Big Daddy Kane’s “Smooth Operator” was an honest self-boast about his popularity with women. He wrote and produced the song for his second full-length album, It’s A Big Daddy Thing, which was released in 1989. Kane was known for his ability to rap fast, but on “Smooth Operator,” he was conversational. The Mary Jane Girls’ sample of “All Night Long” and Kane’s casual delivery made “Smooth Operator” sound like a rapper making an R&B song. Consequently, “Smooth Operator” had a presence on the rap, R&B, and dance music charts. The video was an illustration of everything that made Kane so debonair. He played pool, had his nails done, had his shoes shined, sat on his throne, socialized with beautiful women, and performed one of his well-known James Brown-inspired dance routines with his dancers.

Chris Rock, Al B. Sure, Kwame, and Kim Porter had appearances in the video. It’s A Big Daddy Thing is Kane’s most commercially viable album and one of the most important rap albums ever. In 2024, Big Daddy Kane is still marveling audiences with his legendary skills. He recently weighed in on the rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Big Daddy Kane will appear with MC Lyte, Rakim, DJ Spinna, and more at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on October 19, 2024, for represent! social justice through spoken art.

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo’s “Road To The Riches” is forever lauded for its poetry that brought mob-style tales into rap’s usual subjects of bragging and having fun. Kool G Rap’s hellacious delivery would become the archetype for almost every hardcore rapper of note. Flawless breath control and multiple syllable verses rapped at breakneck speed with the stories of organized criminals were his own design. “Road To Riches” is about the path to success from the perspective of a humble kid who ends up selling drugs but unlike a group like NWA, Kool G Rap used no curse words. Marley Marl produced the album which was released on the now defunct Cold Chillin’ label that released most of the music from legendary Queensbridge rap posse Juice Crew. Marl, who was a co-founder of the Juice Crew with the late Mr. Magic, invited Kool G Rap and DJ Polo into the group after their recording of “It’s A Demo” in 1986. The album was also titled Road To Riches and it was a moment that set off a style explosion in rap that so many artists still mimick in contemporary hip-hop. Kool G Rap’s contribution usually gets obscured by those who came after him like Jay-Z, Biggie and Nas. He is forever underrated and uncredited for his work that never really hit the mainstream like many of the artists he has influenced. Kool G Rap went solo in 1993 and has released nine solo albums. A new album Last Of A Dying Breed is on the way and the first single will be “Born Hustler” featuring AZ.

Sunday night Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One gave a clinic on hip-hop for their Verzuz session. Their friendly competition was interspersed with appearances from Buckshot, Nice & Smooth, Roxanne Shante, Hakim Green of Channel Live, Masta Ace, Craig G,  DJ Scratch, DJ Red Alert, Mad Lion, Das Efx, Popmaster Fabel, Crazy Legs and Bboy Cha Cha. Kane schooled the crowd on how he became the father of so many rap styles and proved to still have the speed and precision of his Golden Era days. KRS-One reminded fans of his many classic songs and exposed his lengthy catalog to those who didn’t know. The rap legends made sure to let the audience know the history of their friendship even sharing the story of how KRS-One and his late ex-wife Ms. Melodie helped Kane move out of his parents’ house. They were focused on bringing all the elements to the stage; DJing, MCing and Bboying. But the graffiti foundation was the only one missing from the show that took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.   

Fat Joe was the host for the event and was later seen in the crowd with Busta Rhymes and 9th Wonder. The audience was taken down memory lane to the time before the explosion of gangsta rap. However KRS did perform “Poetry” from his BDP masterpiece Criminal Minded, the one album where he did advocate for violence. Fans saw his evolution from this era to the emergence of “Self Destruction” which he performed in a medley with “Ah Yeah” and “9MM Goes Bang.” Both emcees freestyled and had fun teasing each other between their nonstop lyrical bombs. Kane’s swift flow was an education on the origins of fast rapping and he gave a special demonstration for the younger generations over the ever popular triplet trap beat. He also introduced Shante as the queen of the Juice Crew and let everyone know that the men in the group were introduced to the world by her.  The b-boy dancers were led by pioneers Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and Popmaster Fabel. Bboy Cha Cha captivated the audience and put the viewers in a zone with his kinetic movements. When the night was over the audience saw master lyricism, breath control, freestyling, b-boying and DJing.