"Christmas Rappin" was the first Rap song released on a major label. Kurtis recorded this with the help of producers Robert Ford and J.B. Moore. They took it to Mercury Records, who signed Kurtis to a 2-single deal, under the condition that If both singles were successful, he would get an album deal. "Christmas Rappin'" was the first single, and it did very well. The second single was "The Breaks," and it became the first rap song to be certified as a gold record, selling over 500,000 copies. Kurtis got the album deal and became the first rapper signed to a major label.
Every Christmas, this would sell more copies. After eight years, it went gold. In an interview Kurtis Blow explained, "J.B. Moore wrote the first half of the song, the Christmas part. I did all of the party part, the second half of the song. I wrote all of that on a train ride down to the studio around Christmas time." Kurtis' first album contained the second half of this, a song called "Rappin' Blow, Part 2." The R&B group Next sampled this on their song "Too Close," which was a huge hit in 1998. It was #1 in the US for 5 weeks.
Kurt Walker better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 eponymous debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song.
[Announcer]
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house...
[Kurtis Blow]
Hold it now, wait, hold it! That's played out! Hit it!
Don't you give me all that jive
About things you wrote before I's alive
'Cause this ain't 1823, ain't even 1970
Now I'm the guy named Kurtis Blow and Christmas is one thing I know
So every year, just about this time
I celebrate it with a rhyme
Gonna shake it, gonna bake it, gonna make it good
Gonna rock shock knock it through your neighborhood
Gonna ring it, gonna sing it 'til it's understood
My rap's about to happen like a knee you was slappin'
Or a toe you been tappin' on a hunk of wood
'Bout a red-suited dude, with a friendly attitude
And a sleigh full of goodies for the people on the block
Got a long white beard, maybe looks kind of weird
And if you ever seen him, he could give you quite a shock
Now people let me tell ya about last year
When the dude came flying over here
Well the holly was out, the snow's on the ground,
Folks stayed in to party down
The beat was thumping on the block,
And I was dancing in my socks
And the drummer played at a solid pace
And the taste of the bass was in my face
And the guitar player laid down a heavy layer
of the funky chunky rhythm of the disco beat
And the guy with the 88 started to participate
And I could sure appreciate a sound so sweet
We were all in the mood so we had a little food
And a joke, and a smoke, and a little bit of wine
When I thought I heard a hoof on top of the roof
Could it be or was it me - I was feeling super fine
So I went to the attic where I thought heard the static
On a chance that the prance was somebody breaking in
But the noise on the top was a reindeer clop
Just a tricky St. Nick, and I let the sucka in
He was roly, he was poly, and I said, "Holy moly
You got a lot of whiskers on your chinny-chin-chin"
He allowed, he was proud of the hairy little crowd
On the point of the jaw where the skin should've been
It's cool for a fool throwin' out every yule
For a day on the sleigh when the cold winds blow
So the beard may be weird but I never have it sheared
'Cause it's warm in the storm when it's ten below
I said, "You're right it's cold tonight,
But can you stop for a drop before you go?"
He said, "Why not? If the music's hot,
And I'll chance a dance beneath the mistletoe."
So he went downstairs and forgot his cares
And he rocked the spot and danced like a pro
And every young girl tried to rock his world
But he boogie-oogie-oogied 'til he had to go
And before he went, this fine old gent
Found a gift with a sift through his big red bag
In the top or the bottom, he reached in and got 'em
Had toys for boys, for the girls - glad rags
And the grownups got some presents too
A new TV and a stere-oooh.
A new Seville 'bout as blue as the sky
The best that money couldn't buy
'Cause money could never ever buy the feelin'
The one that comes from not concealin'
The way you feel about your friends
And this is how the story ends
The dude in red's back at the pole
Up North where everything is cold
But if he were right here tonight
He'd say "Merry Christmas! And to all -- a good night!"
