Big Daddy Kane

About

Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip-hop. Rolling Stone ranked his song “Ain’t No Half-Steppin'” 25th on its list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, calling him “a master wordsmith of rap’s … golden age and a huge influence on a generation of MCs.”

Antonio Hardy was born on September 10, 1968, in Brooklyn, New York City.

In high school, Kane met Mister Cee, who later played an integral role in Kane’s career as his DJ. In 1984, Kane became friends with Biz Markie, and he co-wrote some of Biz’s best-known lyrics. Both became members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Tyrone Williams’s and Len Fichtelberg’s Cold Chillin’ Records label in 1987 and debuted the same year with the 12″ single “Raw”. The name Big Daddy Kane came from a variation on Caine, David Carradine’s character on the TV show Kung Fu, and the character Big Daddy played by Vincent Price in the 1963…