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{{Infobox musical artist
| Name                = Kurtis Blow
| | Img_capt            = 
| Img_size            = 
| Background          = solo_singer
| Birth_name          = Curtis Walker
| Alias               = 
| Born                = {{birth date and age|1959|8|9}}
| Died                = 
| Origin              = [[Harlem]], [[New York City]], [[United States|US]]
| Instrument          = [[Keyboard instrument|Keyboards]], [[Rapping|Vocals]]
| Genre               = [[Hip hop]]
| Occupation          = [[Rapping|Rapper]], [[Record producer|producer]], [[Disc jockey|DJ]]
| Years_active        = 1979–1988
| Label               = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
| Associated_acts     = 
| URL                 = 
}}

'''Curtis Walker''' (born [[9 August]] [[1959]]), better known by his stage name '''Kurtis Blow''', is one of the first commercially successful [[rapping|rappers]] and the first to sign with a major [[record label|label]]. "[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]", a [[single (music)|single]] from his 1980 debut [[album]], is an early [[hip hop music|hip hop]] classic.

==History==
Born in [[Harlem]], [[New York City|New York]], Curtis Walker got his public start in 1976 as a break-dancer and a block party DJ known by the name of Kool DJ Kurt. That same year he enrolled at the City College of New York and became a program director for the college radio station <ref name="autogenerated2">[http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/blow_kurtis/bio.jhtml Kurtis Blow | View the Music Artists Biography Online | VH1.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>]. Also in 1976, he joined a group called “The Force.” Russell Simmons was a lead member of that group. The Force sponsored parties around Harlem until 1977, when Simmons moved the group to Queens, New York <ref name="autogenerated1">[http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/emcees/kurtisblow.htm OldSchoolHipHop.Com - Kurtis Blow Biography<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.  After becoming an MC on his own, Kool DJ Kurt changed his name, with the persuasion of his manager Russell Simmons, to Kurtis Blow (as in body blow) <ref name="autogenerated2" />. Kurtis began trying to sell himself as “the number one rapper in Queens,” with Russell’s help [<ref name="autogenerated1" />]. For a short time Blow’s regular DJ was Simmons’ younger brother Joseph, who at the time was known as “DJ Run, the Son of Kurtis Blow.” He later changed his name and went on to become the first third of Run-D.M.C. <ref name="autogenerated2" />

    
In the late 70s, a Billboard Magazine reporter named Robert Ford made contact with Blow and Simmons and gave them magazine press. Russell convinced Ford that Blow was ready to hit the studio, and a music industry insider named J.B. Moore put the cash up for the recording <ref name="autogenerated1" />] . Blow put out his first song co-written by Ford and Moore called “Christmas Rappin” or “Rappin’ Blow.” Even though the song was a success, no major label wanted anything to do with “Christmas Rappin” because they assumed that rap was going to be a one hit wonder. Eventually an A&R (Artist and Repertoire) man from Mercury heard the song and signed Blow. It was the first major label hip hop release <ref name="autogenerated1" /> . His second single, "[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]," broke into the top five of Billboard's R&B chart, and soon after went gold. "[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]" was voted the best single of 1980 in the Village Voice's influential Pazz & Jop music critics' poll <ref>[http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres80.php Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 1980: Critics Poll<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>]. In 1980 he opened for reggae legend Bob Marley at the Madison Square Garden where he performed for an audience of 20,000. In the early 1980s, Kurtis found it hard to follow up after his hit song even though he released an album almost every year during the decade of the 80s, but his persistence paid off <ref name="autogenerated2" /> . As further evidence of Blow's ability to crossover to non-hip hop audiences, he opened for English punk rock band the Clash at their outdoor concerts on Pier 84 in New York City in 1982. On his 1986 album, Kingdom Blow, Bob Dylan and Dylan's backing singer, Debra Byrd contributed vocals to the cut "Street Rock" Around this time Blow became a record producer, helping new groups such as the Fat Boys sign on for record deals <ref name="autogenerated2" /> . Blow released a few more songs in the mid to late 1980s and made an appearance in the hip-hop film [[Krush Groove]], where he performed “If I Ruled the World,” which was Blow’s biggest hit since his 1980 smash “[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]] <ref name="autogenerated1" /> .”
 
