Kurtis Blow performs "The Breaks" on Soul Train

Jan
27
Submitted by webmaster on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 12:34

Kurtis Blow performs "The Breaks" on Soul Train

Posted by soultrain
May 27, 2009

"Kurtis Blow performs "The Breaks" on Soul Train episode #336 from 1980".

2 comments

webmaster
Wed, 27 January, 2010 - 13:55
More YouTube viewer comments from
MonsterJam187 (3 months ago) Soul Train rocks!
I remember watching Soul Train in Korea on Sunday mornings during breakfast.

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futureproof28 (3 months ago) this is fantastic!! for me its all about old school. originality, energy and just being on a level that not even the new school could ever hope to reach. this tune is over 20 yrs old and still sounds amazing.

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66 (3 months ago) First time I heard him was in 1981. Amazing stuff... I was the only kid in school listening to heavy metal and hip hop back then..

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henri333 (2 months ago) epitome of GROOVE.

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mifrankli24 (2 months ago) Dude with the big fro is Jeffery Daniels of Shalamar, his dance partner is Jody Whatley.
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jam5bryce (1 month ago) This is when Rapping & Rappers were at their best...... not the violent and strong sex crap they push out to our youth today!

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ddsharper (1 month ago) this is before corporate america got hold of rap and turned it into a weapon against us. this was pre crack america.

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ylvette (3 weeks ago) ddsharper,
Your comment is very profound. It really gave me something to ponder. Thanks for posting. May you and your loved ones have a safe and healthy New Year.

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ddsharper (3 weeks ago) ylvette- thanks so much for your kind comments and perspicacity. Our history is viewed through the wrong lenses and the loss of memory. I needed this comment today, really so thank you from my heart. Same to you; hope you and yours have a wonderful and properous New Year.

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dymepyce616 (3 weeks ago) Show Hide 0   Marked as spam Reply | Spam wow these people are getn down at 1:35 when they break it down look at them!
TerminalRise (1 month ago) Man is this how we used to dress in the old days.

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Tiny1bme (1 month ago) Kurtis Blow is in Krush Groovin with Sheila E, LL Cool J, the Fat Boys and others. He's looking sexy in some black leather pants.

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abovefilms (1 month ago) big ups to kurtis for rappin this LIVE! no lip synching!

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MyRitmo (1 month ago) this was the first track i recognized as "different" from everything else 1980 back in Chile, didn't know what it was, hiphop on its way.

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TheSamurai1982 (1 month ago) the early days of hip hop when it was still being called "disco rap"

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mzoleschool (1 month ago) we used to kick it serious to this
memories ..........sweeeeeet

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dior1006 (1 month ago) Black people were so together in these days!! No raunchy dance moves, just simply moving to the beat precisely...I guess we black people just lost our rhythm in more ways than one!

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makesomenoise90 (1 month ago) I think society as a whole lost its rhythm in more way than one!! it sucks!

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mrhoffame (1 month ago) I think it is really sad to look back at times like this ant really, truly see all that has been lost in music. Rock and R and B!!

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BeatOfTheStreet (1 month ago) Just classic stuff!!
What a classic rap record this was, great to see him perform it on Soul Train.

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ChocolateExplosion (1 month ago) love the crowd reaction when the breaks drop
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scampbell04 (3 weeks ago) It's so refreshing to see this. I don't even go to clubs anymore because men and women don't dance with each other anymore...it's just a bunch of humping and grinding. Everybody trying to be a wanna be hard gangsta...females acting like sluts.
It looks like they are having so much fun...just moving and enjoying the music.
What happened to us?

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Jadell (3 weeks ago) Scampbell - course there are still clubs where people get down like this! Try and find a decent funk / soul night (staying clear of R+B).

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mrdfuse (2 weeks ago) @scampbell04 wauw. that is so true!

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RMendiola4 (2 weeks ago) i wondered that myself, and i think that people, newer generations specifically, got too obsessed with being "cool" that people didn't make music that told a story or had a feel as much anymore.
at raves and clubs now, it's just music aimed to make your trip harder or the girls dance dirtier. i stopped going because i got tired of that.
music like this, the well-constructed baselines, guitar melodies, bridges, you can tell quality time was spent on music like this back then.

