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Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the notorious Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn. During his career, he has worked with artists including Biz Markie, Marley Marl, Teddy Riley, Rudy Ray Moore and Barry White. Heavily influenced by Grandmaster Caz in his earlier years, he continued to improve his fast flow and freestyle battle techniques. Part of Marley Marl's legendary Juice Crew, he also penned lyrics for fellow members Biz Markie and Roxanne Shante. Kane was responsible for jump-starting and being the archetype for the career of Jay-Z, now a hugely commercially successful rapper who got his start as Kane's hypeman.http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1190

Career

In 1984, he met Biz Markie, and the two struck up a friendship. Kane would go on to co-write some of the Biz's best-known raps, and both eventually became important members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by renowned producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Marl's Cold Chillin' label in 1987 and debuted the following year with the 12" single "Raw," which became an underground sensation. Kane is known for his incredible ability to syncopate over faster hip hop beats, and despite his asthmatic condition he is acknowledged as one of the pioneering masters of fast-rap. His sense of style is renowned and set a number of early-1990s hip hop trends (high-top fades, cuts in the right eyebrow, and four-finger rings).

He released his debut album under Cold Chillin' Records in the early summer of 1988 called Long Live the Kane which featured the hip hop hit "Ain't No Half Steppin". The following year, he released his sophomore effort and biggest hit to date It's a Big Daddy Thing which included 1970s sample throwbacks like "Smooth Operator" and the Teddy Riley produced track "I Get the Job Done" which hit the R&B top 40 during the closing of the 1980s. He also had a rememberable verse on the Marley Marl produced track "The Symphony" released in late 1988 which included Juice Crew member Craig G, Masta Ace, and Kool G. Rap.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers during the "golden age" of hip hop (1986–1993), Kane's experimentation with R&B beats and his alignment to the Five Percent faction drew criticism. Later albums, such as Looks Like a Job For..., were acclaimed, but he was never able to return to the commercial and artistic success of It's a Big Daddy Thing. However, he still tours extensively.

In 1996, before the murder of 2Pac, it was said that 2Pac intended to start his own label, Makaveli Records, featuring prominently East Coast acts; one of the artists he intended to sign was Kane, and the two even recorded a song together before the rapper's death, entitled "Wherever U Are".

Big Daddy Kane has posed for Playgirl and Madonna's Sex book. As an actor, he debuted in Mario Van Peebles' western, Posse.

Recent activities

Recently (especially as of 2002), a rejuvenated Big Daddy Kane has occasionally been visible collaborating with alternative hip hop artists, including Jurassic 5, Little Brother, and DJ Babu of the Beat Junkies. He has released two singles, the Alchemist-produced "The Man, The Icon", and the DJ Premier-produced "Any Type of Way" (on which he discusses urban collapse in post-9/11 New York City ["Giuliani got the streets lookin' like Osama starred"] and the erosion of the middle class.) His most recent guest appearance was on trip-hop group Morcheeba's 2003 single "What's Your Name". In 2006, he appeared as guest MC on the track "Get Wild Off This", produced by The Stanton Warriors on their Stanton Sessions Vol 2. breaks mix. He has stated he has no interest in working on another solo album.

In 2005, Big Daddy Kane was honored during the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. After a medley of hits performed by T.I., Black Thought, and Common, he came out to perform his beloved track "Warm It Up, Kane" with his old dancers, Scoob and Scrap. The performance was tremendously well-received. Kane can also been seen briefly in Dave Chappelle's Block Party documentary. Most recently, he appeared alongside the Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, and his longtime friends Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip in a segment of the 2006 Summer Jam concert (June 7, 2006), as part of an initiative by Busta Rhymes to honor the legacy of New York City hip hop.

Legacy

Big Daddy Kane is known to have one of the sharpest flows and deliveries of any old school rapper. He is considered an influence of Jay-Z and Nas who have mimicked his flow and lyrics. A contemporary of Kane and fellow rapper, Ice-T says:

Moniker

The backronym "King Asiatic Nobody's Equal" is often applied to his moniker. His name "Kane" came from Kane from the popular TV show Kung Fu. The "Big Daddy" came from Vincent Price's character in an old Frankie Avalon movie, "Beach Party".

Discography

See also

• Juice Crew
• List of hip hop musicians

References

External links

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