Rap's first long-player, Kurtis Blow is anchored by the killer single "The Breaks" (kept company on this CD reissue by the amusing "Christmas Rappin'"). Blow's party-time raps have a hard time sustaining themselves over th... more »e length of an entire album, but his cheeriness is infectious. "Hard Times" provided a key template for the first New School of hip-hop when Run-D.M.C. retooled it a few years later. --Rickey Wright« less
Rap's first long-player, Kurtis Blow is anchored by the killer single "The Breaks" (kept company on this CD reissue by the amusing "Christmas Rappin'"). Blow's party-time raps have a hard time sustaining themselves over the length of an entire album, but his cheeriness is infectious. "Hard Times" provided a key template for the first New School of hip-hop when Run-D.M.C. retooled it a few years later. --Rickey Wright
B-MAN | Earth, occasionally. Until I get bored. | 10/26/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Kurtis Blow was one of the first rappers to have a full album and this was the first rap record to come out on a major label (Mercury). 1980 also saw the release of the Sugar Hill Gang's classic "Rapper's Delight". A few years later, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five would release "The Message" and in 1984, RUN DMC "said a DJ could be a band" (to quote Chuck D) and the rest is history. If you're looking to start or expand your old school rap collection, Kurtis Blow must be in it somewhere. This his is debut album which originally featured only 7 songs. Only 5 were actually rap tracks, but the ones that are here are all great. "The Breaks" is one of Blow's most classic. "Throughout" & "Rappin Blow, pt 2" are definite standouts. You may recognize "Hard Times" because RUN DMC did another version of it on their debut. "All I Want in This World" is a sappy soul song and "Takin' Care of Business" is Blow's take on the BTO hit. Both of these seem to slow down the album, but the remastered version with bonus tracks "Christmas Rappin" and an instrumental version of "The Breaks" makes it end on a much better note. For those new to Kurtis, I recommend you start with a hits collection, the best of them being Funk Essential's 1994 release "The Best of Kurtis Blow" which features 14 of his most essential music including 3 from this album, not to mention later hits like "Basketball" & "If I Ruled the World". In fact, that may be the definitive Kurtis Blow album and it's definitely the place to start with him. I don't want to take emphasis away from his debut because it's a great album and there's no question of it's historical importance.
A Few Highlights from the 1980s Rap Timeline:
1980 - Kurtis Blow & Sugar Hill Gang
1982 - Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5
1984 - Run DMC & Jam Master Jay
1985 - LL Cool J
1986 - The Beastie Boys
1987 - Public Enemy
1989 - De La Soul"
Sounds more like disco
BDP87 | New York | 05/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this album sounds more like a disco album then a rap album but its still good to me as its one of the FIRST FIRST RAp artist to be solo. and since i bought it only for 6.99 not so bad."
Funky fresh
R. Riis | NY | 07/20/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Excellent remastering job on a historically significant album. Kurtis Blow was the first solo MC to achieve stardom and this was the first significant rap LP. Blow's two classics, "The Breaks" and "Christmas Rappin'", are here, and the rest is good with a little bit of filler. Funky, tight, danceable, and inoffensive (which is not to say lightweight - "The Breaks" was a significant social commentary in its time)."
A pioneering rap classic with mucho nostalgia value
P. I. Johnson | Cape Town, South Africa | 02/11/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thank you amazon. I have been looking for this CD for the past ten years. This is undoubtedly one of the most influential albums of my teenage years - the second time only I had encountered rap (the first being Sugarhill Gang's equally excellent Rapper's Delight). Kurtis' sublime blend of rap, dance and R&B is everything modern rap isn't - innocent, fun, danceable and infectious. Your early 80s collection is not complete without this seminal album."