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Andruew117316 (2 weeks ago) That's very true. Songs like Rock Box and The Message that showed honest effort and heart. You don't see that anymore

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PresidentGackt (1 week ago) EVERYBODY'S HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME.

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ivbame (1 week ago) sorry but, anyone can explain me the difference between the funk and the soul music?

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cjwhov (5 days ago) @ivbame: Ummm Funk and Soul are similar but different. Both are heavy with drums and base but a different style. Funk tends to be more party music...sometimes more gutiar work...look up Parliment, Ohio Players, Rick James, Cameo. The Funk Era was more mid-70s to 80s. Soul was a little before that Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Pattie Labelle are good examples Soul music can be SLOW also...a ballad...not so much for dancing like FUNK or DISCO would be. Hope that helps.

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cjwhov (5 days ago) @ivbame Neo-Soul re-emerged in the 90's with D'Angelo, Maxwell, once again..not so much dance music...more emphasis on the words and meaning of the song than the danceable beat and can include ballads.

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ivbame (1 day ago) Thank you so much to everybody who explained me the difference!! =D
have a nice day

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bronze139 (1 week ago) borrowed money from the mob and yesterday you lost your job....these are the breaks...classic

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BassByTheBay (6 days ago) I remember when this track came out; it was the jam! It was a novelty back then since the only other rap record on the radio was Rapper's Delight.

What's notable about this clip is that Kurtis is not lip syncing -- extremely unusual for Soul Train. I always wished that they had more artists perform live, even if it was just the vocal track.

It's sad that the rap that finds its way to radio now is mostly just dumb chants. Where is the clever wordplay that made early rap much more interesting?

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MyceliaProductions42 (1 day ago) I completely agree on pretty-much everything you said. It was hard back then to find a LEGITIMATE live track on a 'live' music video...no doubt. :-)

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gemdre (4 days ago) It makes me yearn for the days when I was innocent and my cousins and I watched Soul Train, hung out at each other's house. Back then most 11 year old girls were just, we could play outside for hours, come home when it was dinner time.....I'm glad I was an 80's child.

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Portis1Luv (13 hours ago Yeah, that was the time to be a child, people say that things never change, but besides gettin' older society just ain't the same....people live in fear now.....every summertime in the 80s was like heaven.

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kevhar12 (2 days ago) I remember seeing Kurtis Blow in 1980 at a festival or something at a park in Baltimore. i think it was in the Park Heights area. I was only 8 years old but the whole vibe at that park felt like a cultural renaissance. I didn`t understand the signifigance of it fully because I was so young and everything was new to me. I must say though that it was definitely one of those moments that made you feel like you were experiencing history in the making.

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00 (2 days ago) wish i was there

webmaster
Wed, 27 January, 2010 - 13:53
Selected YouTube viewer comments from
 
soulchildsacomin (7 months ago) In case everyone does'nt know, Kurtis did this song live (no lipsynch). No soultrain lights (now thats a very good treatment for the shows first Hip-Hop artist).

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soulchildsacomin (7 months ago) I read in a article that Kurtis Blow took a great offensive during the interview when Don questioned the longevity of Rap/Hip Hop. After all, Kurtis was the first Rap/hip hop artist to not only to appear on Soul Train, but to appear on national TV. I wish someone would upload the interview soon. soultrain??

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crunk617 (7 months ago) CLASSIC

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TWILIGHT112366 (7 months ago) Loving this! Good Quality video :-) Thanks!

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jax1492 (7 months ago) awesome video, loved when rap had some meaning

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pbiava (7 months ago) more MC'ing really, rap wasn't meant to be lyrical at this point in history, but it was all about rocking the party!

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GQBlue3 (7 months ago) The FIRST appearance on national TV by a rapper ... that's what's up!

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EONSFTFAN (7 months ago) and what do you know, he did not lip-sync as was so common on American Bandstand and Soul Train. A live performance is truly rare.
from a time when rap music was still worth listening too.
Thanks for sharing.

For the record, the 12" single contained an instrumental version which is most likely why the backing track sounds identical to the vocal version...

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Treaty4 (7 months ago) Get down with the boogie! Kurtis Blow was hip!

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4givenbyf8th (7 months ago) The 80s was where it was at! This brings back memories from when I was a kid. Wish I could turn back time to re-live those days over again, just for a day!!

