The Breaks

"The Breaks"
Song by Kurtis Blow
from the album Kurtis Blow
Released	June 14, 1980
Genre	Old school hip hop, funk
Length	7:43 (Album and 12") 5:52 (12" instrumental) 4:05 (7")
Label	Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Kurtis Blow, Robert Ford Jr., James B. Moore, Russell Simmons, Larry Smith
Producer(s)	J.B. Moore, Robert Ford Jr.

"The Breaks" is the first single off of American rapper Kurtis Blow's first studio album Kurtis Blow. The song was released on June 14, 1980.

The song was able to make it to #4 on the Hot Soul Singles, #9 on the National Disco Top 100, #47 on the OCC's UK Singles, and #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 music charts.^[1][2][3][4] It was also certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the first hip hop song to earn gold certification.^[5]

In an interview, Blow was asked how he came up with the song. Blow said "The concept was created as a tribute to all the breakers in and around the South Bronx and Harlem back in the early days of hip-hop. I wanted to do a tribute song with many breaks so that the breakers could get down and do their thing. When we danced during the breaks of a song, that was our time to go off - to do our best moves".^[6]

References

1. "Hot Soul Singles Chart (August 23, 1980)". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
2. "Kurtis Blow - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
3. "Kurtis Blow chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
4. "Kurtis Blow - Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
5. "Kurtis Blow - The Breaks (12")". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
6. "Kurtis Blow on "The Breaks," the evolution of sampling, and "Sun City"". SongFacts. Retrieved September 13, 2023.

Other websites

• "The Breaks" on YouTube