BIG DADDY KANE
ig Daddy Kane was an originator and a trendsetter. Eschewing old school reliance on rhymed couplets and simple similes, Kane expanded the terms of lyrical acceptability and innovation. His booming voice, rich with command, and his battle-anybody mentality have made him an enduring figure in hip-hop.
Kane was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. In 1984 he met Biz Markie, and both joined Marley Marl’s Juice Crew. Even before Kane released his first single, he was already responsible for several hits as a ghostwriter for Biz and Roxanne Shanté. In 1988 Kane released “Raw,” his first single and an underground hit. Over the next six years, he released four more albums and a slew of rap hits. He cultivated a personality that was at once gangster tough and lover-man smooth.
Like his contemporary Rakim, Kane focused closely on craft. Looking back on his career, he reflected on aspects that he has consciously honed over the years. “I believe that my vocabulary has broadened,” Kane said.
“I believe that I know how to deliver metaphors in ways that’s not as typical as I used to. And, plus, I believe that I really tightened up my flow.” 11 In the selection of lyrics that follows, one can see him expanding not only his own sense of lyrical possibility but that of rap as a whole.
RAW
Here I am … R-A-W
A terrorist, here to bring trouble to Phony MCs, I move on and seize
I just conquer and stomp another rapper with ease ’Cause I’m at my apex and others are be-low Nothing but a milliliter, I’m a kilo Second to none, making MCs run
So don’t try to step to me, ’cause I ain’t the one I relieve rappers just like Tylenol And they know it, so I don’t see why you all Try to front, perpetrating a stunt
When you know that I’ll smoke you up like a blunt I’m genuine like Gucci, raw like sushi The Sage of Rage is what rap did to me To make me want to create chaos and mayhem Cold rock a party until the A.M.
I’ll make a muscle, grab the mic and hustle While you stand dazed and amazed, I’ll bust a little Rhyme with authority, superiority
And captivate the whole crowd’s majority The rhymes I use definitely amuse
Better than Dynasty or Hill Street Blues
I’m sure to score, endure for more without a flaw ’Cause I get RAW!
I give a speech like a reverend, rappers start severin And in my lifetime, believe I’ve never been Beaten or eaten, and just tooken out You know, come to think about, I keep MCs lookin out And real nervous, when I’m at your service So give me that title, boy, you don’t deserve this I work like a slave to become a master And when I say a rhyme, you know that it has to Be perfectly fitted, ’cause I’m committed The entertainer and trainer and Kane’ll get with it I go and flow and grow to let you know I’ll damage ya, I’m not an amateur but a professional Unquestionable, without doubt superb So full of action, my name should be a verb My voice will float on every note
When I clear my throat, that’s all she wrote The minute that the Kane starts to go on Believe it’s gonna be smooth sailing so on As I put other rappers out of their misery Get ’em in a battle and make them all
history Rulin and schoolin, MCs that I’m duelin Watch ’em all take a fall as I sit back coolin On my throne with a bronze microphone Um, God bless the child that can hold his own ’Cause I get RAW!
Twenty-four seven chillin, killin like a villain The meaning of raw is ready and willing To do whatever is clever, take a loss never And the rhymes I bust, comin off is a must And I come off hard with rhymes that are odd I rip the microphone and leave it scarred Never smokin or hittin or takin a sniff Only crushin MCs that be tryin to riff I get strong and Titanic, do work like a mechanic Make MCs panic, they all get frantic And skeptic, like a girl on a contraceptive As I rock, but hey, what you expected?
I’ll get raw for ya, just like a warrior Rather like a Samurai and I’ll be damn if I Ever let a Fisher-Price MC hang
Their rhymes are toy, nothing but yin-yang So if we battle on the microphone
Bring your own casket and tombstone And I’ma preach your funeral, tell me who in the world Could ever come with more? I get RAW
WRATH OF KANE
The wrath of Kane, takin over your circumference Destroyin negativity and suckers that come with The weak, the wack, the words, the poor I thrash, bash, clash, mash, and then more Blow up the scenery, I reign supremer, see You need a savior to save ya, so lean on me I prey on rappers like a haunted ghost And stomp ’em out like a wanted roach I slay my prey and they decay, I blow away And throw away, so go away ’cause I don’t play Attackin like a psychopath, breakin rappers in half So feel the wrath of Kane!
The name is Big Daddy I’m here to bring trouble
The man at hand to rule and school and teach And reach the blind to find their way from A to Z
And be the most and boast the loud and proud Kane’ll reign your domain (Yeah, Kane!) The heat is on so feel the fire
Come off the empire on a more higher Level than def, one step beyond dope The suckers all scope and hope to cope, but nope ’Cause I can never let ’em on top of me I play ’em out like a game of Monopoly Let
’em speed around the board like an Astro Then send ’em to jail for tryin to pass go Shakin ’em up, breakin ’em up, takin no stuff But it still ain’t loud enough
So Mister Cee, let the volume grow So I can flow. Now, yo …
Juice Crew’s the family, Slick Rick’s a friend of me And Doug E. Fresh, Stet’, KRS, and Public Enemy Blasé-blah, you know who you are The red, black, and green, the sun, moon, and star Knowledge of self is
bein taught hereon after Peace in the name of I-Self Lord and Master I come to teach and preach and reach in each With the speech, every leech I’ll impeach Drop science and build with math
And the dumb, deaf, and blind’ll feel the wrath of Kane!
