Big Daddy Kane Talks Rakim, Kool G Rap, LL Cool J’s Inspiration For His Last Album

Big Daddy Kane Isn’t Chasing Youth On His Final Album “Curtain Call”

Few rappers have earned the right to call their final album Curtain Call. Big Daddy Kane is one of them. A curtain call is the moment at the end of a theatrical performance when the actors return to the stage to receive applause and bow to the audience. Typically seen in plays, it serves as a way for the cast or performer to acknowledge the crowd’s appreciation and for the audience to show their gratitude for the show. 

When Kane exploded onto the scene in the late 1980s with Long Live the Kane and It’s a Big Daddy Thing, he didn’t just become one of Hip-Hop’s biggest stars. He redefined what an elite lyricist could look and sound like. His effortless charisma, razor-sharp wordplay, and commanding stage presence influenced generations of MCs, including Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Common, Eminem and countless others.

Now, nearly four decades, Kane says he’s ready to walk away from recording albums on his own terms. His upcoming project, Curtain Call, isn’t a nostalgic victory lap. It’s a mature reflection on life, fatherhood, growth, and aging gracefully in Hip-Hop.

During an exclusive conversation with Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur at WonWorld Studios, Kane explains why this really is his final album, reveals how LL Cool J convinced him to get back in the booth after more than 20 years, reflects on the influence of Grandmaster Caz, and explains why older rappers shouldn’t pretend to be 25 forever.

AllHipHop: You’re calling this your final album. A lot of artists say that and then come back. Are you really finished?

Big Daddy Kane: (Laughs.) “Yes indeed. Promise. That’s a promise. You know how they say never say never? I’m saying never.”

The album is called Curtain Call. It’s going to have ten songs, just like my first album, Long Live the Kane. Even the artwork is going to mirror that first album. It’ll basically be me walking away from Long Live the Kane.

What I wanted to do was find mature topics.

I wanted to make an album for people who are 35, 40, 50, even 60 years old. At this point, I don’t think it’s that important to be trying to wear all the newest designer clothes or use all the young slang. If that’s your thing, do you. But we have parents in Hip-Hop now. We have grandparents in Hip-Hop.

Some of the pioneers are in their 70s.

There’s nothing wrong with being grown.

We can talk grown folks’ business.

AllHipHop: What kinds of things are you talking about on Curtain Call?

Big Daddy Kane: I have a song called “Manifest” with Ghostface Killah.

It’s about not getting stuck in the past. Stop sitting around talking about what you used to do and how things were back in the day. You have to evolve with time.

Then I have another record called “It’s Starting to Come Back.”

That’s about running into people from your past and suddenly remembering exactly why you stopped fooling with them.

(Laughs.)

Like, “Now I remember why I cut you off. You were grimy.”

Or, “Now I remember why I stopped dealing with you. You were a gold digger.”

Life reminds you.

I also have a song with my son featuring Anthony Hamilton. It’s basically a father and son conversation. I’m giving him advice about life, and he’s telling me, “Dad, I hear you. I understand.”

Those are the conversations I think grown men and grown women should be having.

At our age, we don’t need to be talking about moving keys or killing nineteen people in one night.

We can still have fun.

Just grown fun.

AllHipHop: Hip-Hop seems divided over what older artists should or shouldn’t rap about.

Big Daddy Kane: I completely agree.

Muhammad Ali had a quote about how if you still think the same way at fifty that you did at twenty, then you wasted thirty years.

That’s real.

Growth should show up in your music.

AllHipHop: You hadn’t recorded an album in more than twenty years. What kept you away?

Big Daddy Kane: Honestly? Busta Rhymes almost got me around 2013.

He had put me on a record with Nas, Lil Wayne and others, and then he gave me a Dr. Dre beat. He told me, “Do what you did on my record.” Then he said he wanted Morgan Freeman to narrate the intro.

(Laughs.)

The beat was incredible. I just never recorded it. I couldn’t force myself. I never wanted to make something that was wack. If I’m not feeling it, I can’t get in that zone.

AllHipHop: Are you an overthinker?

Big Daddy Kane: Yep. Definitely.

AllHipHop: That can paralyze you.

But I wasn’t unhappy. I was performing all over the world with people like Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, MC Lyte, Slick Rick and Chubb Rock.

I was having a ball. The issue wasn’t performing. The issue was sitting down and writing 10 or 12 songs. I wasn’t there mentally. And I wasn’t going to make an album just because people wanted one.

AllHipHop: So what finally changed?

Big Daddy Kane: LL Cool J.

We hung out one night, and he played me his new album from beginning to end.

I told him it might actually be my favorite LL album because of how lyrical it was.

Then LL looked at me and basically said… (Mimicking LL licking lips…Laughs.)

“It’s time,B.” Not just for me. For you too.

That sparked something.

He was rapping his tail off from beginning to end. Q-Tip’s production wasn’t what you’d expect from an LL album, but LL sounded completely at home. I listened to that and thought… “Man… get your stuff together.”

It’s go time.

AllHipHop: Looking back, did you realize you and your peers were making history?

Big Daddy Kane: I don’t know if I realized we were making history.

But I knew we were making an impact.

By the mid-’80s, Hip-Hop had become much more party-oriented.

Then Rakim came with “My Melody” and brought lyricism back to the forefront.

After that, G Rap, KRS-One, myself… we all pushed lyricism even further.

You could feel the shift.

AllHipHop: When you were writing your rhymes, were you trying to outdo Rakim or Kool G Rap?

Big Daddy Kane: No.

Never. I wasn’t trying to beat them. I’d hear a verse and think…

“Man… G killed that.”

Or…

“Rakim murdered that.”

Then I’d just want to go write something great myself. Not because I wanted to destroy them.

Because they inspired me.

Besides…

Me and G Rap are family.

We’re Juice Crew.

AllHipHop: You’ve been running the “Bars Open Challenge.” Grandmaster Caz entered it, and everybody loved his verse.

Big Daddy Kane: Man…That brother started rapping in the ’70s. He’s 65 years old. Did you hear that verse?

AllHipHop: He killed it.

Big Daddy Kane: Some of the slang he used was modern too. That’s the definition of an MC.

If the NBA has Jerry West on the logo… They need Grandmaster Caz on every microphone.

AllHipHop: Was Caz always your biggest influence?

Big Daddy Kane: Absolutely. I knew about Melle Mel before I knew Caz.

But once I heard Grandmaster Caz…I threw my whole rhyme book away. Started over from scratch. I realized I’m not doing this right. He changed everything for me.

This conversation continues…