As one of my top five emcees of all-time, any opportunity to see Juice Crew legend Big Daddy Kane rip the stage is definitely something not to be missed. Having witnessed the Prince Of Darkness live on numerous occassions over the years, it’s safe to say the Brooklyn-bred emcee easily ranks alongside the likes of KRS-One and The Roots as one of Hip-Hop greatest live acts. With a catalogue of classics to choose from combined with a commanding stage presence, Kane never fails to come across as a seasoned, polished performer, with that old-school BK bravado shining through just enough to remind audiences that he was once one of the most feared lyricists in the rap world.
Even if, like myself, you’ve seen Kane live before, his appearance at London’s Jazz Cafe put a new spin on things, with the venue’s intimate setting providing an interesting alternative to the much larger locations BDK has previously been booked at in the UK’s capital city.
Following a quality opening set from Crown City Rockers emcee Raashan Ahmad, King Asiatic Nobody’s Equal calmly descended the Jazz Cafe stairs to the sound of thunderous cheers, his simple outfit of shirt, waistcoat and jeans a million miles away from the custom sweat-suits and gold-chains Kane would have been picking up from Brooklyn’s famous Albee Square Mall back in the 80s.
Opening the show with a back-to-back medley of upbeat classics, the Big Daddy tore through the “Juice” soundtrack favourite “Nuff Respect”, the 1988 party-starter “Set It Off” and the Prince Paul-produced single ”It’s Hard Being The Kane”, delivering his fast-paced rhymes with a level of force and aggression that easily matched his verses on the original recordings.
Pausing briefly to catch his breath, the golden-era great then proceeded to run through a near non-stop barrage of timeless tracks, including “Young, Gifted And Black”, “Just Rhymin’ With Biz”, his verse from the mighty posse cut “The Symphony” and the mellow anthem “Smooth Operator”.
Injecting some humour into the performance, when a female audience member called out inbetween songs “Where’s Scoob & Scrap?!” Kane responded without missing a beat, shooting back ”I’m 44-years-old! I don’t how much dancing you’re expecting to see…”
Breaking momentarily from his back catalogue, Kane showcased a track from his new album as part of live band Las Supper, making the wise choice not to force too much unfamiliar material on the audience, but ensuring he did just enough to raise awareness of the new project without detracting from the night’s lively throwback atmosphere.
Leading the crowd in an enthusiastic call-and-response routine, Biz Markie’s former running partner also took time out to pay homage to a number of Hip-Hop’s fallen soldiers, including Heavy D, Guru and Biggie, ending the segment with a shout to Big L which then led into Kane performing the track he recorded with the Harlem icon, “Platinum Plus”.
With “Ain’t No Half-Steppin’” and “Warm It Up, Kane” filling in the blanks for anyone who was counting the inclusion of staple Kane cuts, all that was left for BDK to do was drop the track some ageing heads had been calling for all night, closing the show with the Marley Marl-produced “Raw”, which still stands-up as a near perfect display of whirlwind lyricism twenty-five years after its release.
Big Daddy Kane’s stageshow has barely changed in the last ten years, but it really doesn’t need to. Like the R&B greats he once openly admired such as Barry White and Marvin Gaye, Kane has reached a point where the music heard on early albums such as “Long Live The Kane” and “It’s A Big Daddy Thing” has not only aged well, but now represents a period of time for an entire generation of Hip-Hop heads eager to be taken back to our youth, when our main concerns involved keeping our sneakers clean and copping the new Public Enemy album, rather than paying bills and day-job drama.
All Kane has to do to keep fans happy is keep coming back and running through his long-list of crowd favourites with the same level of enjoyment he displayed throughout this particular show, demonstrating that the man behind the mic cherishes those some classics and their place in Hip-Hop history just as much as those who’ve paid for a ticket.
Kane might now be approaching his mid-forties, but when it comes to putting on a quality show, he’s sure to continue to get the job done for a few years yet.
Ryan Proctor
Footage of Big Daddy Kane performing “Nuff Respect”, “Set It Off” and “It’s Hard Being The Kane” at London’s Jazz Cafe.
Marley Marl remember producing the Biz Markie classic “Make The Music With Your Mouth, Biz” in the latest episode of DubSpot.Com’s “Classic Recipes” series.
