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 rap mogul Russell Simmons. Blow began his career in New York City in the mid-1970s, when he was a breakdancer until switching to DJing under the name Kool DJ Kurt and then finally rapping. He was the first rapper to record a full length album on a major label (1979). This occurred after recording "Christmas Rappin", his first single; during this time, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang became the first hit for hip hop. The whole field was derided as a fad, though, and thus there was much resistance to signing Blow. In 1980 he opened for reggae legend Bob Marley at the Madison Square Garden where he performed for an audience of 20,000.
He has appeared in several feature films, including Krush Groove and The Show. A duet with rock icon Bob Dylan called "Street Rock", appeared on Blow's 1986 album, Kingdom Blow[1] by special arrangement of Wayne Garfield (Garfield and Blow co-wrote, "Reasons For Wanting You" on Kingdom Blow)[2] and Debra Byrd, American Idol's head vocal coach and former Dylan backup singer (see album credits).[citation needed]
And in 2004, he recorded the song "Hey Everybody" with Max C and Bomfunk MC's for their album, Reverse Psychology. He also co-wrote songs with The Fat Boys, including their signature songs, "Fat Boys" (1984) and "The Fat Boys Are Back" (1985).
Kurtis Blow also became the first hip hop musician embraced by the mainstream advertising industry with his appearance in a commercial for the soft drink Sprite.
He is currently a DJ on Backspin 43, which is the old school hip hop station on the Sirius Satellite Radio service. According to an interview with I Suppose Productions, he is also currently a theology major at Nyack College working to enter the ministry. According to Blow, "Man's real telos... the real purpose in life, is to serve God."
If I Ruled The World
Kurtis Blow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The best y'all, yes yes y'all
Huh, huh, huh, huh, yes y'all
If I ruled the world, was king on the throne
I'd make peace in every culture, build the homeless a home
I'm not runnin', for Congress or the President
I'm just here, to tell the world, how my story went
And then I moved to London, bought a brand new home
And everywhere I went, I drew lots of attention
Like a stretch limousine, one of those new inventions
It took a few years 'fore the day had come
But I was ruler of the WORLD ranked number one
So I headed towards Washington to claim the crown
Let the whole world know that, the King was in town
As I, arrived, the crowd started to cheer
And then someone yelled out, "The King is here!"
So I headed toward stage, to make a speech
about the new style of living I was gonna teach, uh-huh
If I ruled the world
Huh-huh, huh-huh uh-huh uh-huh
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world
People started flowin' as they reached for my hand
I said, "Thank you for bringin' me to the Promised Land
But now I must go, say goodbye to everybody
Tonight I'll see you all at my Super Dinner Party"
And late that night, at my Super Dinner Party
I was dancin' to the beat and entertainin' La-Di-Da-Di
The music started endin', it was time for a speech
The crowd started sittin' as I rose from my feet
And this was once a dream, I explained to the crowd
But now, I rule the world, and I feel, so very proud
Excuse me please, for stoppin' this show
I just had to thank you all, huh, and me so
My first day in office, the King on the throne
I spent my first three hours on the telephone
You know with newsmen reporters, and votes too
I had so many calls, I didn't know what to do
You know out that office I continued to work
I signed so many papers, my fingers started to hurt
Then I shook off the pain, say this ain't no thing
'Cause there's nothin' in the world like bein' number one king!
If I ruled the world
Huh huh huh huh, huh-huh huh-huh
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, whoa yeah
If I ruled the world
Now I rule the world and now, I'm on top
And I'm rollin' with folks that could never be stopped
And I'm here to let you know this is where I belong
And to you sucker emcees that sing my song
And it's a song that's strong about right and wrong
And I'm rock it to you baby baby all night long
And it's a song about love, and happiness
In a world of peace, and you know that's fresh
Now I'm the king, and I want you to know
That I'm the Master Blaster Rapper who's runnin' the show
And to all of you rappers in every country
You better stop what you're doin', and listen to me
'Cause we gotta stop war, and use unity
To fight crime and hunger and poverty
'Cause the African baby is dyin' overseas
While you sucker mission politicians bustin' out Z's
Huh, twenty million people all unemployed
While the rich man try to play Pretty Boy Floyd
While the working class just struggles hard
Try to make ends meet against all odds
While the poor man can't even deal with life
You know he tried to escape, and smoked the coke on the pipe
And it's time for a change, to a better way
'Cause the sun has gotta shine through the cloudy day
So listen up world, while I teach this class
And take heed to the message or we ain't gonna last
'Cause I know, the solution, is the contribution
Of woman and man to just join the revolution
That'll take your brain to a higher plane
And help you deal in a world that's gone insane
With the problems that I know we can stop
From the ruler of the world and the man on top
But the years went by, and time was up
And the ruler of the world had ran out of luck
And all the people at the time who said they were my friends
Didn't know me when my job had come to an end
They came up to my face, as happy as can be
He was running his mouth like, Muhammad Ali
So I shook his hand calmly as I headed to the door
On my way to the ghetto to treat once more
If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah
If I ruled the world, if I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, whoa yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
I'd love all the girls, you know I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world, yeah yeah yeah yeah baby baby
If I ruled the world, if I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, yes you, you, you and you
Black diamonds and pearls, where those diamonds, where those pearls?