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adriansilviu77 (6 months ago) "clap your hands everybody, if you got what it takes, cuz im krs and im on the mic and premier s on the brakes........" cool ;)

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SoNasty58 (6 months ago) I believe Curtis Blow was the first professional rapper and I think this will always be a jam

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rufus317 (6 months ago) Kurtis was the first rap performer to be signed by a major record label.

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cupid4040 (6 months ago) I use to love Kurtis Blow and I knew all the words to this song.

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tellitlkitis (6 months ago) This is the true form of rap
not lk that sell out stuff of today

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MrSouljerBoy (5 months ago) iunno wut youre talkin bout this song is as basic as most dance songs 2day if u think about it

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tellitlkitis (5 months ago) Listen 2 the words. They aren't about degrading the self or others like the rap music of 2day. So, yes I know what I am talking about.

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jlmarc01 (6 months ago) mother of God, people knew how to dance back then. Great song

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kunsura (5 months ago) I missed the brazilian style congo playing; it had a great influence in hip-hop:)

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trezuru (5 months ago) You can't tell me that the sista @2:46 and the brah @3:12 aint fellin it!!!

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ahha444 (5 months ago) Old rap...The best...

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LnnY24 (5 months ago)
clap your hands everybody
if you got what it takes
'cause I'm kurtis blow and I want you to know
that these are the breaks

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ChRiSiMoN (5 months ago) i love it.

and don cornelius at the beginning has a cool voice :D

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ralfschulz (5 months ago) cool

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ladydee20784 (5 months ago) SO did I.. Born and raised in Harlem.. and played this song to death at a young teenager.. I really miss those days. I no longer live in New York City, but I Really do miss those days big time..

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rockdiva888 (5 months ago) ladydee20784..I lived in Rego Park, Queens. I believe we were blessed to have lived in a time when pop culture was so much fun from Motown, Philadelphia International, Soul Train, & the disco days. I clubbed in Manhattan or the BIG Apple!

Right now ..if I hear a song from back in the day..it literally brings tears to my eyes and takes me way back! The other day I was listening to Angela Bofill's "I Try"...Minnie Riperton's "Lovin You"..and Phyllis Hyman's "The Answer is You"..gurl..gurl...!

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princess48480 (5 months ago) classic. end of story

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raider8sox (5 months ago) I Miss Soul Train!!!

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jenniferofthejungle (5 months ago) This is fantastic. I can't people he sang it live because I'm used to old school videos being lip synched. Love the music and the dancing.

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lrwsoreal (5 months ago) yeah if u notice most of the soul train epsodes. most were lip sychned. he's singing live or rapping

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123abcd75 (5 months ago) i love this song but wts that one song called that sy dont push mee cuz im close to the edge an wat ever

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AnotherRandomGeek (4 months ago That's Grandmaster Flash, The Message.

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Gattusoman (4 months ago) Everyone's doing a different dance to the person next to them, some of them are great some of them are hilarious! 1:35-1:40 for example, bahaha

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RapidTraxx (4 months ago) What alot of New Yorkers call REAL hip hop is not the REAL hip hop. REAL hip hop makes you dance and the mc knows how to make a crowd move. Hip hop gave way to break dancing. Can you dance to a Wu Tang song? Don't get me wrong I love Wu Tang's music.

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jhdeleon (4 months ago) I totally remember dancing to this song in college at clubs and campus dances. Oh, and I had a white linen outfit!!! Notice none of the women look like hootchies and the men's pants are not falling off their behinds!!!

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SkorpionOne (4 months ago) NO school like the Old School and I'm proud to to say I was a part of it!!

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SkorpionOne (4 months ago) I mean that I was around to witness it and let me tell ya...those were the days man!! Great music and even better memories!!

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theeuprise (4 months ago) i love the bassline!

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THElastCITIZEN (4 months ago) break it up, break it up, BREAK IT UUUUP!!

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ArthurDenker (3 months ago) HEEyy.. what 'breks' means in this song? A good thing.. bad thing... what? can anyone tell me pls? I don't speak english very well...

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ArthurDenker (3 months ago) I mean 'breaks', sorry.

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lalalove84 (3 months ago) It means something bad

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220love07 (3 months ago) i feel sooooooooo old now! i knew the song word for word. lol
this is great! basketball & if i ruled the world was my favorite kurtis blow songs

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SNIPZ86 (3 months ago) This is the BOMB!oLD sKOOL 4 LiFE

 

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