HIP HOP CLASSICS
GOING ALL OUT revisits
"LONG LIVE THE KANE" and "IT'S A BIG DADDY THING"
Very rarely, when watching these TOP TEN MC shows
does this artist's name come up.
But, who was single-handedly responsible for resurrecting
"The Juice Crew" after the MC Shan and
Boogie Down Productions Battle on wax?
Who was the man that said, he was so full of action,
his name should be a verb?
Who's Flattop ruled in '89?
BIG DADDY KANE aka Antonio Hardy, should go down as one of the TOP TEN RAPPERS
of all time. The name "KANE" was an acronym for KING ASIATIC NOBODY'S EQUAL,
and that's exactly what he proved lyrically. In 1984, he met BIZ MARKIE. BIZ tried
to persuade Kane to rap. Being apprehensive, Kane didn't take him seriously and was
content rapping locally. It was after Kane co-wrote some of BIZ's best known raps
and saw the success of BIZ, that Kane took rap seriously. In 1987, Kane released his
first single on Prizm Records, "Get Into It" which created a buzz in the underground
circuit. That same year, he signed with Marley Marl's "COLD CHILLIN" label and
dropped his next single "Raw". After hearing this single, you had to take him seriously.
KANE was putting his rhymes together in a style that was unorthodox, yet creative.
Shortly after Kane started ripping mics with his multi-tempo style, lyrically, he became
a standard in which many rappers were judged. For instance, here's a verse from
BIG DADDY KANE'S - AIN'T NO HALF STEPPIN:
My rhymes are so dope and
the rappers be hoping
To sound like me,
so soon I'll have to open
A school of MCing,
for those who want to be in
my field in court.
Then again on second thought,
to have MC's coming out sounding so similar
It's quite confusing
for you to remember
the Originator,
and boy do I hate a
Perpetrator,
but I'm much greater.
The best
Oh yes
I guess
suggest
the rest
should fess
Don't mess
or test
your Highness
Unless you just
address
with best finesse
and bless the paragraph
I Manifest...
Because of rhymes like these, and innovative, gifted artists like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim
KRS-ONE, Slick Rick, Chuck D and Ice Cube, RAP was about to evolve to the multibillion
dollar industry it is today.
LONG LIVE THE KANE-1988
B.D.K.'s 1988 debut is a "R.A.W." (Ready and Willing) classic album.
This album contained ten tracks, 9 of them could rock a party
or club this present day. Some of the highlights from this album
were: Long Live the Kane, Raw, Set It Off, Just Rhymin' with BIZ, Ain't No Half-Steppin'
and Word to the Mother (Land). This album proved to be one of the essential albums
that all rap fans must have in their collection.
IT'S A BIG DADDY THING- 1989
Rap fans were in a state of euphoria in 1987 and 1988.
These two years produced solid rap singles and albums.
But in 1989, B.D.K. followed his classic debut with an
exemplary sophomore album. This album contained
seventeen tracks. The majority of them were solid. Since the album was released
so quickly, a lot of fans in the New York City area gravitated to this album,
slightly more than his debut. Marley Marl didn't leak songs from this album on
his N.Y.C. based radio show, like he did with Kane's debut. Highlights from this
album were: Another Victory, Mortal Combat, Young, Gifted and Black,
Smooth Operator, Calling Mr. Welfare, Pimpin' Ain't Easy, On the Move and
Warm It Up, Kane.
If today's MC could achieve the level of thought and creativity artists like Kane
used when composing their lyrics, rap would experience another Golden Era.
These two CD's are must haves for any HIP-HOP fan. Cop these to see what
rap used to sound like. And the words of Big Daddy Kane:
"...my voice will float
on every note
when I clear my throat,
that's all she wrote!"
K. Mercer