Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Blow (actually Kurtis Walker ) (born August 9, 1959 in Harlem ) is a pioneer of rap . His first and best known hit was The Breaks (1980) and is considered a hip-hop classic . One of his most successful songs was basketball , a co-production with Full Force from Brooklyn . His music was influenced by DJ Hollywood . Bob Dylan can also be heard on Blow's 1986 album Kingdom Blow .
Life
Kurtis Blow began his career as a breakdancer in New York City in the mid-1970s , before moving to rap via DJing . He was the first rapper to record a full album with a major record company (1980). This happened after the recording of his first single Christmas Rappin - around the same time that the Sugarhill Gang landed the first hip-hop hit with Rapper's Delight . At the time, this style of music was ridiculed as a passing phenomenon and there was great resistance to signing Blow.
In 1983 he became the producer of Run DMC and the Fat Boys . In 1986 he landed his last chart hit with I'm Chillin .
Kurtis Blow can be seen in the films Krush Groove and The Show .
Discography
Studio albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1980 | Kurtis Blow | - | - | - | - |
US71 (10 weeks) US |
First published: September 1980
|
1981 | Deuce | - | - | - | - |
US137 (5 weeks) US |
First published: June 1981
|
1982 | Tough | - | - | - | - |
US167 (5 weeks) US |
First published: October 1982
|
1984 | Ego trip | - | - | - | - |
US83 (37 weeks) US |
First published: December 1984
|
1985 | America | - | - | - | - |
US153 (15 weeks) US |
First published: October 1985
|
1986 | Kingdom Blow | - | - | - | - |
US196 (2 weeks) US |
First published: November 1986
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
more publishments
- 1983: Party Time? (EP)
- 1983: The best rapper on the scene
- 1984: Rapper in Town
- 1988: Back by Popular Demand
- 1990: Best of ... Rappin '
- 1994: The best of Kurtis Blow
- 1997: The history of Rap
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1979 | Christmas Rappin ' Kurtis Blow |
- | - | - |
UK30 (6 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: November 1979
|
1980 |
The Breaks Kurtis Blow |
DE56 (9 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK47 (5 weeks) UK |
US87
gold
(6 weeks)US |
First published: August 1980
|
1983 | Party Time Party Time EP |
- | - | - |
UK67 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: July 1983
|
1985 | Basketball ego trip |
- | - | - | - |
US71 (6 weeks) US |
First published: March 1985
|
1986 | If I Ruled The World America |
- | - | - |
UK24 (10 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 1986
|
I'm Chillin ' Kingdom Blow |
- | - | - |
UK64 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 1986
|
More singles
- 1979: Rappin '
- 1984: Under Fire
- 1994: The Breaks Remixes
Web links
- Kurtis Blow at laut.de
- Interview with Kurtis Blow GermanRhymes.de
- Kurtis Blow at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Blow, kurtis |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Walker, Kurtis (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician, pioneer of rap |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 9, 1959 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Harlem |