“If I Ruled the World” was the last of Blow’s hit songs. His mainstream reputation  decreased as newer hip hop made his rap style seem old-school and outdated <ref name="autogenerated2" /> .  He went on to record a song with Dexter King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., titled “King Holiday” in observance of the civil rights leader’s holiday <ref name="autogenerated1" /> . Blow finally gave up his fast fading recording career, but in the early 90s, he contributed rap material to the soap opera One Life to Live. He also spent several years hosting as a DJ for the Los Angeles based hip hop FM radio station, Power 106, every Sunday night on the "Kurtis Blow Old School Show." He now DJs on Sirius Satellite Radio's old school hip hop station, Backspin.<ref>http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Channel&cid=1104779639871&s=person Backspin DJ profiles</ref>. Although no longer recording music, Blow starred in the 1997 rap documentary, Rhyme and Reason. A theology major at Nyack College (Class of 2009) <ref>http://sunetesubsol.net/v4/10-01-2007:kurtis-blow</ref>, Blow's recent focus has been on spirituality, evidenced by Kurtis Blow Presents: Hip Hop Ministry (2007, EMI Gospel), a compilation of Christian rap. In 2004, Kurtis collaborated with [[Bomfunk MC's]] on the track ''Hey Everybody'' from their album "Reverse Psychology".

==References in popular culture==

The [[They Might Be Giants]] song "Where Your Eyes Don't Go" on their second album, ''Lincoln'', features the lines "You're free to come and go / And talk like Kurtis Blow."

The [[Tom Tom Club]] song "Genius of Love" features the lines "Steppin' to the rhythm of a Kurtis Blow/ Who needs to think when your feet just go."

The Kurtis Blow hit, ‘Basketball’ is arguably, the most famous song about the sport in existence and it still timeless and popular today.  He still works a crowd 20+ years later with that same hit according to various postings on youtube.com.  'Basketball' is heard at dozens of NBA games during half time each season and it was the theme music for ‘Like Mike’ a major studio film starring Lil Bow Wow released in 2002.

''[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]'' was featured in the video game [[Grand Theft Auto Vice City]] on the Wildstyle Pirate Radio station.

''[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]'' was used in the video game [[True Crime: New York City]]

''[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]'' was sampled in the song [[Macarron Chacarron]] which has become an internet phenomenon.

''[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]'' was used in the video game [[Scarface: The World Is Yours]]

The song "Music Matters" by [[Faithless]] references Kurtis Blow, ''From Bamma Lamma to Tamla Mo, Curtis Mayfield to Kurtis Blow.''

The [[Jurassic 5]] song ''Quality Control'' features the line ''We can rule the world without Kurtis and still Blow.''
 
''[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]'' mentioned on 'Everybody hates Chris' during Chris' running for class president.

==Discography==
===Albums===
* ''[[Kurtis Blow (album)|Kurtis Blow]]'' (1980, Mercury)
* ''[[Deuce (Kurtis Blow)|Deuce]]'' (1981, Mercury)
* ''Tough'' (1982, Mercury)
* ''Ego Trip'' (1984, Mercury)
* ''[[America (Kurtis Blow album)|America]]'' (1985, Mercury)
* ''Kingdom Blow'' (1986, Mercury)
* ''Back by Popular Demand'' (1988, Mercury)
* ''Kurtis Blow Presents: Hip Hop Ministry'' (2007, EMI Gospel)

===Singles and EPs===
* ''Christmas Rappin''' (1979, Mercury)
* ''[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]'' (1980, Mercury)
* ''Tough'' EP (1982, Mercury)
* ''Party Time?'' EP (1983, Mercury)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [[Allmusic]] [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifqxq95ld6e~T0 entry]
* {{imdb name|0089423}}
* [http://www.oldschoolhiphop.com/artists/emcees/kurtisblow.htm Old school hip hop]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Blow, Kurtis}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:African American musicians]]
[[Category:American rappers]]
[[Category:African American rappers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from New York City]]

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