Just a few days after his performance at the 2023 BET Awards, Big Daddy Kane called in to catch up with Audacy and Atlanta’s V-103’s Big Tigger Morning Show, and talk all about the award show, his 50 Year Celebration of Hip-Hop tour, bridging the gap between old and new age rappers, and a whole lot more.
LISTEN NOW: V-103's Big Tigger Morning Show - Big Daddy Kane
“I had a ball man, it was a lot of fun, especially sharing the stage with Sugar Hill Gang,” BDK said, as well as MC Lyte who he said “is like family.”
Kane also discussed honoring his late friend Biz Markie as part of his performance, noting, “there’d be no me without him, without that brother believing in me I never would have been in this industry.”
Taking a moment to promote his upcoming 50 Year Celebration of Hip-Hop tour, Big Daddy Kane let us know to “expect to see a great show.”
“We all come from an era where performing was something very important and a competitive era — friendly competition, nothing against each other, but a competitive era," Kane said of the lineup that features Doug E. Fresh, KRS-One, Rakim, Slick Rick, and more. “So I’m expecting everyone to bring their A-game, and that should be very good for the audience.”
Divulging who would be on his Mount Rushmore of Hip-Hop, “if we’re talking late 80s - early 90s," BDK revealed that would be, “myself, KRS, Rakim, and G Rap,” also admitting that “it changes with each era.” So whittling it down to just a Top 5 dead or alive is something he “couldn’t really do,” because “there’s artists that did great things in their era, so I acknowledge them that way — going back to the Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, Grandmaster Caz, those cats.”
Responding to the current call to action, as Tigger put it, “for a return to lyrical content and originality” in Hip-Hop, BDK expressed, “I think that's something very important.” So much so he already has a documentary, called Paragraphs I Manifest, all about it.
“That’s what its all based on, lyricism in Hip-Hop. And you get to hear brothers like JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Common, J. Cole, Lady London, MC Lyte, and so many others — talk about the importance of lyricism, and their method of writing certain songs.”
“That’s something that I feel is important in Hip-Hop. Right now a 54-year-old, 36 years in the industry, one of the greatest moments is to have someone come up to you, to me, and say my music got them through college, got them through high school, got them through desert storm.”
“We’ve made it to 50 years of Hip-Hop,” Tigger told BDK, “what do we need to do to get another 50?” In Kane’s opinion, “to get another 50, I believe that we need to bridge that gap between the older generation and the younger generation.”
"We had our shot and we did our thing, and we still around, and we have a fan base that support us for our catalog,” he continued. “We’re not trying to threaten the younger generation, we’re not trying to replace them. I think that it’s important that our generation connect with them, give them gain, so that they can have longevity and success in the industry.”
“I would love to sit down with the likes of like Lil Uzi Vert, or Kodak Black or Migos, any of these cats, just to build,” Kane said. “Where a past generation can talk with the future generation and give them gain, they can excel, and take this whole Hip-Hop thing to the next level.”
Listen to the entire conversation above.
Stay tuned as Audacy continues to celebrate the birth and trailblazing influence of Hip-Hop. Follow Hip-Hop Made all through 2023, and listen to your favorite music on Audacy's Hip Hop Made suite of stations, as well as Conscious Hip Hop, Hip Hop Uncut, Women of Hip Hop, and more -- plus check out our talent-hosted Ed Lover's Timeless Throwbacks and Greg Street's Dirty South Hip Hop!
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