Despite the humorous list of nominees for some other awards, The Source has certainly done something right in one of their selections for this years award show. Kurtis Blow, one of hip hop’s foremost pioneers, is being honored with the Pioneer Award.
I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who have no clue who Kurtis Blow is, so let’s do a quick run down. The Harlem native was the first rapper to sign to a major label and released his first single (“Christmas Rappin’”) in 1979. He followed that up with “The Breaks,” which became hip-hop’s first gold record.
I’m sure most of you know Nas’ “I Ruled The World” with Lauryn Hill. That song which fueled Nas’ triple platinum album was a remake of Kurtis Blow’s song by the same name. Blow had some other gold and platinum hits in “AJ Scratch,” “8 Million Stories,” “Daydreaming.” Currently, he is making a documentary called “The History of Rap, Vol.1.” You can also find a comprehensive album of the same name that Blow released years ago.