If I ruled the world
If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, I'd love 'em love 'em baby
Kurtis Blow’s song “If I Ruled The World” is a reflection of his vision of being the King of the world and how he would have approached it. The first verse of the song says that he would make peace between every culture, build homes for the homeless, and tell the world about his story. Next, he talks about the places he lived and visited – Rome and London, and how he drew lots of attention. He then became the ruler of the world, headed towards Washington to claim the crown, and made a speech to teach the world about his new style of living. The chorus of the song says that if he ruled the world, he would love all the girls and would give them the best of everything – black diamonds and pearls.
In the second part of the song, Kurtis Blow expresses his concern for the problems of the world, such as war, hunger, poverty, and unemployment. He emphasizes the importance of unity and fighting against these problems. He believes that the solution lies in the contribution of both men and women and that they should join the revolution to help stop these problems. Towards the end of the song, Kurtis Blow reflects on his time as the ruler of the world and how people who said they were his friends, abandoned him when his job was over.
Overall, “If I Ruled The World” is a song about Kurtis Blow’s ideal world where he would be the ruler and make significant changes to improve the lives of people.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes yes y'all
The artist is acknowledging his audience and getting them hyped up for his message.
If I ruled the world, was king on the throne
I'd make peace in every culture, build the homeless a home
I'm not runnin', for Congress or the President
I'm just here, to tell the world, how my story went
The artist is thinking about what he would do if he were in charge, and he wants to spread peace amongst cultures and help the homeless. He also wants to clarify that he is not seeking any political office, he just wants to share his perspective through his music.
You see, first it was a dream, I was livin' in Rome
And then I moved to London, bought a brand new home
And everywhere I went, I drew lots of attention
Like a stretch limousine, one of those new inventions
The artist's success came from his hard work and dedication. He started with a dream in Rome, then moved on to purchase a home in London. His talent and hard work paid off, attracting the attention of many fans and media outlets.
It took a few years 'fore the day had come
But I was ruler of the WORLD ranked number one
So I headed towards Washington to claim the crown
Let the whole world know that, the King was in town
The artist worked hard for years to achieve his success and reign as number one in the world. He celebrated his victory and traveled to Washington with the intention of sharing the news of his success with the entire world.
As I, arrived, the crowd started to cheer
And then someone yelled out, "The King is here!"
So I headed toward stage, to make a speech
about the new style of living I was gonna teach, uh-huh
As the artist arrived, his fans cheered him on and acknowledged his success. This allowed him to make a speech outlining how he intended to use his success to create a better lifestyle for everyone.
I'd love all the girls, I love 'em love 'em baby!
Black diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world
If the artist were in charge, he'd spread love to all women and provide them with luxurious items like black diamonds and pearls. However, this line is also mostly just a catchy chorus meant to hype up the audience.
But now I must go, say goodbye to everybody
Tonight I'll see you all at my Super Dinner Party"
And late that night, at my Super Dinner Party
I was dancin' to the beat and entertainin' La-Di-Da-Di
After addressing the crowd, the artist left to attend his Super Dinner Party, where he entertained guests by dancing to music. This is a quiet moment before we learn about the artist's future endeavors.
And to all of you rappers in every country
You better stop what you're doin', and listen to me
'Cause we gotta stop war, and use unity
To fight crime and hunger and poverty
The artist believes that all the other rappers in the world need to listen up and contribute to his fight for community and peace. He wants to use this collective strength to combat poverty and crime and make the world a better place.
But the years went by, and time was up
And the ruler of the world had ran out of luck
And all the people at the time who said they were my friends
Didn't know me when my job had come to an end
Unfortunately, time caught up with the artist and his reign as king had come to an end. The people who claimed to be his friends during his successful moments abandoned him when he fell from his throne.
If I ruled the world
I'd love all the girls, you know I'd love 'em love 'em baby!
Diamonds and pearls, ooh yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah
If I ruled the world
This line is repeated to emphasize the artist's desire to share love and give everyone luxury items if he could rule the world.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: EVAN BOGART, EMANUEL KIRIAKOU, LINDY ROBBINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DavidSmith-yk1rf
It's still rocking in 2024
@Maurice76746
So glad I grew up in this time.
@marcussmith3934
Happy 64th Birthday Kurtis Blow!(Born August 9, 1959)😃🥳🎂🎉🎊🎈🎁🍾🥂👍🏾👏🏾🙌🏾
@bolajiaiyegboyin3579
Kurtz crushed this..❤❤❤ I am happy for him now that he is now for Christ.❤❤❤
@tremainehughes5974
Back when my parent's and grandparents were still alive. Man i LOVE the memories ❤
@normanbutler9202
Kurtis, crushed this, I don’t care what anyone says! *(boy was lit 💥)
@giftsofwine5742
Oh yes he did! ❣️
@jaimeegrinage2580
And he was easy on the eyes 😏
@Heaventoem
23 and I still come to the one and only Mr. Kurtis Blow 👏🏽👏🏽🤝🏽
@Joyovaflow777
Thankz for Sharing God Blessings ☝️ 😊
From Auckland New Zealand 🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