Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane and Kurtis Blow to Aus

[Lerkot]

Yo I just read this:

"For the first time in Australia three of hip hops most influential and well renowned personalities are coming to Australia to take us back to a day where hip-hop was all about having fun and parting. This event will be party that will not be forgotten in a hurry and will be never repeated again

Dates:

August 31st Melbourne The Metro

September 1st Sydney The Enmore Theatre

September 2nd Adelaide The Barton Theatre

September 3rd Perth The Leederville Hotel

Kurtis Blow

As the first commercially successful rap artist, Kurtis Blow is a towering figure in hip-hop history. His popularity and charisma helped prove that rap music was something more than a flash-in-the-pan novelty, paving the way for the even greater advances of Grandmaster Flash and Run-D.M.C. Blow was the first rapper to sign with (and release an album for) a major label; the first to have a single certified gold (1980's landmark "The Breaks"); the first to embark on a national (and international) concert tour; and the first to cement rap's mainstream marketability by signing an endorsement deal. For that matter, he was really the first significant solo rapper on record, and as such he was a natural focal point for many aspiring young MCs in the early days of hip-hop.

Kurtis Blow was born Kurtis Walker in Harlem in 1959. He was in on the earliest stages of hip-hop culture in the '70s -- first as a breakdancer, then as a block-party and club DJ performing under the name Kool DJ Kurt; after enrolling at CCNY in 1976, he also served as program director for the college radio station. He became an MC in his own right around 1977, and changed his name to Kurtis Blow (as in a body blow) at the suggestion of his manager, future Def Jam founder and rap mogul Russell Simmons. Blow performed with legendary DJs like Grandmaster Flash, and for a time his regular DJ was Simmons' teenage brother Joseph -- who, after changing his stage name from "Son of Kurtis Blow," would go on to become the first half of Run-D.M.C. Over 1977-1978, Blow's club gigs around Harlem and the Bronx made him an underground sensation, and Billboard magazine writer Robert Ford approached Simmons about making a record. Blow cut a song co-written by Ford and financier J.B. Moore called "Christmas Rappin'," and it helped him get a deal with Mercury once the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" had climbed into the R&B Top Five.

Blow's second single, "The Breaks," was an out-of-the-box smash, following "Rapper's Delight" into the Top Five of the R&B charts in 1980 and eventually going gold; it still ranks as one of old school rap's greatest and most enduring moments. Blow followed it with an appearance in the cult hip-hop film Krush Groove, in which he performed "If I Ruled the World," his biggest hit since "The Breaks."

Blow's music has also been revived by younger artists seeking to pay tribute; Nas covered "If I Rule the World" on 1996's It Was Written, and R&B group Next sampled "Christmas Rappin'" for their 1998 smash "Too Close."

Big Daddy Kane

Emerging during hip-hop's massive creative expansion of the late '80s, Big Daddy Kane was the ultimate lover man of rap's first decade, yet there was more to him than the stylish wardrobe, gold jewelry, and sophisticated charisma. Kane possessed a prodigious rhyming technique honed from numerous B-boy battles; he could also be an Afrocentric consciousness-raiser versed in the philosophy of the Nation of Islam's Five Percent school, or a smooth urban soul crooner whose singing was no match for his talents as an MC. While he never scored much pop-crossover success, his best material ranks among the finest hip-hop of its era, and his sex-drenched persona was enormously influential on countless future would-be players.

Big Daddy Kane was born Antonio Hardy in Brooklyn on September 10, 1968; the stage name "Kane" was an acronym for King Asiatic Nobody's Equal. In 1984, he met Biz Markie, and the two struck up a friendship. Kane would go on to co-write some of the Biz's best-known raps, and both eventually became important members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by renowned producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Marl's Cold Chillin' label in 1987 and debuted the following year with the 12" single "Raw," which became an underground sensation. His first album, Long Live the Kane, followed not long after and was equally well-received, producing another underground classic in "Ain't No Half-Steppin'." Kane consolidated his success with 1989's It's a Big Daddy Thing, which spawned arguably his most effective love-man song in "Smooth Operator" (and also found him working with new jack producer Teddy Riley on "I Get the Job Done"). 1990's A Taste of Chocolate was a wide-ranging effort, highlighted by Kane's duets with Barry White and comedian Rudy Ray Moore, aka Dolemite.

Slick Rick

A modern rap music genius, Slick Rick’s legend precedes him like no others. Originally known as Doug E. Fresh’s vocal partner in the Get Fresh Crew, MC Ricky D’s (as he was then known) unforgettable performances on 1985’s double-sided single, “The Show”b/w “La Di Da Di,”brought a new kind of hip hop hero to light. Suave, debonair and capable of great poignancy and bawdy humor, Rick’s charisma wouldn’t actually flourish fully until the commencement of his own solo career. Highlighted by classics like “Children’s Story,”“Mona Lisa”and “Hey Young World,”1988’s platinum selling The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick found the U.K. Expatriate/Bronx resident displaying a remarkable talent for wit-filled narratives like some lyrical crossbreed of Bob Dylan and Richard Pryor. His influence on a generation of rappers from Snoop Dogg to the late Notorious BIG continues to be felt through contemporary times.

The next two releases-1990’s The Ruler’s Back and 1995’s Behind Bars, However now, after three years comes news from the East that will warm the hearts of rap fans worldwide: with his new album, The Art of Storytelling, hip hop’s most storied storyteller, Slick Rick, makes his triumphant return. “I decide to call the album ‘The Art of Storytelling’ because that is exactly what I am known for! I wanted re-introduce the art form by making an album that included many different variations of stories and rap styles.”

“When you start gettin’ back into the flavor and the fun of making music,” the rhyme veteran continues reflectively, “it doesn’t really matter how old you are. Just as long as you can still entertain people at a high rate.” An entertainer of unparalleled ingenuity, Slick Rick’s gifts may finally again be shared with the public.

Tickets are available though the following outlets

Melbourne Ticketek – 132 849

Sydney Ticketek – 132 849

Adelaide VenueTix – 08 8225 8888

Perth Bocs Ticketing – 08 9484 1133

Ticket’s on Sale – Friday 29th of July 2005"

Tim are you going there? Sounds really cool I gotta say and through my secret mafia contacts, maybe I could get some multimedia from this tour, but it would be alot easier if Tim knows some radio channel or somethin that might pick something up lol. Good to see three vets touring.

Edited August 27, 2005 by Lerkot

[Frenetic]

I'd give my left foot to see Slick Rick live. Already seen big daddy kane though.

[bigted]

3 legends in one show, I'd kill to see that! :mygod: