Rap pioneer Kurtis Blow is lucky to be alive after suffering a heart attack last Saturday (Oct. 29).

The incident occurred in Woodland Hills, Calif. According to ABC7, officers responded to a call about a robbery at a bus stop near Westfield Promenade around 9:30 p.m. The robbery reports turned out to be inaccurate, as officers arrived on the scene to find Kurtis and his son arguing. As officers tried to quell the situation, Blow, born Kurtis Walker, passed out.

Police on the scene acted quickly and performed CPR, and were able to revive Blow, who blanked out a few more times during the process. An ambulance arrived and rushed him to a nearby hospital where he is recovering.

"The police saved my life, a Black man. In this day and age, people need to hear that," the "The Breaks" rapper said in a statement. "They got there so fast. If they got there any later, I would have died. I want to thank the officers from the bottom of my heart, no pun intended," he added.

Blow has the claim to fame of being the first solo rapper signed to a major label in 1979, bringing commercial success to a then fledgling genre. His breakout single "The Breaks" which dropped in 1980 is the first rap single to be certified gold.

His son Kurtis Blow Jr. is following in his father's footsteps and has a rap career of his own.

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