''Kurtis Blow'' is the
debut album by American rapper
Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper a ...
. It was released on September 29, 1980, by
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
. The record includes the song "
The Breaks", which was often sampled later in hip-hop records, mainly for its introduction made by Blow's ''a cappella'' vocal, and for the drum break, giving a wordplay dimension to the title. "Rappin' Blow, Pt. 2" was issued as a single that had a do-it-yourself B-side, the instrumental version. "Takin' Care of Business" is one of the first hip hop and rock ’n’ roll crossover attempts.
The album was placed at number 71 on ''The Greatest 80 Albums of 1980'' by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine.
Track listing
Side one
# "Rappin' Blow, Pt. 2" (Kurtis Blow, Robert Ford, Miller, J.B. Moore, Larry Smith) 4:41
# "
The Breaks" (Kurtis Blow, Ford, Moore, Russell Simmons, Smith) 7:41
# "Way Out West" (Moore) 7:40
Side two
# "Throughout Your Years" (Kurtis Blow, Moore, Waring) 5:17
# "Hard Times" (Jimmy Bralower, Moore, Russell Simmons, Smith, Waring) 4:36
# "All I Want in This World (Is to Find That Girl)" (Moore) 4:59
# "
Takin' Care of Business" (
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...
) 5:29
CD bonus tracks
# "Christmas Rappin'" (Kurtis Blow, Ford, Moore) 3:57
# "Breaks
nstrumental (Kurtis Blow, Ford, Moore, Simmons, Smith) 5:52
Personnel
Musicians
*Vocals: Kurtis Blow, Sudana Bobatoon, Wayne Garfield, Sheila Spencer, William Waring, Adam White
*Guitars:
Eddie Martinez, J.B. Moore, Dean Swenson,
John Tropea
John Tropea (pronounced 'tro-pay'; born January 7, 1946) is an American guitarist.
Career
Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. His musical education continued at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz guitar, harmony, ...
*Keyboards:
Onaje Allan Gumbs
Onaje Allan Gumbs (born Allan Bentley Gumbs, September 3, 1949 – April 6, 2020)[ ...]
, J.B. Moore
*Bass: Craig Short,
Tom Wolk
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk (December 24, 1951 – February 28, 2010) was an American musician and bassist for the music duo Daryl Hall & John Oates and a member of the ''Saturday Night Live'' house band.
Life and career
Wolk was born and raised in Yon ...
*Drums: Jimmy Bralower
Production
*Produced By Robert Ford & J.B. Moore
*Engineers: Rod Hui
*Assistant Engineers: Erik Block, Paula Stevens, Lisa Zimet
*Mixing: Vincent Davis
*Mastering: Suha Gur
References
{{Authority control
1980 debut albums
Kurtis Blow albums
Mercury Records albums
Albums produced by Larry Smith (producer)