BlackRadioIsBack.com Flashback: Big Daddy Kane


Still as far as I'm concerned one of the best Hip-Hop MCs in the game, past present or future.....

Big Daddy Kane a.k.a. King Asiatic Nobody's Equal was born Antonio Hardy on September 10, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York.

He started out as one of the core members of the classic Queens, NY Hip-Hop collective, the Juice Crew in 1986 (which also included producer Marley Marl, DJs Mr. Cee & DJ Polo and Hip-Hop MCs Roxanne Shante, Dimples D, Tragedy Khadafi, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Cool V, Masta Ace, MC Shan and Biz Markie).

Big Daddy Kane is known for being one of the masters of having a smooth fast-rapping Hip-Hop flow (which is sort of a miracle considering he's asthmastic).

During the period from the late 1980s to early 1990s (which more and more seem to be rightfully called Hip-Hop's Golden Age) while he was on Cold Chillin' Records, Big Daddy Kane dropped classic songs like "Raw", "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" (from his first album, Long Live The Kane), "Smooth Operator", "I Get The Job Done" (both from the It's a Big Daddy Thing album, the most commercially successul album so from from him), "The Symphony" (with the Juice Crew on Marley's Marl's In Control, Volume 1), "The PJs" and way more fire joints...

He went through a lot of drama back in the day for what seems stunningly normal and blase now in today's Hip-Hop/Rap scene - experimenting with flowing over R&B beats and being aligned with the Nation of Gods and Earths/Five Percent Nation.

** NOTE: Which I don't know what gets me more now looking back on the latter half of this sentence, especially since most of our best Hip-Hop MCs from the NYC/NJ Metro area during the classic period up to the mid-1990s - Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, Poor Righeous Teachers, Brand Nubian, Busta Rhymes, MF Doom aka Zeb Love X of KMD, etc. - had the same affilations. It is what it is, I guess...**

As an actor, Big Daddy Kane debuted in actor/director Mario Van Peebles' Posse (still one of the best Black Westerns of all time next to Buck and the Preacher) and Robert Townsend's The Meteor Man in the 1990s.

He also made "interesting" entertainment turns posing for Playgirl and Madonna's Sex book (before she got into Kabbalah, electronica music, being mad self-righteous and whatnot) during that time period.

Now, along with constantly being on tour and performing, Big Daddy Kane is still on the grind like crazy doing solid guest verses and appearnces with a variety of music artists in the past decade, including working with folks like Jurassic 5, Morcheeba, Little Brother, Alchemist, DJ Babu of the Beat Junkies and most recently Busta Rhymes (with the "Don't Touch Me (Throw Da Water On 'Em)" RMX).

Big Daddy Kane Official Website
Big Daddy Kane Official MySpace Page

Got a little bit of classic Big Daddy Kane in the videos below for y'all BlackRadioIsBack.com/FuseBox Radio Broadcast readers, listeners and supporters - enjoy! :)

Music Video #1: Big Daddy Kane - Ain't No Half-Steppin'



Music Video #2: Big Daddy Kane - In The PJs



Music Video #3: Big Daddy Kane - Smooth Operator



Music Video #4: Big Daddy Kane - I Get The Job Done (Live) & Interview on the Arsenio Hall Show



Music Video #5: Patti LaBelle & Big Daddy Kane - Feels Like Another One



Music Video #6: Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy & More at 1989 Harlem Rally Against Racism