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— CH. 1 · THE FIRST COMMERCIAL RAPPER —

Kurtis Blow

~2 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
5 sections

  • Kurtis Blow made history in 1979 when he became the first rapper signed to a major label. Mercury Records released his single Christmas Rappin' that same year. The record sold over 400,000 copies and became one of the first commercially successful hip hop singles. His follow-up track The Breaks achieved even greater success by selling more than 840,000 copies. This song from his 1980 self-titled debut album was the first certified gold record rap song. Walker grew up in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City before achieving this milestone. He attended CCNY and Nyack College while studying communications, film, and ministry.

  • By 1983, Kurtis Blow moved into production for other artists. He created hits for The Fat Boys and Run DMC. Run began his career billed as The Son of Kurtis Blow. Lovebug Starski, Full Force, Russell Simmons, and Wyclef Jean all produced or collaborated with Walker. Former label mates René & Angela had their R&B chart topping debut Save Your Love For #1 gift rapped by Blow. He worked with Phillip Jones as co-producer and Dexter Scott King as executive producer on King Holiday. That song celebrated the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day which became a U.S. federal holiday in January 1986. Blow lived in Co-op City in the Bronx during the mid-1980s.

  • Blow performed as actor and music coordinator in several feature films including Leon Kennedy's Knights of the City. He appeared in the hip hop film Krush Groove. As host and co-producer for Das Leben Amerikanischer Gangs in 1995, he focused on the West Coast gang scene. He hosted and was associate producer for Miramax's Rhyme and Reason documentary. Blow gave an informative account of hip hop status while participating in the three volume record release The History of Rap for Rhino Records in 1998. He co-produced Slippin Ten Years with the Bloods and won praises from Showtime for being the most viewed documentary in 2003. Recently he produced Netflix show The Get Down. Beginning in 1996, Kurtis Blow featured in a hip hop display at Rock and Roll Hall of

  • Fame.

    In 2016, Kurtis Blow was unanimously elected Chairman of the Hip Hop Museum. The museum is slated to open in October 2026 in Bronx point section of NYC. In 2017, Blow formed The Bboy Committee group of first generation Bboys and Girls. They created styles called Bboying, Rocking, and Break Dancing. Members include Trixie Lauree Myers, RIP Wallace D, Dancing Doug Douglas Colon, A1 Bboy Sasa, DJ Clark Kent Tyrone Smith, Legendary Smith Twins, Zulu Kings, Cholly Rock Anthony G. Horne, OG BGirl Darlene Rivers, Puppet William Billy Bill Waring, Darryl Solomon The Mad Hatter, Lil Cesar Rivas, and Shabba-Doo. The committee facilitates Bboy section of Universal Hip Hop Museum. In 2002, he traveled to Middle East to tour Armed Forces bases performing seventeen shows for troops. He appeared in

  • documentary Hip-Hop Evolution hosted by Canadian rapper Shad which won 2016 Peabody Award and 2017 International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming.

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1959 births20th-century African-American musicians20th-century American male rappers20th-century American rappers21st-century African-American rappers21st-century American male musicians21st-century American rappersAfrican-American ChristiansAfrican-American male rappersAfrican-American record producersAmerican beatboxersAmerican boogie musiciansHeart transplant recipientsMercury Records artistsNyack College alumniPeople from Co-op City, BronxPeople from HarlemPolydor Records artistsRappers from ManhattanRecord producers from New York (state)

Common questions

When did Kurtis Blow become the first rapper signed to a major label?

Kurtis Blow became the first rapper signed to a major label in 1979. Mercury Records released his single Christmas Rappin that same year.

What album contains the first certified gold record rap song by Kurtis Blow?

The Breaks from his 1980 self-titled debut album was the first certified gold record rap song. This track achieved greater success than his previous work by selling more than 840,000 copies.

Where did Kurtis Blow live during the mid-1980s and what holiday song did he produce then?

Blow lived in Co-op City in the Bronx during the mid-1980s. He worked with Phillip Jones as co-producer on King Holiday which celebrated the first Martin Luther King Jr Day that became a U.S. federal holiday in January 1986.

Who is scheduled to open the Hip Hop Museum founded by Kurtis Blow?

The museum is slated to open in October 2026 in Bronx point section of NYC. Kurtis Blow was unanimously elected Chairman of the Hip Hop Museum in 2016.

Which documentary won awards for Kurtis Blow in 2016 and 2017?

He appeared in documentary Hip-Hop Evolution hosted by Canadian rapper Shad which won 2016 Peabody Award and 2017 International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming.

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