Big Daddy Kane was basically washed at like 25, how did that happen?

[Playaz Eyez]

It's crazy how back then hip hop was changing every 2 years with new eras. An era was literally a years and a half to 2 years. Paid in Full dropped in Summer of 87. Rakim's 3rd album LTRHE dropped 3 years later in the Summer of 90 and people were questioning if Rakim was falling off by sounding too "old school' as he did on his first album just 3 years prior (I have the publications for proof). Gangsta Rap had its era from late 92 until 94. The pro-black era was about a year and half long with even LL rocking African medallions and was appearing in Tragedy 'black and proud' video. The Puffy/jiggy/rhyming over 80s hits had an era from 97 until DMX came out in 98. Them shyts were short as a mf. You had a 2 or 3 year Crunk era, a laffy taffy snap music era , etc.. The strangest thing about all of this is that this garbage azz Trap music has been here for almost 2 fukking decades and still going strong. HOW????

I can’t pinpoint it exactly but I feel like that sound started in 2010 or so. Probably Lex Luger, Southside, 808 Mafia etc. You had a bunch of standouts, then you had other producers basically making “type beat” versions of those, and then it just kept going and going. That sound is so watered down in 2025, that’s why all these dudes that get those types of beats (Moneybagg Yo, EST Gee, Lil Baby, and other affiliates) are struggling like crazy. People are sick of that style, but unfortunately the next production style that picked up steam is that awful U.K./NY drill garbage, far worse than whatever people think the worst trap style beat is.

 

[Awesome Wells]

It's crazy how back then hip hop was changing every 2 years with new eras. An era was literally a years and a half to 2 years. Paid in Full dropped in Summer of 87. Rakim's 3rd album LTRHE dropped 3 years later in the Summer of 90 and people were questioning if Rakim was falling off by sounding too "old school' as he did on his first album just 3 years prior (I have the publications for proof). Gangsta Rap had its era from late 92 until 94. The pro-black era was about a year and half long with even LL rocking African medallions and was appearing in Tragedy 'black and proud' video. The Puffy/jiggy/rhyming over 80s hits had an era from 97 until DMX came out in 98. Them shyts were short as a mf. You had a 2 or 3 year Crunk era, a laffy taffy snap music era , etc.. The strangest thing about all of this is that this garbage azz Trap music has been here for almost 2 fukking decades and still going strong. HOW????

This is facts.

I speak about this all the time. The eras changed mad fast back then. I remember when KRS did Return of the Boom Bap. He was only out for 6-7 years, and was already calling himself "old school", in '93. Same year, when Erick Sermon went solo, he was saying that he was from the same era as Eric B. & Rakim, PE & Biz and the other "old school artists". All of them were only 6-7 years into their careers and you would've thought they were The Rolling Stones with how they were talking back then. A couple years in music is like a decade in Hip Hop. Sh*t is crazy.

 

[Jasonmask]

This is why I say flow might be the most important part of hip hop

 

[DANJ!]

For those of us watching Kane's falloff back then in real-time, the problem was that he didn't know who he wanted to be.

First two albums were classic. It's A Big Daddy Thing was the first Hip Hop album I copped as a kid, that wasn't a bootleg, lol. Third album is a personal classic, for me. But Kane got caught up in wanting to be on some R&B sh*t because that's where the money was, back then, and more mainstream. He was trying to crossover to the market where people were spending more money on the albums and tours. One time he was on WBLS talking about he was the "rap Keith Sweat". So he started showing up places rocking silk smoking jackets and wearing velvet slippers and sh*t, at shows.

The music got mad weird on some Freddie Jackson sh*t, and he stopped spittin' the way he was on the first couple of albums. Dude started doing nude photoshoots and basically lost himself on some debonair Barry White vibe. Then when the game changed to rawer Hip Hop, he was trying to rock bandanas and Fila visors upside down to look like what he felt "the street" dudes were doing. And even though he was mad young, MC's from the 80's were seen as "old school" by '92. Which was always dumb as sh*t. So Kane was looking crazy out here and like the outta touch uncle who just came home from a two-decade bid upstate. People started booing him at shows in NYC and thinking he was corny. Bro never recovered from that.

One of the most accurate takes here...

He leaned heavily into that R&B appeal, but not with a hitmaking/credible ability like a Heavy D or LL... it came off almost fabricated by comparison. He also said Warner Bros. Records began downplaying him promotion-wise because Benny Medina wanted him to go straight MC Hammer style around '90 and he declined. At the same time, he was still trying to be the elite MC he always was but it got overshadowed by the image he was putting forward and the AWFUL R&B records he was making on those 3rd and 4th albums. He was just all over the place during the early-90s and for what he was tryin' to do, the execution of it was bad.

 

[African Peasant]

Rap quickly evolved year over year starting in the early 90's before it blew up and went fully mainstream

But Rakim survived somehow, and dropped very good music in the 90's

Kane was washed

 

[FreshAIG]

One of the most accurate takes here...

He leaned heavily into that R&B appeal, but not with a hitmaking/credible ability like a Heavy D or LL... it came off almost fabricated by comparison. He also said Warner Bros. Records began downplaying him promotion-wise because Benny Medina wanted him to go straight MC Hammer style around '90 and he declined. At the same time, he was still trying to be the elite MC he always was but it got overshadowed by the image he was putting forward and the AWFUL R&B records he was making on those 3rd and 4th albums. He was just all over the place during the early-90s and for what he was tryin' to do, the execution of it was bad.

LOL when X met Rakim he talked about why he always picked Rakim over Kane and he basically said the same thing about Kane

1:09 mark

 

[King Poetic]

That 3rd album was complete trash and the album cover was a giveaway on some Ralph Tresvant shyt

 

[African Peasant]

Most of it wasn't his fault, some obvious missteps but think about it.

BDK, Rakim and just that class of rappers in general ended up becoming "old school" way earlier than it seems they should have in hindsight with how fast things moved sonically, culturally.

Like it's crazy to think about but those cats SHOULD have been contemporaries with Pac, Snoop ect. but shyt was progressing at lightning speed. Had he stayed on his square things would have been a little different but still would have gotten lapped.

You can't put BDK and Rakim in the same boat
Rakim still maintained a presence throughout the 90's and his falling off was more organic

BDK fell like a bag of dope. Dude was DONE after 90. Rakim wasn't

 

[patscorpio]

Even this nikka Father MC got mileage out of being Kane better than Kane was

father mc was trash though from the start lol

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

father mc was trash though from the start lol

Absolutely beside the point

 

[Mystic]

Travesty

That's song is kinda heat though

 

[L. Deezy]

That's song is kinda heat though

Bro..stop

 

[Mystic]

Bro..stop

It is

 

[Art Barr]

Why didn't Jay-Z ever put him on record during his run? always felt this was kinda strange.

Jay low balled kane and jaz.


Art Barr

 

[Art Barr]

Seems like dudes like LL, KRS, and Kool Keith and etc were the guys that knew how to adapter with the times back thejazz.

Only krs knew how to adapt back then before sneak attack.



Art Barr