In preparation for the upcoming Masta Ace / Big Daddy Kane show in Glasgow, Scotland, the event’s supporting deejay Bunty Beats has put together a tight hour-long collection of favourites from the two former Juice Crew emcees – download here.
Philly legend DJ Jazzy Jeff reworks a number of his favourite Hip-Hop classics from the likes of Biggie, Wu-Tang Clan and the Juice Crew on this entertaining free project – listen here.
Video Music Box footage of former Juice Crew member Craig G promoting his forthcoming album “Ramblings Of An Angry Old Man” at NY’s Classic Material Clothing.
London-based producer Marc Mac has made a career out of drawing on a variety of influences in order to leave an indelible mark on a number of musical genres, from jungle to Hip-Hop. As a member of pioneering drum & bass outfit 4hero the UK studio wizard received a Mercury Music Prize nomination for the group’s 1998 album “Two Pages”, a ground-breaking project which further cemented Mac’s reputation as a master of defying categorisation.
Mac returned to his roots in 2006 with the release of the brilliant Visioneers album “Dirty Old Hip-Hop”, which found the producer utilising a talented band of musicians to create true-school soundscapes that captured the essence of golden-era beats and rhymes whilst still retaining a fresh appeal.
With the recently released sophomore Visioneers album “Hipology”, Mac has once again joined forces with his sonic allies to craft music that succeeds in its mission to fill its creative grooves with the spirit of the many influences that make up the album’s cover collage, including everything from classic Hip-Hop record labels to Spike Lee movies and iconic 80s toys.
Here, Marc Mac gives some insight into why a small selection of the many artists, events and logos featured on the “Hipology” cover had such an impact on his life.
Seminal 1983 Hip-Hop flick “Wild Style”:
“If you were to think of what would be in an essential Hip-Hop tool-kit, I always think that “Wild Style” would have to be a part of that kit. Back in the day it was almost like you had to have seen that movie if you wanted to be in the crew. To me that film really showed the roots of the culture and it brought all the elements of the culture together, showing the emcees, the graffiti artists on the trains, the dancers, the deejays, it really showed the blueprint of what Hip-Hop was about. At the time in London I was surrounded by sound-system culture and for me I was aspiring to be a part of one of those sound-systems in some way, but watching “Wild Style” definitely helped me draw some parallels between what was happening in the film with the music and the graffiti and what some people were doing in the UK at that time. Plus, the actual phrase “Wild Style” has kind of carried on throughout my life in my music, because the wild style concept in graffiti was about taking the art to a different place and really putting your individual stamp on what you were doing, which is something that I’ve always tried to do with my music in terms of approaching things differently and from a new angle that people might not expect.”
Early-80s arcade game Defender:
“People sometimes talk about an album or a film being a backdrop to a period in their life, but back in the 80s it was the sound of Defender for me (laughs). My parents worked at a youth centre so I used to have the priviledge of watching the new games getting wheeled in. But at the time I was almost too small to see the screens of these huge arcade machines once they were set-up, so it was really the noises and sounds that came from the games that I remember most from that time. I used to stand next to the machines and hear the noises and wonder what was happening on the screen, and then I’d see the hands of the older guys who were playing them just constantly moving really fast (laughs). But the memories of that particular game really stayed with me, being in the youth centre, watching people play those games, the older kids would have the boombox set-up playing some electro, and then the sounds from Defender would almost be blending into the music.”
Every 80s b-boy’s favourite item of clothing the Goose jacket:
“That was the one item of clothing you could never have (laughs). Everyone had that one thing they really wanted that was just too expensive and your parents wouldn’t get it for you. For me, that one thing was a Goose jacket. It was just out of reach. I used to see pictures of people wearing them in magazines and on album covers, but they were just too expensive for me to ever get one back then. There were a few people around my area who had them, some of the older kids on the estate, they had the chains and the Goose jackets, but they were just on some different runnings, man.”
