Happy Hump Day P.O.U. Family! We are halfway through the work and school week. This week’s open threads are dedicated to some of the earlier musicians of hip hop. This is the first part of a mini-series that will cover rap/hip-hop from it’s beginnings. There will be future threads that cover the golden age of hip hop, gangsta and modern hip hop.
The Breaks- 1980
Kurt Walker (born August 9th, 1959), better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major record label. “The Breaks”, a single from his 1980 eponymous debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song.
In 1979, aged twenty, Kurtis became the first rapper to be signed by a major label, Mercury, which released “Christmas Rappin'”. It sold over 400,000 copies. Its follow-up, “The Breaks”, sold over half a million copies. He released ten albums over the next eleven years. His first album was Kurtis Blow, while his second was the Top 50 pop album Deuce. Party Time featured a fusion of rap and go-go. Ego Trip included the hits: “8 Million Stories,” “AJ Scratch,” and “Basketball”. His 1985 album, America, garnered praise for its title track’s music video. From this album, the song “If I Ruled the World” became a Top 5 hit on Billboard’s R&B chart. In 1996, fellow rapper Nas debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover version of the song.
Besides his own work, Kurtis has been https://handsfreehealth.com/hfhealth/buy-levitra-online/ responsible for hits by The Fat Boys and Run DMC.[1] Run began his career billed as ‘The Son of Kurtis Blow.’ Lovebug Starski, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Full Force, Russell Simmons and Wyclef Jean all have been produced by, or have worked with, Kurtis. Former label mates René & Angela had their R&B chart topping debut “Save Your Love (For #1)” produced by Blow.
Jam On It -1984
Newcleus is an American electro and old school hip hop group that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They are primarily known for their12-inch singles “Jam-On’s Revenge”, re-released as “Jam on Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)” (1983), and “Jam on It” (1984).
A precursor to the group, known as Jam-On Productions, formed in 1977 in Brooklyn, New York, which included teenagers Ben “Cozmo D” Cenac and his cousins Monique and Pierre (Pete) Angevin. The group’s popularity grew as it played block parties in Brooklyn. By 1979, the primary group’s members were Cenac, Yvette “Lady E” Cook (who would later marry Cozmo D), Monique Angevin, and Bob “Chilly B” Crafton (who would later marry Angevin). The coming together of families inspired the name change to Newcleus.
***An extra- oldie but goodie!***
Boogie Boys was an American hip hop group from Harlem, New York. It was the first hip hop group that signed with Capitol/EMI Records, and it had a major hit in America in 1985 with the single “A Fly Girl” and several successful albums. In 1988, Rudy Sheriff left the group and, soon after, it disbanded.