KingsOfKings
❄️ 𝟐𝟐𝟕, 𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖊 𝕬𝖙 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝕴𝖙! ❄️
Kurtis Blow was barely 21 when “The Breaks” stopped hip-hop fans in their tracks. Released in 1980 as a follow-up to his debut single, “Christmas Rappin’,the song’s funky bassline coupled with Blow’s signature call-and-response style had people shouting “ho!” in clubs around the world. Although “The Breaks” would peak at just No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100, it made history, becoming the first hip-hop record to earn gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since then, it’s evolved into a classic hip-hop anthem.
We spoke to Kurtis Blow about the creation of the song, the lasting impact it had on the culture, and how it took a young kid from Harlem to superstardom
These Are the Breaks
KURTIS BLOW: This is a controversial story about the creation of the song, because there are a few versions of the story. But my version that I remember is Russell Simmons coming to me after we had this monster hit “Christmas Rappin’.” And he said to me: “The producers want to know what kind of song you want to do for your next single.” My producers at the time were J.B. Moore and Robert Ford, Jr., so Russell was supposed to ask me and he did. And I said, “Well, I want to make a song dedicated to all the B-Boys, a song with a lot of breaks in it so the B-Boys can do their thing. J.B. Moore, the main writer of my producers, said, “That’s a great idea.” It also ties into another song that came out in the 1920s where the guy in the song says, “Oh hey, Bucko. You say your car got towed away and your lost wife? Yeah, Lester, and you lost your job. Don’t worry, the sun is gonna shine, and it’s gonna be alright. You’ll be okay.” He was basically just stating the good things and bad things that can happen, sort of like Murphy’s Law.
So he said: “Now, we could put that content in the song along with the fact that there are multiple connotations to the word “breaks.” There are brakes on a bus. And he quoted it, “Brakes on a bus/Brakes on a car/Breaks to make you a superstar/Breaks to win and breaks to lose/But these here breaks will rock your shoes/And these are the breaks/Break it up, break it up, break it up.” I said, “Oh my God. That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard!” The connotations, the multiple meanings of that song all wrapped into one, and so we went into the studio, and once we finished the song, you just immediately knew this song was going to be a monster hit. I was so, so pleased.
Say “Ho!”
I wrote “Christmas Rappin’” on my way down to the studio taking the A Train. I was on the west side of Harlem, and the studio was on the west side, on Spring Street. But I wrote “The Breaks” at Green Street Studios. I did “Christmas Rappin’” there, and my whole team, they followed. It was very easy. We wrote it in less than an hour with the big crowd response part, “Throw your hands in the sky and wave ‘em round from side to side/And if you deserve a break tonight/Somebody say alright/Say “ho,” you don’t stop/Keep on, somebody scream.” That was my thing.
I found my signature early because I had that all in “Christmas Rappin’,” that crowd response section. And to hear that on “The Breaks,” it was a monster. Think about it. The clubs, it’s 12 o’clock at night and they’re playing “Christmas Rappin’,” and it gets to the party part, “Throw your hands in the air and [wave] ‘em like you just don’t care,” and everybody in the club is doing that, but I’m not there. It’s not a live show. They’re playing the record—and the people are still doing that. The whole club is screaming, and I’m not there. So the DJ has the hottest song of the night right there because of that crowd response.
www.spin.com
We spoke to Kurtis Blow about the creation of the song, the lasting impact it had on the culture, and how it took a young kid from Harlem to superstardom
These Are the Breaks
KURTIS BLOW: This is a controversial story about the creation of the song, because there are a few versions of the story. But my version that I remember is Russell Simmons coming to me after we had this monster hit “Christmas Rappin’.” And he said to me: “The producers want to know what kind of song you want to do for your next single.” My producers at the time were J.B. Moore and Robert Ford, Jr., so Russell was supposed to ask me and he did. And I said, “Well, I want to make a song dedicated to all the B-Boys, a song with a lot of breaks in it so the B-Boys can do their thing. J.B. Moore, the main writer of my producers, said, “That’s a great idea.” It also ties into another song that came out in the 1920s where the guy in the song says, “Oh hey, Bucko. You say your car got towed away and your lost wife? Yeah, Lester, and you lost your job. Don’t worry, the sun is gonna shine, and it’s gonna be alright. You’ll be okay.” He was basically just stating the good things and bad things that can happen, sort of like Murphy’s Law.
So he said: “Now, we could put that content in the song along with the fact that there are multiple connotations to the word “breaks.” There are brakes on a bus. And he quoted it, “Brakes on a bus/Brakes on a car/Breaks to make you a superstar/Breaks to win and breaks to lose/But these here breaks will rock your shoes/And these are the breaks/Break it up, break it up, break it up.” I said, “Oh my God. That’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard!” The connotations, the multiple meanings of that song all wrapped into one, and so we went into the studio, and once we finished the song, you just immediately knew this song was going to be a monster hit. I was so, so pleased.
Say “Ho!”
I wrote “Christmas Rappin’” on my way down to the studio taking the A Train. I was on the west side of Harlem, and the studio was on the west side, on Spring Street. But I wrote “The Breaks” at Green Street Studios. I did “Christmas Rappin’” there, and my whole team, they followed. It was very easy. We wrote it in less than an hour with the big crowd response part, “Throw your hands in the sky and wave ‘em round from side to side/And if you deserve a break tonight/Somebody say alright/Say “ho,” you don’t stop/Keep on, somebody scream.” That was my thing.
I found my signature early because I had that all in “Christmas Rappin’,” that crowd response section. And to hear that on “The Breaks,” it was a monster. Think about it. The clubs, it’s 12 o’clock at night and they’re playing “Christmas Rappin’,” and it gets to the party part, “Throw your hands in the air and [wave] ‘em like you just don’t care,” and everybody in the club is doing that, but I’m not there. It’s not a live show. They’re playing the record—and the people are still doing that. The whole club is screaming, and I’m not there. So the DJ has the hottest song of the night right there because of that crowd response.
Kurtis Blow Reflects on The First Hip-Hop Record to Go Gold: 1980’s ‘The Breaks’ - SPIN
Kurtis Blow was barely 21 when “The Breaks” stopped hip-hop fans in their tracks. Released in 1980 as a follow-up to his debut single, “Christmas We interviewed Kurtis Blow about his smash hit single "The Breaks."
www.spin.com