Host of Capital Radio’s original 80s Hip-Hop show Mike Allen:
“Mike Allen is a hero. I remember back in the day you could either climb all over your room to put the aerial in the right place so you could pick up a pirate radio station, or you could legally pick up Mike Allen’s show on Capital Radio and still get the real deal as far as the music was concerned. Mike was getting on a lot of stuff early and really introduced a lot of electro and Hip-Hop artists to listeners in the UK. Plus, he had that voice that sounded like a teacher you had at school(laughs). But I heard a lot of stuff for the first time on Mike Allen, sat there with a tape running trying to edit out the adverts when they came on (laughs). As much as people talk about deejays like Tim Westwood and others who played Hip-Hop here in the UK, it was important that we had Mike Allen at that time in the 80s on a legal radio station because he would play everything, from East Coast to West Coast, so it showed you that there was good music coming from everywhere.”
Monumental London Hip-Hop event UK Fresh ’86:
“There’s a little story to that one. That show was at Wembley and back then we knew all the tricks of the trade to get into all the events. At Wembley the trick was to kick the side doors dead centre and they’d go inwards and then fly back towards you and open out (laughs). I remember when UK Fresh was on, one of the older guys kicked the doors and we all just ran in behind each other. Back then we were all small enough to get lost in the crowd quickly so we didn’t get caught (laughs). I think I’d told my parents I’d gone to the shops or something and there I was at this huge Hip-Hop concert. I remember it seemed really high-up and I was looking down onto the stage, but I can remember seeing Captain Rock who killed it and the World Class Wreckin’ Cru as well. I don’t think a concert like that could really happen again today, but having all those huge artists of the time together in once place back then was serious.”
Former London-based pirate radio station Kiss FM:
“Kiss sort of lost me a bit when they made the transition to being a legal station. I preferred it when they were a pirate because it really was radical radio, which is why I put the old logo on the album cover. But for me, Kiss FM really helped you to grow your record collection, because listening to the different shows you were able to join the dots between what was happening in Hip-Hop at the time and the jazz and funk records that some of those samples were coming from. You might listen to a Westwood show and he’d be playing Hip-Hop, and then you’d listen to someone like a Trevor Nelson who’d play some wicked funk sets, which were nothing like the type of music he plays now (laughs). So listening to that original line-up of deejays on Kiss really helped you make those connections between the differents styles of music they were playing, particularly with the breaks and the whole James Brown era of sampling that was happening then. I mean, you couldn’t really have grown-up in London during that time listening to pirate radio and not listened to Kiss and I don’t really think the importance of Kiss as a pirate station is fully appreciated. If you were there at that time, then you know, but otherwise I don’t think it’s fully understood what Kiss meant to the music scene in its early days.”
The mighty Juice Crew’s original recording home Cold Chillin’ Records:
“I’m glad you picked the Cold Chillin’ logo because out of all the other record label logos included on the album cover Cold Chillin’ was probably the most important label of its era. Marley Marl, Masta Ace, Roxanne Shante, Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane, MC Shan, the amount of talent on that label was ridiculous. But aside from the actual artists, it was the sound of Cold Chillin’ that was equally important to me. The label had a trademark sound, just that funky, dirty feel to the beats and samples, like the vinyl had been recycled (laughs). It had a lot to do with the sound the SP 1200 gives you, but when you listened to some of those incredible records from Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap, they just felt like they’d been done in one take and the whole vibe on a lot of those albums was just magical. It’s hard to pick favourites out of everything they put out, but MC Shan’s “Down By Law” album was always one that stood-out for me as there was a lot happening musically on that one. Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo’s “It’s A Demo” was a classic and I always really liked Roxanne Shante’s stuff and the way she approached her rhymes with her don’t-test-me attitude. The whole Cold Chillin’ sound just defined an era for me.”
Native Tongue low-end legends A Tribe Called Quest:
“I mean, what can you really say about A Tribe Called Quest that hasn’t been said before? For me, Tribe were important because they were the first group who really brought together all the musical elements I loved and shaped them into one sound. From the jazz samples to the way they looped their beats to the chemistry between Q-Tip and Phife, they were just Hip-Hop all-rounders to me. What was clever about Tribe, particularly on their first album, was that they’d use familiar drum breaks that people knew and then drop a sample on top which hadn’t really been used before. I was already collecting jazz and funk records, so when Tribe came out what they were doing musically really made a lot of sense to me and was something that I could relate to. Plus, listening to them pushed me deeper into wanting to know more about jazz and the artists they were sampling from.”
