Kurtis Blow

Kurtis Blow was born Kurtis Walker in Harlem in 1959

The first rapper to sign with a major record label, was instrumental in bringing rap from the underground to the masses. He began to immerse himself in the newborn hip-hop culture in the early '70s; in 1976, he enrolled at City College of New York, where he became program director at the college's radio station. During his college years, Blow fell in with a group of friends, acquaintances and collaborators that would become the core of early-'80s hip-hop.

His Hits Include “These Are The Breaks,” “Basketball,” “Christmas Rapping”