For the 2025 homecoming concert, SUNY Old Westbury will be hosting rapper Kurtis Blow to perform on October 4 in the Maguire Theater. Blow, most known for his hit song “Basketball” is a staple in hip-hop. He was the first rapper to sign a major record deal when he signed with Mercury Records in 1979 followed by his hits, “Basketball” and “The Breaks (Part 1),” which entered the BillBoard Hot 100. 

In addition to Blow, there will also be performances from The Fearless Four, the first hip-hop group to sign to a major label. D.L. Barksdale of The Fearless Four is an alumni of SUNY Old Westbury, and, alongside Kurtis Blow and hip-hop artist Chubb Rock, he spoke with student journalists at the university through a private zoom meeting.

“I’m a product of SUNY Old Westbury,” said Barksdale, who was a member of The Catalyst student newspaper and the school radio station. “Getting to Westbury, I got to focus on what I can truly do.” 

Blow and Barksdale talked a lot about the importance of their time at the school. When asked what Blow would say to his younger self, he said “education, education, education”. 

Blow recalled growing up in Harlem and looking outside his apartment everyday as a kid and seeing The City College of New York on his horizon. He recalled a dream of becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. 

The similarities in both Blow and Barksdale’s mindset might have contributed to the success that both had in hip hop. Along with Chubb Rock, who will also perform at the homecoming concert, both rappers steer clear of using profanity and sexism in their lyrics.

“Real hip-hop has nothing to do with denigrating women,” Chubb Rock said on the Zoom.

Barksdale and Blow have remained committed to delivering great music performances for more than 30 years. Their relationship is still strong today, with this homecoming concert being one of the many performances that show how long the connection between the two has been.

“I always refer to Kurtis Blow as my big brother,” Barksdale said. 

In addition to the concert, Kurtis Blow will be hosting a screening of his film, “The History of Rap,” followed by a celebrity guest panel discussion, in the Duane L. Jones Recital Hall at 3 p.m. on October 3.

Student journalist Sean Clahane contributed to this story.