UK Hip-Hop pioneers London Posse:
“I always had a connection with London Posse as my partner Gus who I started Reinforced Records with was in a group Trouble Rap who were signed to Tim Westwood’s Justice label at the same time as London Posse were in the late-80s so there were times I’d be in the studio when they were recording. But I also knew them from when I used to have a sound-system at Notting Hill Carnival where all the emcees in London would get on the set as it was one of the first sounds to play only Hip-Hop at carnival. But the main reason I was always such a big fan of Rodney P and Bionic was because they really brought that London vibe to their music. At the time so many people were doing the yankee accent thing here in the UK and they were really the first to say we’re going to do this Hip-Hop stuff our way and they really made it work. I remember seeing them at gigs and they wouldn’t be able to get past the first track they were performing as people would be going crazy and they’d have to rewind the same tune about seven or eight times (laughs). But I really do have a huge amount of respect for London Posse for what they did in terms of putting the UK style of emcee-ing on the map.”
The late, great J Dilla:
“To me, Dilla is my favourite Hip-Hop producer. The feel in his music that he brought with him out of Detroit spread to influence people in New York, Philly, here in the UK, it really spread out across the whole Hip-Hop world and had a huge impact that can be heard today. As a producer myself, what he was doing with things like time-stretching was incredible to hear. I mean, he just went from making classic to classic with everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to his own stuff with Slum Village and then on to Common. I literally could sit and listen to Dilla beat-tapes all day long and “Donuts” is definitely one of my favourite albums of all-time. Listening to what he was doing just before he passed, getting into using synths more and that style, you could really hear him evolving and it felt like there was still so much more to come. Dilla really was a producer’s producer.”
Ryan Proctor
“Hipology” is out now on BBE Records.
Visioneers ft. Baron & TRAC - “Back In Time” (BBE Records / 2012)
Former Juice Crew member and golden-era icon Masta Ace has spent the best part of the last twenty-five years building a well-deserved reputation as one of the most intelligent and well-rounded emcees in the game. From battle rhymes to story-telling to social commentary, the Brooklyn lyricist has proven himself in all areas, dropping numerous solo albums and collaborative projects which have all spawned their fair share of classics.
Unlike some of his peers, in more recent years Ace has managed to remain faithful to his old-school roots whilst still appealing to a new generation of fans. Both 2001′s “Disposable Arts” and 2004′s “A Long Hot Summer” satisfied original supporters as well as gaining the attention of younger listeners, which would explain the varied ages of those in attendance at this one-off London gig, from youthful Hip-Hoppers who barely looked out of their teens to ageing b-boys who no doubt clung to every word of Ace’s debut album “Take A Look Around” when it dropped in 1990.
Ten years after the release of “Disposable…” the Arts Decade Tour has found Ace making his way across Europe, celebrating the album with the help of Canadian producer-slash-deejay Marco Polo and eMC crew members Wordsworth and Milwaukee’s Stricklin.
It was New York’s Wordsworth who took to the stage of the sold-out Jazz Cafe first, acting as warm-up for the night’s headliner. Making his name in the late-90s at the infamous NY Lyricist Lounge events, the veteran artist displayed his total command of the stage as he ran through a selection of tracks from both his 2005 solo project “Mirror Music” and the forthcoming “Photo Album” release. The energetic microphone controller also threw in a couple of impressive freestyles for good measure, which left the responsive crowd both entertained and in high spirits.
Arriving onstage to the sound of the “Disposable…” skit “Commercial” and decked-out in black sportswear, Masta Ace launched into a polished set which spanned all eras of his lengthy career so far. Joined by former Tommy Boy artist Stricklin (who acted as hype-man as well as showcasing some of his own material), Ace concentrated heavily on tracks from “Disposable…” throughout the performance, including the upbeat “Don’t Understand” and the High & Mighty diss “Acknowledge”. The bass-heavy “Take A Walk” had the audience of all ages rhyming along almost word-for-word with Ace’s detailed observations of inner-city life in the Rotten Apple.
