Kurtis Blow

Kurtis Blow didn't only change the game- he showed up early and laid the Astroturf, chalked the yard lines, sketched out the plays, and counted the first points on the scoreboard. As pioneers go, he's Hip Hop's Neil Armstrong: the first rapper with a major-label deal, the first rapper to score a gold single, the first rapper to appear on national TV, the first rapper to tour the world. More than just a voice on a record or a name-dropped in a trend piece, Kurtis Blow was Hip Hop's first rock star, its first icon. To many listeners in 1980, he was Hip Hop's first anything. Born Curtis Waker, he was a trailblazer long before his lyrics were ever etched onto wax. An early Hip Hop head, he was sneaking into Manhattan clubs to watch Pete DJ jones and Lovebug Starski, riding the 4 Train up to the Bronx to marvel at Kool Herc, and hitting the cardboard in Harlem B-boy battles. He was spinning records in 1976 as Kool DJ Kurt, rocking mics by 1977, and rocking crowds by doing both simultaneously. But his legend was truly born once he hooked up with a peerlessly determined young promoter named Russel Simmons. in 77' Walker, Simmons, and promoter Rudy Toppin' threw a party at the Renaissance in Queens, the very first under the Rush Productions banner, launching a symbiotic relationship that would, ultimately, make Simmons a mogul and Walker the first Hip Hop idol. Simmons suggested Kool DJ Kurt change his name to far catchier Kurtis Blow. In turn, Blow gave steady DJ works to Simmons' 13-year-old brother, kick-starting the career of Joey Simmons- a future legend then know as "DJ Run, the Son of Kurtis Blow."