The name is Big Daddy I’m here to bring trouble Marley Marl, break it down!
Bring it back, Cee
Line by line, chapter after chapter Like a pimp on the street, I gotta rap to Those who chose to oppose, friend or foes, I still dispose And blow
’em out like Afros
So many rappers have fronted to get a name out Yellin and screamin and dreamin but still came out Off the wall and butter softer, y’all ’Til you waited for Kane to come forth to all Competition, that bite and chew and crunch and munch To play the opposition, you on a mission So stop lyin and tryin to front adventures Your rhymes are more false than dentures Freeze as I get warm like a heater
You bite like a mosquito, but still can’t complete a Rhyme or find the time to design a line Or phrase that pays, so you dine on mine Instead of frontin and tryin to be a friend of You might as well see Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
So just quit, submit, forget
Huh—you must be on some new improved shit!
I get busy from sun to sun
I’m only twenty-one and untouched by anyone No one throws bangs or blows
All foes, I keep ’em runnin like pantyhose They get soft and tender, front and they’ll surrender I turned off more lights than Teddy Pender-Grass, bring on your class, force be my staff But when I’m in effect, they feel the wrath of Kane!
I’m here to bring trouble
AIN’T NO HALF STEPPIN’
Ah yeah, I’m with this. I’m just gonna sit here laid back to this nice mellow beat, you know. And drop some smooth lyrics ’cause it’s 88, time to set it straight, know what I’m saying? And there ain’t no half stepping, word, I’m ready.
Rappers stepping to me, they want to get some But I’m the Kane, so, yo, you know the outcome Another victory, they can’t get with me So pick a BC date ’cause you’re history I’m the authentic poet to get lyrical For you to beat me, it’s gonna take a miracle and Stepping to me, yo, that’s the wrong move So what you on, Hobbes? Dope or dog food?
Competition I just devour
Like a pit bull against a Chihuahua ’Cause when it comes to being dope, hot damn I got it good, now let me tell you who I am The B-I-G-D-A doubleD-Y-K-A-N-E
Dramatic, Asiatic, not like many
I’m different, so don’t compare me to another ’Cause they can’t hang, word to the mother At least not with the principal in this pedigree So when I roll on you rappers you better be Ready to die because you’re petty
You’re just a butter knife, I’m a machete That’s made by Ginsu, wait until when you Try to front, so I can chop into
Your body, just because you try to be basing Friday the 13th, I’ma play Jason No type of joke, gag, game, puzzle, or riddle The name is Big Daddy, yes, big not little so Define it, here’s your walking papers, sign it And take a walk as the Kane start to talk, ’cause [Chorus 3x]
Ain’t no half-steppin I’m the Big Daddy Kane
My rhymes are so dope and the rappers be hopin To sound like me, so soon I’ll have to open A school of MCin, for those who want to be in My field and court, then again on second thought To have MCs comin 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 paragraphs I manifest Rap prime minister, some say sinister Nonstopping the groove until when it’s the Climax and I max, relax, and chill
Have a break from a take of me acting ill Brain cells are lit, ideas start to hit Next the formation of words that fit At the table I sit, making it legit And when my pen hits the paper? Aww, shit!
I stop and stand strong over MCs
And devour with the power of Hercules Or Samson, but I go further the length ’Cause you could scalp my cameo and I’ll still have strength And no, that’s not a myth, and if you try to riff Or get with the man with the given gift Of gab, your vocab, I’ll only ignore Be sleeping on your rhymes ’til I start to snore You can’t awake me, or even make me Fear
you, son, ’cause you can’t do me none So, think about it if you’re trying to go When you want to step to me, I think you should know that [Chorus 3x]
I appear right here and scare and dare A mere musketeer that would dare to compare Put him in the rear, back there where he can’t see clear Get a beer, idea, or near stare, yeah Sworn to be, want to be competition Trying to step to me, must be on a mission Up on the stage is where I’ma get you at You think I’m losing? Pst, picture that!
[Chorus 3x]
Mister Cee, step to me
The name is Big Daddy, you know, as in your father So when you hear a def rhyme, believe that I’m the author I grab the mic and make MCs evaporate The party people say, “Damn, that rapper’s great”
The creator, conductor of poetry
Et cetera, et cetera, it ain’t easy being me I speak clearly so you can understand Put words together like Letterman
Now that’s dictation, proceeding to my innovation Not like the other MCs that are an imitation Or an animation, a cartoon to me
But when I’m finished, I’m sure that you are soon to see Reality, my secret technique
Because I always speak with mentality I put my title in your face, dare you to base And if you try and come get it, yo, I’ma show you who’s with it So if you know like I know, instead of messing around Play like Roy Rogers and slow down
Just give yourself a break, or someone else will take your title Namely me, because I’m homicidal
That means murder, ’cause I’m out to hurt aNother MC that try to get with me, I’ll just Break him and bake him and rake him and take him and mold him and make him Hold up the peace sign, As-Salāmu Alaykum