Obviously aware that older heads would want to see Ace reaching back into his true-school catalogue, the BK legend paid homage to classics from the likes of Biz Markie and Whodini before launching into his verse from the timeless Marley Marl-produced Juice Crew posse cut “The Symphony” as well as performing his verse from the original 1994 Crooklyn Dodger’s track “Crooklyn” over the instrumental to the DJ Premier-produced 1995 sequel “Return Of The Crooklyn Dodgers”. Another highlight was Ace dropping his hypnotic mid-90s banger “Top Ten List”, which still remains one of his finest moments to date in this reviewer’s humble opinion.
Taking a short break to discuss the inspiration behind his new MF Doom-produced album, Ace explained how his late mother’s record collection played a large part in his musical education as a youngster and subsequently influenced his choice of beats as an artist, before moving into the project’s horn-filled autobiographical title track “Son Of Yvonne”.
Wordsworth also once again made his way onstage, joining Masta Ace and Stricklin to perform crowd favourites from eMC’s 2008 group album “The Show”, including the sublime piano-laced ”Once More” and breezy car anthem “Traffic”.
Rounding the night out with classics such as the Original Concept-sampling “Born To Roll” and relentlessly funky “Letter To The Better”, Ace left a hugely satisfied crowd hoping that this wouldn’t be the last time we’d see this extremely talented emcee rocking on a UK stage.
Ryan Proctor
Masta Ace pays homage to some Hip-Hop classics and drops his verse from 1988′s Juice Crew classic “The Symphony”.
The Stetsasonic / De La Soul / Gravediggaz producer continues to sift through his archives with this unreleased version of the title track to BDK’s 1989 sophomore album.
Words From Prince Paul:
“This is a Song I did for Kane in 1989 which is the title track of his album ” It’s a Big Daddy Thing”. At this point in my career this was a big highlight to work with Kane and there was definitely a mutual respect for each other’s talents. This was our first time working together and I have to say Kane is truly genius, a funny guy and a pleasure to work with. Listening back to this song I really wish I could have made the production better. Keep in mind this was just a rough mix, the better mixed version is on the album.”
Brooklyn Bodega’s Wes Jackson speaks to legendary producer / deejay Marley Marl about his lengthy career from his beginnings in Queensbridge to meeting Mr. Magic and working with the Juice Crew.
While at the Essence Music Festival the Juice Crew legend gives his opinion on who would have been victorious in a Kane / Rakim battle back in the day.
Brilliant TVOne “Unsung” Big Daddy Kane documentary featuring Kool Moe Dee, Nelson George, MC Lyte, Fly Ty, Roxanne Shante etc – this dude will always be one of my favourite emcees even with the purple suits!
If there’s one thing guaranteed to get the Hip-Hop internet message boards worked up into a frenzy, it’s a new release from a golden-era rap icon. For every fan eager to hear new material from one of their favourite back-in-the-day emcees, there’s five others spitting venom about that same dude hanging up the mic. Rakim, Chuck D and KRS-One have all faced similar reactions over the years, and the latest long-player from former Juice Crew member Kool G. Rap has also had the message board mafia up in arms in recent weeks.
As longstanding fans of Hip-Hop we have complicated relationships with our rap heroes. For artists who literally laid the foundations of modern day lyricism such as Rakim, KRS, and G Rap, it’s not enough for some for such artists to still be releasing good music in the present day, it has to be classic like the early work that defined them and, in some cases, us as listeners. But does that put unfair expectations on such artists? Because no matter how hard they might try to please their core fanbase by attempting to capture that 80s / 90s golden-age essence, we’re all older now and nothing will ever be able to transport us back to that time and place. When an emcee sticks to their blueprint we criticise them for retreading old-ground or sounding outdated. Then when an emcee attempts to sound more contemporary, we say they’re trying too hard to keep up with rap’s new generation and should stick to what made them great in the first instance. Talk about being stuck between a mic and a hard place.
Don’t get me wrong, if something is wack then it’s wack, regardless of who has recorded it. As much respect and admiration as I have for the great Rakim, even I couldn’t defend the poor production choices on his last album “The Seventh Seal”. Yet equally, I’m not expecting to hear Rakim change the rap world twice either. He already did that back in the 80s. I just want to hear the God emcee make good music.
