He continued to release albums, but his sights had shifted: He hoped to break into Hollywood as an actor after earning good notices for his work in вЂњKrush Groove,вЂќ a rap-themed 1985 movie, and starring in a soft-drink commercial. Newly married and ready to start a family, he moved from New York to Baldwin Hills. By then, it was cool because I had opened the door and people were ready for the next level.вЂќД«y the mid-'80s, however, BlowвЂ™s priorities had changed. вЂњAnd then Run-DMC came along and was hard-core. The sacrifice was I didnвЂ™t sell a lot of records, because a lot of people thought my stuff was corny. вЂњI knew we were on the chopping block, and somebody had to do it this way and sacrifice. The people in control would say, вЂNo, no.вЂ™ And at that time, they could have. вЂњWe were fighting the masses, trying to infiltrate the mainstream, and I knew that if we came out like gangbusters-boom, boom,, -that it wouldnвЂ™t get us anywhere. вЂњIt was an image thing for me,вЂќ says Blow, who was born Kurt Walker.

вЂњWhenever you see someone that comes from your background make it, itвЂ™s inspirational,вЂќ says rapper-actor Ice-T, a recent guest on вЂњThe Old School Show.вЂќ вЂњIt goes far beyond what they say on the records-itвЂ™s just the fact that they made it.вЂќД«low, positioning himself as a vanguard, steered clear of the hard-core rap that followed, never even cursing in his songs. The success of вЂњChristmas RappinвЂ™ вЂќ and вЂњThe Breaks,вЂќ which between them sold about 1 million copies, made Blow and hundreds of other would-be rappers fully aware of the musicвЂ™s widespread appeal. вЂњI knew it was something special and something that I really loved, but I didnвЂ™t think I could base a career around it or make a whole lot of money.вЂќ вЂњWhen I was in college, I knew that rap was so malleable as an art form that, sooner or later, I would be able to do something with it,вЂќ he says. Inspired by Cool DJ Herc, a Jamaican who has been described as вЂњthe Godfather of Hip-Hop,вЂќ Blow had been performing in his native Harlem for several years by the time he enrolled at CCNY. When Blow released his first single, вЂњChristmas RappinвЂ™,вЂќ in 1979, he hoped to make enough money to cover his tuition. I had to crawl and fight and sell this new idea to the rest of the world. We were rebels the music industry didnвЂ™t like us. they remind me of myself when we first started. I hate it because you work so hard all your life to do something positive, to build something, and it turns out to be negative. вЂњI love that show,вЂќ says Blow, who was a broadcasting major at City College of New York before his career took off in 1980 with the release of his most familiar song, вЂњThe Breaks,вЂќ a catchy, philosophical rap that sold 600,000 copies and ensured his place in history as one of the first commercially successful rap artists.Д«low, partial to the records that shape his show, is not sure what to think about the controversy now surrounding the musical genre he helped to develop into a mainstream pop force.

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