Big Daddy Kane and Las Supper

I was born in the late 70′s, I went through elementary school in the 80′s and I was a teen in the 90′s. Ok, so you are probably wondering why I am dating myself here? Well, there is a good reason for that, it is because I’m going to be talking about Big Daddy Kane, a rap superstar from my youth.

If you grew up during the same time as I did, then you know who the B.I.G. D.A Double D.Y  K.A.N.E is! In fact you just rapped that spelling, didn’t you? Didn’t you? He’s dramatic, Asiatic, not like many. He’s different, so don’t compare him to another, cause they can’t hang, word to the mother. Know what I’m saying? Big Daddy Kane is the subject of today’s Talk Rendezvous!

Most of us know Big Daddy Kane as a rapper, 88, time to set it straight, know what I’m saying? Ain’t no half stepping. Word, I’m ready. But these days Big Daddy Kane is on to new and different things, sort of. I say sort of because he’s still rapping, but what would you think if I told you that he is now part of a band?

Photo Credit: Chad Batka for The New York Times

Big Daddy Kane stated that he was a fan of that Motown sound from the 60′s and 70′s. He mentioned that back in the early days of hip hop, artists like himself and others would often sample music from that time frame. If you listen to “Smooth Operator”, you’ll hear that his beat maker sampled the Mary Jane Girls song “All Night long”. This basically confirms what he told us at the show, he’s definitely feeling that 60′s and 70′s era of music.

Check out the song “Smooth Operator” by Big Daddy Kane

Big Daddy Kane told the show that he wondered what would have happened if Hip Hop existed back in the days of Motown? Well Kane wasn’t satisfied with just wondering about that question, so he teamed up with The Las Supper to make it a reality. According to their facebook page, here is a description of the collab: “Las Supper is a music collaboration with the Legendary Big Daddy Kane, R&B Soul singer Show Tyme, and the Hip-Hop fusion band Lifted Crew.”

At some point, I’d love to learn more about Show Tyme and Lifted Crew, because I listened to a few of their songs and I gotta tell ya, it is some nice feel good music. Show Tyme has some pipes on him, that man can sing, and the band is really awesome. You have to check this collaboration out! So when I first heard the music tracks being played on the show I wondered if Cris and Alysia made some sort of mistake with the song lineup? The song sounded like an oldie to me, and anyone that knows me knows that I love my oldies music. But this was supposed to be a Big Daddy Kane song, I’m confused? What’s going on? And then out of nowhere, in comes that voice that I know oh so well. Big Daddy Kane dropping bars to this oldie style music. Awesomeness.

Check this, back when I was 10 years old I was already listening to The Shirelles, Al Green, Marvin Gaye and other bands from what many consider the golden eras of music. I used to go to sleep listening to this amazing music. I will admit that it was very odd for people that a 10 year old kid was listening to these “oldies” back in the 80′s, some 20 to 30 years after these songs came out. Me and my friends even created an oldies inspired band, we were called “The Gels”. True story.

I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that today, in addition to my solo hip hop music, I also perform these feel good, oldie inspired, alternative pop collaborations! Just like Big Daddy Kane and the Las Supper. Big Daddy Kane and many other rappers out there have taken the hip hop art form and blended it with other styles of music. Some people rag on hip hop, they think it requires no skill or talent. Well my friends, it does! If you give hip hop artists a chance, you’ll find that we are real musicians, just like someone who plays an instrument or someone that can sing a note. The only difference is that guys like Big Daddy Kane and the others use words as the form of expression.

So how did Big Daddy Kane link up with the Las Supper? He said that he met these guys at a BB Kings event, and that on several occasions the guys had backed him up on some of his songs. The rest was just a natural progression that took place over time.

So what do Big Daddy Kane fans think about his new transition? According the Kane, many of his fans are not aware of his transition to this new form of music.  He said that he has targeted contemporary audiences, young college types and the sort. People that were probably not even born during his golden era of hip hop reign. Although he did say that the few fans that know, like the music. I’ll agree with that, I’ve been a fan of Big Daddy Kane since I was a kid, and I’m feeling the new music. It’s a genre that I already love, and he adds some Big Daddy Kane lyrical prowess to it, that sounds like a win to me!

For those of you that are not aware, this isn’t the first time that Big Daddy Kane has collaborated with other artists, in fact back in 1991 he won a Grammy for a collaboration with Quincy Jones. Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Back on the Block”. Big Daddy Kane stated jokingly he stills has the Grammy displayed and he’s happy he won it, but he believes that since he wasn’t officially in a group that the Grammy should have went to Digital Underground or Public Enemy. He felt this way because those guys were legit rap groups out at the same time and up for the award. But yeah, he’s still good with having received it, I think most of us would be. Belated congratulations for that brother.

The guys wanted to know if Big Daddy Kane still kicked it with the Juice crew, and his answer was yes, they are still friends. Now since they were on a roll with the questions, they decided to ask Big Daddy Kane about his spectacular dress style. If you’ve seen Big Daddy Kane, you know that my man is always sporting the fresh threads. He’s the type of dude that would be dropping bars and tearing up other MC’s while in a fresh two piece suit. Know who that brings to mind? That reminds me of Legendary Nuyorican Poet, Nathan P, this man is always cool as ice and dressed to a T.

Big Daddy Kane told the show that he got his style from his father. He shared a funny story about how when he was a kid, his friends thought that his dad was a proper pimp. He said his friends would straight up ask him, “Yo Tone, is your daddy a pimp?” That’s hilarious and oh so cool. Big Daddy said that his father was the type of man that would be changing a car tire in a suit, and if the suit got dirty in the process, he’d go upstairs and change into a fresher suit as a way to show the tire and the car that they could not cramp his style. Now that’s real style right there!

Big Daddy Kane and the Las Supper will be touring starting in July. Check out their facebook page here. The band agreed to come down to the studio and perform live for the show! I hope these guys really make it happen, I’d love to see that!