Kurtis Blow on The Birth of Hip-Hop, Evolution from the DJ to the MC

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[youtube ytid=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqVUyNDTP7w?autoplay=1&w=580&h=385″ ]

Legendary pioneer rapper Kurtis Blow spoke with VladTV about witnessing the start of hip-hop in New York, and how James Brown and other artists of the 60s and 70s were heavy influencers of the genre. He also detailed how he and his friends would go through their mother’s record stash in the 70s to search out specific funk songs to use for their b-boy songs.

During the conversation Kurtis also spoke about how DJs were initially the focal point of hip-hop, adding that emcees were a “dime a dozen” during this time. It wasn’t until Grandmaster Flash started developing modern hip-hop beats by extending the break and playing it on repeat for five minutes.

Check out more of what he had to say in the above clip, including how he’s trying to unite hip-hop churches around the world.

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“I’m so far ahead of my time; I’m bout to start another life/ Look behind you, I’m bout to pass you twice.”- Jay Z

“Youngins ice grillin’ me, oh you not feeling me/Fine, it cost you nothing/Pay me no mind”

“I’d rather die enormous than live dormant”

“They giveth and they taketh life is cruel that way/But even a broken clock is right at least two times a day”

“A wise man told me don’t argue with fools, cause people from a distance can’t tell who is who.”

“Swear to everything, when I leave this Earth, it’s gon’ be on both feet, never knees in the dirt”

“No one said it would be easy, n**** livin’ is work”

“I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of not trying”

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