The same with Kool G. Rap. True, albums such as 1998′s “Roots Of Evil” and 2002′s Koch /Rawkus release “The Giancana Story” added little to the East Coast rhyme giant’s legacy due in-part to sub-par production and poor collaboration choices. Yet, as with Rakim, I’m not waiting for G. Rap to revolutionise the rap game as he did in the 80s and early 90s with his crisp lisp flow heard on 1989′s “Road To The Riches” album and the Rotten Apple crime rhymes of 1990′s “Wanted: Dead Or Alive”. I just want to hear G. Rap make good music.
I’ve sat on “Riches, Royalty & Respect” for a couple of weeks now before sitting down to write this review and, after repeated listens, it has to be said that it is a good album. Is it a classic album? Of course not. Does it have the immediate impact of KGR’s earlier work? No. But it does showcase an emcee who can still write detailed gangsta narratives with both flair and charisma at a time when most thugged-out rappers are still happy to rhyme “glock” with “block”.
Granted, the album doesn’t start in a particularly promising fashion, with the opening “Ya Chic Chose Me” suffering from underwhelming beats and an annoying stuttering hook. Yet after this lacklustre opening, “Riches, Royalty & Respect” steps up a gear with G. Rap delivering his trademark gangsta rhymes over production that mixes East Coast boom-bap with blaxploitation soundtrack samples and pimped-out instrumentation.
The Supa Dave-produced “In Too Deep” is a tense tour of the streets that finds G. Rap taking on the persona of a Goldie or Superfly as he navigates the pitfalls of the hustler life, whilst “70s Gangsta” perhaps best sums up the feel of this album, as the Queens emcee pays homage to the era that influenced him as a youngster over dramatic strings and rolling drums.
“$ Ova B*tches” reunites G. Rap with the legendary Marley Marl for a cut that, despite its played out title, is one of the album’s standouts, with Mr. Bad To The Bone spitting raw bars over ominous organ-led production. “G On” finds the living legend putting pretenders to his throne in check over the sample used on BDP’s “Word From Our Sponsor” back in ’87, whilst “Goin’ In” is a dark, brooding track with a menacing performance from KGR (“Save your wack verses, I don’t feel your raps, And you don’t know me boy, Don’t try to get familiar cat, Orangutans trying to tangle with the Silverbacks, Couple of things from out the bing’ll leave ‘em real relaxed…”).
Although G Rap has always possessed an impressive talent for capturing small details in his street stories that help bring his tales to life, he’s never been an emcee eager to let listeners into his own personal space. Yet on “Pages Of My Life” G Rap pulls back the curtain a little and rhymes about his homelife as a child and the death of his sister (“Memory lane, Pain, Deep as a razor slash, Had a baby sister that died young, Her name was Robin, She went to sleep when the Grim Reaper was cradle rockin’, Over my right shoulder here I got an angel watchin’…”).
G Rap has been criticised in recent years for regurgitating familiar themes as far as his fictional mafioso gangsta tales are concerned, seemingly rhyming on auto-pilot in some instances just for the sake of putting a release out or fulfilling a contractual obligation. Yet as evidenced on earlier Kool classics such as “On The Run” or “Live And Let Die”, Hip-Hop’s Donald Goines is more than capable of penning engaging, entertaining stories rooted in the cracks of NYC’s sidewalks, and on “Riches, Royalty & Respect” the emcee whose influence has been heard in verses from the likes of Biggie, Nas and Big Pun proves that he can still deliver.
He may no longer be the youthful, brash Queens rapper dropping quick-fire bars that he was in the late-80s / early-90s, but G Rap does still possess a formidable pen game which runs throughout this album.
Like many of his golden-age peers, the Kool Genius of Rap will never please everybody with his present-day releases, yet “Riches, Royalty & Respect” is easily his best offering since 1995′s “4,5,6″. A solid effort from the East Coast crime rhyme kingpin that, despite what the message boards may say, is well worth checking out. And that’s word to DJ Polo.
Masta Ace & Marco Polo – “I Refuse” (MastaAce.Com / 2011)
One of Hip-Hop’s most consistent emcees gives props to comedian Russell Peters on this Marco Polo-produced track featured on Peters’ new DVD “The Green Card Tour Live From The 02 Arena”.
Freestyle legend and former Juice Crew member Craig G teams-up with Chess Move Cartel for this brief display of rhyme expertise over James Brown’s classic “Funky Drummer” break.
