]''|accessdate=2011-06-03}}</ref> He released ten albums over the next eleven years. His first album was ''[[Kurtis Blow (album)|Kurtis Blow]]'', while his second was the [[Top 40|Top 50]] pop album ''Deuce''. ''Party Time'' featured a fusion of rap and [[go-go]]. ''Ego Trip'' included the hits: "8 Million Stories," "AJ Scratch," and "Basketball". His 1985 album, ''America'', garnered praise for its title track's [[music video]]. From this album, the song "If I Ruled the World" became a Top 5 [[hit record|hit]] on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'''s [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B]] [[record chart|chart]]. In 1996, fellow rapper [[Nas]] debuted at #1 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]] with a [[cover version]] of the song.

Besides his own work, Kurtis has been responsible for hits by [[The Fat Boys]] &&and [[Run DMC]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> Run began his career billed as 'The Son of Kurtis Blow.' [[Lovebug Starski]], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, [[Full Force]], [[Russell Simmons]] and [[Wyclef Jean]] all have been produced by, or have worked with, Kurt. Former label mates [[René & Angela]] had their R&B chart topping debut "[[Save Your Love (Rene & Angela song)|Save Your Love (For #1)]]" gift rapped by Kurt.

Along with [[Dexter Scott King]], Kurt co-ordinated "King Holiday," a song to celebrate [[Martin Luther King]]’s birthday. The Mercury/Polygram single, co-produced by Kurt, included the collaborative efforts of [[Stephanie Mills]], [[Whitney Houston]], [[New Edition]],  [[El Debarge]], [[James "JT" Taylor]], The Fat Boys, [[Menudo]] ([[Ricky Martin]]), [[Teena Marie]] and Run DMC. The mMusic vVideo was sponsored and paid for by [[Prince (musician)|Prince]].

Kurt's acting performances and music coordination in several [[film]]s includes Leon Kennedy’s ''[[Cry of the City]]'' and the hip hop film ''[[Krush Groove]]''. ''[[The New York Daily News]]'' called his cinematic works, “Noteworthy, a dynamic presence.”{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} As host and co-producer for ''Das Leben Amerikanischer Gangs'', an international film production's focus on the West Coast (contracted; show full)red in a hip hop display at the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]. The display still stands. In 1998, the group [[Next (group)|Next]] released "[[Too Close]]", in which the music of "Christmas Rappin'" was [[sampling (music)|sampled]]. [[ASCAP]] honored Kurt and Next at a gala affair on May 26, 1999. In 2002, he traveled to the [[Middle East]] to tour the Armed Forces bases performing seventeen shows for the troops. The tour consisted of shows in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, K
yrgyzstan, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Kurt said, “It was a tour I will never forget,” and “I did the [[Bob Hope]] thing.”

Kurt was a judge for the 8th annual [[The Independent Music Awards|Independent Music Awards]].<ref>[http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp Independent Music Awards - Past Judges]</ref>

==Minister==
Deeply committed to [[Christianity]], Kurtis attended ministry classes at [[Nyack College]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}. As Founder of The Hip Hop Church, Kurtis serves as rapper, DJ, worship leader and licensed minister.<ref>[http://www.hiphopministry.com/ Hip Hop Ministry]</ref> He became an ordained minister on August 16, 2009. There are several hip hop churches in the US, and he is involved with many of them. "Don't get it twisted, God has always existed," said Kurtis, "and in terms of these young people out here who love Jesus but do not like to go to church, maybe hip hop can bring them (contracted; show full)
* In Chris Rock's movie "CB4", MC Gusto says he's going to send a search party and find Kurtis Blow.
* In the video game ''[[NBA 2K12]]'', "Basketball" is used in the opening video and is also part of the game's soundtrack.
* A poster of Kurtis Blow can be seen in an episode of [[Everybody Hates Chris]]. The episode is Everybody Hates Houseguest.
* "The Breaks" is a featured song on the game Dance Central 2 for the Xbox Kinect.

* In [[Cedric The Entertainer]]'s Starting Lineup, Cedric speculates on having a black president.   After some comparisons of [[Bill Clinton]]'s behaviors, he predicts that, [[Scooby Doo]]-like, Clinton will remove a mask, to reveeal he is Kurtis Blow.

==Discography==
===Albums===
* ''[[Kurtis Blow (album)|Kurtis Blow]]'' (1980, Mercury)
* ''[[Deuce (Kurtis Blow album)|Deuce]]'' (1981, Mercury)
* ''[[Tough (Kurtis Blow album)|Tough]]'' (1982, Mercury)
* ''[[The Best Rapper on the Scene]]'' (1983, Mercury)
(contracted; show full)* 1982: "Tough EP" (Mercury)
* 1983: "[[Party Time?]]" (Mercury)
* 1983: "Nervous" (Mercury)
* 1984: "Ego Trip" (Mercury)
* 1986: "The Bronx" (Mercury)
* 1988: "Back By Popular Demand" (Mercury)

==
 Einzelnachweise ==
<references />References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://kurtisblow.net Official Website]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089423/ Kurtis Blow] on the [[Internet Movie Database]]
*[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p12 Kurtis Blow] on [[AllMusic]]

{{Persondata{{Kurtis Blow}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              =Blow, Kurtis
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH     =August 9, 1959
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =Harlem, New York
| DATE OF DEATH     =
| PLACE OF DEATH    =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blow, Kurtis}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:African American record producers]]
[[Category:American boogie musicians]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Rappers from New York City]]
[[Category:Beatboxers]]
[[Category:Nyack College alumni]]

[[bg:Къртис Блоу]]
[[de:Kurtis Blow]]
[[es:Kurtis Blow]]
[[fr:Kurtis Blow]]
[[it:Kurtis Blow]]
[[pl:Kurtis Blow]]
[[pt:Kurtis Blow]]
[[ru:Блоу, Кёртис]]