Big Daddy Kane: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Feb. 19, 2018 | Abby O’Neill -- One of the greatest to ever bless the mic, Big Daddy Kane treated Tiny Desk to an office block party in the true essence of hip-hop. He performed a short set of classics, including “Smooth Operator,“ “Ain’t No Half Steppin’,“ “Raw“ and a bonus freestyle. Through his warm, engaging and devilishly self-effacing style, the pioneer used an interlude between songs to address the intergenerational divisiveness defining rap today and the importance of fans of all ages supporting whatever they like, while “focusing on what’s positive and keeping that in the spotlight.“ Kane, aka Dark Gable, was a breakout member of the seminal Juice Crew in hip-hop’s golden era during the latter part of the 1980s. He popularized quick-cadence flows and multisyllabic rhyme schemes before passing the torch to early mentees like Jay-Z. Many a night during my adolescence was spent trying to memorize the baritone MC’s lyrics. During thos