Kurtis Blow was born on August 9, 1959 in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), Krush Groove (1985) and Notorious (2009). He has been married to Shirley Stewart since September 2, 1984. They have three children.
He was the first rapper to record a full length album on a major label
(1979).
He has duet with rock icon Bob Dylan called "Street Rock", which
appeared on Blow's 1986 album, Kingdom Blow.
Was the first hip-hop MC to be signed by a major label, which in this
case was Mercury/PolyGram Records.
He began his career in New York City in the mid-1970s, when he was a
breakdancer until switching to DJing under the name Kool DJ Kurt and
then finally rapping.
In 1980, he opened for reggae legend Bob Marley at the Madison Square
Garden where he performed for an audience of 20,000.