Photo Courtesy of NJPAC
NEWARK, NJ — South Bronx hip-hop meets Russian romanticism at NJPAC this Saturday, Dec. 17, when the 10th anniversary edition of “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” is performed at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Kurtis Blow, 63, a founding father of hip-hop and the show’s master of ceremonies, recently spoke to Worrall Community Newspapers about hip-hop and what’s in store for the audience.
“I like so many things about hip-hop,” Blow said. “It’s a culture of young people that love and cherish the culture. It’s amazing; it’s something we do when you wake up, the way you go to the bathroom, hold your toothbrush, walk, it’s everything you do throughout the day. Rap you do; hip-hop you live. I’ve been living this culture since I was 13.”
He said “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” is an amazing rendition set to classical music.
“We do a modernized version,” he said. “What I like is the fusion, those funky hip-hop beats and the dancers with all the styles. To see the fusion is incredible.”
Blow plays the part of a host and master of ceremonies at this year’s performance. He warms up the audience.
“I get out and sing old-school hip-hop and ‘New Year’s Eve’ and everyone counts down,” he said. “That starts the show and I come back at the end.”
The audience will leave the show revitalized, he said.
“It’s all in the spirit of love and community.”
Blow has been a part of the production since its inception 10 years ago. He had been asked to see a new show, “The Hip Hop Nutcracker,” and was amazed by what he witnessed.
“I had to be a part of it,” he said, adding that he calls the dancers his b-boy and b-girl dream team. B-boys and b-girls are dancers committed to the dance style of breakdancing.
Blow said he especially likes the opening of the show because that is when he is center stage, but he also likes when the Mouse Queen casts a magic spell over the Nutcracker. This is a variation in the original Nutcracker ballet, where no spell is cast, but the action takes place in a dream of Clara, the girl who receives a nutcracker from Herr Drosselmeyer. In the hip-hop version, Drosselmeyer is a woman. Nonetheless, the results are the same.
“The boy and girl fall in love,” Blow said. “The magic of love defeats evil. That’s the show. We need that now more than ever.”
Blow said he had a heart transplant in December 2020 and kidded that he was the first rapper to have one.
“I’m a walking miracle,” he said, “and so glad I can get out there and do my thing.”
He said he is still recording and may put out an album.
“I’m a reverend as well and will be preaching,” he said. “My son, Kurtis Jr., is recording his third album. So, it’s not over for Kurtis Blow.”
Right after the transplant, when he woke up, he said he was thinking that he was alive and OK. But none of the doctors or nurses noticed that he was awake. When they did, he asked them if the operation was successful.
“They all threw their thumbs up,” he said. “It was an amazing feeling. I feel that every morning and thank God my eyes are open and I have another chance to get things right.”
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