Kurtis Blow Says Hip-Hop Needs to Embrace Christmas More

Kurtis Blow isn't just a rap pioneer ... he's a Christmas rap pioneer, but this holiday season he's inviting all of hip-hop to join him by the yuletide fire.

We got the NYC legend Tuesday at Reagan National in D.C. and asked why he thought hip-hop Christmas songs don't get as much play as more conventional choices, like Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."

To Kurtis the answer seems to be market share. As in, more is more, and now is the time for rappers to get in the spirit. After all, it pays!

Just ask Run-DMC about their royalties on "Christmas in Hollis" or Kurtis himself, whose "Christmas Rappin'" has been a thing for 38 years now!

With that said, we gotta ask ...