Fireside Chat, Interview
How Kurtis Blow Inspired Nas and Lauryn Hill’s Classic
- Curtis Blow anticipates hip-hop evolving into a global business before the world fully grasps the music's potential, while expecting his own career to take him worldwide.
- The 1970s are characterized as a traumatic post-civil rights era marked by assassinations, New York City's financial insolvency, landlord arson for insurance, and a lack of federal aid for urban cleanup.
- Musical development in that period included the emergence of "ghetto disco" and a strategy of mastering DJing styles by visiting every New York City disco to build a track record in the market's outskirts.
- Curtis Blow plans to replicate past strategies to gain industry access, including opening "Night Fever's disco" with Russell Simmons, catering to Run-DMC, driving a cab while DJing for them, and learning techniques using Quantas turntables.
- Historical timelines indicate Curtis Blow began emceeing in Harlem at the Wham in 1974 to impersonate Hank Spann, turned 21 in 1975 to access clubs like LaVigna's and The Garage, and expects the "Crush Groove" movie release to be in 1985.
- Personal milestones and relationships include meeting a wife in Long Island, assuming calling duties for Run-DMC after a wrist injury, and feeling a paternal protective role toward Run amidst conflicts with Russell Simmons.
- Significant industry interactions involved performing with Bob Marley at the Garden, meeting Michael Jackson, arranging a photo shoot with Prince after "If I Ruled The World" and "Crush Groove," and attending a massive club gathering in Memphis with 3,000 attendees inside and 2,000 outside.
- Commercial expectations suggest Lauryn Hill's track over "If I Ruled The World" could achieve double platinum status with standard promotion, a sentiment reinforced by Curtis Blow's intense repeated listening on a Nissan.
- Shante asserts that the concept "Paid in Full" reflects hip-hop love and personal accomplishments rather than industry grievances, maintaining that Curtis Blow deserves full payment for his foundational role in the genre's development.