Kurtis Blow 1
Kurtis Blow (b. 1959) is a member of the first generation of rap and hip-hop artists. He spent many decades honing his skills and has helped many subsequent generations of hip-hop artists professionally and spiritually. Today, he is recognized for his contributions to building the hip-hop generation through his organization at Hip Hop Church Global and for helping others from his platform as an ordained minister. Including in his arsenal of firsts-see the list below-he is probably the first genuine hip-hop artist to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology, in his case from Nyack Christian College and Seminary in 2008. This degree has allowed him to become an ordained minister of the Gospel (Chapman 2018, n.p.). Listen to his TedxCUNY talk about rap and hip-hop history and his contributions to its history.
The Breaks: Building the Hip-Hop Generation | Kurtis Walker | TEDxCUNY [ 00:00-00:00 ]
Kurtis Blow's official web page states that he "was instrumental in raising the first generation of MCsA vocalist who rhymes over the sampling, scratching, and mixing supplied by a DJ. Associated with hip-hop culture and rap music since the 1970s. and continues to carry the torch for hip-hop music into new arenas" (Blow n.d.).
Kurtis Blow's Firsts:
- First rapper to sign to a major label
- First gold record for rap (" The Breaks")
- First rapper to tour the United States and Europe with the Commodores (in 1980)
- First rapper to record a national commercial ("Sprite")
- First rapper to use the drum machine, sample, and sample loop
- First rap music video (" Basketball")
- First rap producer (Rap's producer of the year in 1983-1985)
- First rapper featured in a soap opera (One Life to Live)
- First rap millionaire (Blow n.d.)
What does Blow mean by his statement that he continues "to carry the torch for hip-hop music into new arenas?" One possible explanation is that he is using it in the liturgy of his hip-hop church. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in theology, Blow became the "co-founder of Harlem's Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion Hip Hop Church in 2005, where he serves as minister and as a rapper, DJ, and worship leader" (Chapman 2018, n.p.). He began by leading Thursday night services featuring rap music (Zanfagna 2017, 55). "The church also has branches in Queens and Los Angeles, and another one is set to open soon in Glendale, California" (Service 2006, n.p.). In an interview with National Public Radio Station, Kurtis Blow states that "as far as I'm concerned, I always knew that there was spirituality in hip-hop. And thank God that I really, really, can bring it home and deliver that message to the youth today…. The hip-hop church is a format for any church designed to reel in or be fishers of men, young men, and women" (Tait Jr. 2006, n.p.).
In this format, Blow uses Christian hip-hopA subgenre of hip hop music characterized by a Christian worldview, with the general purposes of evangelization (Christian mission work), edifying some members of the church, or simply entertaining. to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the kids (Chapman 2018, n.p.). Part of the mission of the Greater Hood Memorial Zion AME church is to: "reach out to the urban community, to the unchurched and de-churched; further exemplifying Jesus's consistently intentional acts of seeking to reach out and connecting to those who have traditionally been both economically and spiritually marginalized. Hip-Hop Church is available to people who want to meet God in a manner that relates to their lives, their music, and other elements of their lifestyle. The traditional Sunday morning church experience does not meet everyone's needs, hence the creation of Hip-Hop Church, where anyone can meet Jesus" (Walls Jr. 2019, n.p.).