I've had the privilege of seeing Big Daddy Kane perform live twice in the last year. Admittedly, I would have loved to of seen him in 1988 or 89, but that didn't happen. So instead I have to be content with 2012 and 13. But that's no hardship, Kane is a true performer on stage. The big difference between BDK and most of these other old school artists who are reforming and touring, is that Kane has never stopped performing.
When I saw him last year in London, he tore it up with Biz Markie. Not only did he rip through every one of his classics that you could wish for, he even did verses from cameo spots on other peoples records! Kane covered every significant release in his career. And to top it off, his interaction with his audience and his sheer ability to entertain (even attempting to dance like he did back then) makes him one of the best performers I've seen in a long time.
And so I realised that I've not really given Kane much shine on this blog. He's easily up there as one of the greats and is often recalled as being the only real challenge to Rakim's crown in the late 80's. So to put that right, here is the TV One documentary on the Smooth Operators history. There's some great stories in here, and a good explanation of why he went all R&B for a period. But then they bring it up to the present time (well, up to the point it was recorded, which is before his latest Las Supper venture) and Kane shows he's still got what it takes. Check out the track that plays when he's performing with Connie Price & The Keystones (towards the end of the documentary), this material needs to drop and re-establish Kane as a current artist.
Who said it's nearly 25 years since his peak? Shut up!
Mike Check
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