In 1979, at the age of 20, native New Yorker Kurtis Blow paved the way for hip-hop artists when he became the first rapper to sign with a major record label, Mercury Records, and soon achieved ...

In 1979, Kurt Walker, a 20-year-old from the Bronx whose stage name was “Kurtis Blow,” signed a contract with Mercury Records to release the song Christmas Rappin. This was the first time a major ...

Kurtis Blow loves Christmas. So much so that when the then up-and-coming New York emcee was approached in 1979 about appearing on a Christmas-themed rap song, he went for it. And “Christmas Rappin’” ...