Big Daddy Kane

About

Also known as: Antonio Hardy, B.D.K., BDK

Big Daddy Kane built his reputation as one of rap's sharpest technicians, combining lightning fast rhymes with a style that defined what late 1980s hip hop looked and sounded like. High top fades, velour suits, four finger rings: if you were a fan back then, you were probably biting his aesthetic. His 1988 debut Long Live the Kane introduced the world to "Ain't No Half Steppin'", a track Rolling Stone later ranked 25th on its list of the 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time, and his follow up It's a Big Daddy Thing cemented him as a genuine force in the Juice Crew alongside Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, and Craig G. Beyond his own records, Kane's fingerprints are all over hip hop history. He co wrote lyrics for Biz Markie, helped a then unknown Jay Z get stage time, appeared on Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet, and won a Grammy for his contribution to Quincy Jones's Back on the Block. He also stepped into acting, showing up in Mario Van Peebles's western Posse and Robert Townsend's The Meteor Man. Few MCs from that era left a mark on so many corners of the culture at once.