Credit: Mika Väisänen

Big Daddy Kane is one of the greatest rappers of all time. As a member of the legendary Juice Crew, the Brooklyn native has influenced generations of rappers with his miraculous flow and signature style. At this point, he’s got nothing to prove as a musician, but he’s been inspired to return to the studio by some familiar rap names.

The 57-year-old, best known for classic songs like ‘Ain’t No Half-Steppin’ and ‘Smooth Operator’, hasn’t released a studio album since Veteranz Day in 1998. His legacy is already cemented, but that doesn’t mean the demand for new music hasn’t always been there. After being away for almost three decades, he’s finally working on material.

A few people are to thank for encouraging him to rap again. One of them is Busta Rhymes, who has been pushing him to release a body of work since 2013. “He had been including me on the new songs that he do,” Kane told Spin. “Like, telling me, ‘Yo, you need to do this, we need to do this.’ He almost had me at one point. Then, I just, you know, I just was like, ‘Hmm.'”

Then came LL Cool J, who further contributed to his return. Kane was impressed with the quality of his most recent album, The Force, released in 2024. As another veteran MC who hadn’t dropped a project since 2013, it was super inspiring to him. Not only did he listen from afar, but LL personally had conversations with him about getting back to the mic.

“Right when LL was dropping his album, he played it for me and then he kept talking about, ‘Right now is the time,'” he recalled. “But LL talks funny. He don’t talk directly to the point. He wants you to figure it out. So LL talks like, ‘Now’s the time B, now’s the time B. We all can do this right now.’

“When I heard his album, I was so blown away because it’s like that was my first time ever, like, hearing LL just be super lyrical on every song. I’m used to him giving us, like, maybe one or two songs when he’s lyrical and the rest be everything in song format, like ‘Mama Said Knock You Out‘. After LL played me his stuff, he kept talking about, ‘Now’s the time.’ I started really giving it heavy consideration.”

To top it all off, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest was also involved in Kane’s comeback. When Tip starts sending you beats, how could you not get busy over his production? “Tip called me and he was saying that, ‘Yo, you should talk to LL about getting on a remix of…’ I forgot which song it was,” he said. “He was like, ‘What you going to do?’ He was like, ‘Let me start sending you some stuff.’ So Tip sent me like two beats, and I was just really motivated. I’m like, ‘Let me get on my A game.'”

Kane stopped making albums due to how much hip-hop had changed over the years. He didn’t feel inclined to release his own music anymore, preferring to listen instead. But at some point, he’ll return with his long-awaited new project. The main question he’s asking himself is: “How do I make mature hip-hop?”