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"The Breaks" is a critically acclaimed 1980 hit single for Kurtis Blow (see 1980 in music) and one of the earliest hip-hop hits. Unlike most hip-hop songs which sample prerecorded funk, the funk beat in this song is an original one. It has, in turn, been sampled by many subsequent musicians.

The song was remade by the female rap group Nadanuf in 1997 on the album Worldwide and featured Kurtis Blow.^[1]

The song has featured in a few games, the 2005 game True Crime: New York City, the 2006 game Scarface: The World Is Yours, and the 2002 game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Number 10 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Lyrics and structure

• "The Breaks" repeats the word "break" (or any of its homophones) eighty-four times over six and a half minutes.
• There are six breakdowns (seven including the outro) in "The Breaks".
• There are no fewer than three definitions for "break," "to break" or "brakes" used in "The Breaks."

References