Gatefold 180-gram black vinyl. Kurtis Walker - better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow - was the first rapper and hip/hop artist to be signed to US major record label Mercury in 1979. His first single Christmas Rappin became an instant classic selling nearly half a million copies on 12-inch. The follow-up single The Breaks sold more than a million copies making it the very first rap single to be certified Gold.