Kurtis Blow is one of the most popular and richest Rapper who was born on August 9, 1959 in New York City, New York State, United States. Legendary rapper who was a pioneer in the hip hop genre and who released the first-ever gold certified rap single, ‘The Breaks’, in 1980.
He was a longtime collaborator with fellow hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash.
In 1979, at the age of twenty, Kurtis Blow became the first rapper to be signed by a major label, Mercury, which released “Christmas Rappin'”. It sold over 400,000 copies, becoming one of the first commercially successful hip hop singles. Its follow-up, “The Breaks”, also sold over half a million copies. He released ten albums over the next eleven years. His first album was Kurtis Blow, while his second was the Top 40 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 on Billboard’s R&B chart. By 1983, he moved into production.
Kurtis has spoken out emphatically against racism. He was an active participant in the Artists Against Apartheid record “Sun City”. He worked with Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Operation Push and National Rainbow Coalition in Chicago and with Rev. Al Sharpton’s Action Network in New York City. In 1995, he started working on-air in radio, Power 106, the #1 CHR radio station in Southern California. He hosted The Old School Show on Sunday nights, featuring hits from the past. He also worked for Sirius Satellite Radio on the Classic Old School Hip Hop station Backspin (Channel 46) from 2000-2004.
He was married to Shirley Walker and has a brother named Joseph.
