The rapper Moby compared to the Pope: “There was no one bigger than him”
Moby is one of the most successful dance producers ever, with his 1999 album Play selling over 10 million copies. Despite being a prominent figure in electronic music, he also has a relationship with hip-hop and personally experienced the genre’s growth in New York City.
In the late ’80s, before his debut album arrived in 1992, the 59-year-old producer DJed in the city’s Meatpacking District. One night, he played tunes at Club Mars and saw the legendary Big Daddy Kane walk into the club and steal all of the limelight with his presence.
“Big Daddy Kane, 3rd Bass—the only good white hip-hop that’s ever been made—and Run-DMC are some of my favourites,” he told AllHipHop. “One time I was DJing on the second floor of Mars and all these rappers would come in. But the first time Kane came in, it was like seeing royalty. There was no one bigger than him. When he walked in with his fade, his phenomenal suit and everything else, it was like the Pope had just entered the building.”
He continued, “I remember him standing by the bar. I can see it so clearly, like from the DJ booth, trying not to look too much because like, that’s Big Daddy Kane standing by the bar, drinking champagne and surrounded by security or whatever. Ultra Magnetic MCs, Run-DMC, Rakim, De La Soul—they were all amazing—but no one was more royal at that time than Kane.”
Kane is up there with the most influential MCs ever to touch a mic. A member of the Juice Crew, the Brooklyn rapper is best known for ’80s hits such as ‘Ain’t No Half-Steppin‘, ‘Smooth Operator’ and ‘Warm It Up, Kane’. He’s inspired everyone from Eminem to RZA and set many trends through his music and style.
Moby collaborated with Public Enemy on the song ‘Make Love Fuck War’ in 2004. His ability to dabble in different genres stems from DJing everything from hip-hop to reggae during the early years of his career.
“When I was DJing in the ‘80s, to be to be a working DJ back then, you essentially had to play everything,” he explained. “If someone said, ‘Hey, can you play dancehall reggae?’ You’d be like, ‘Yep, I can do that.’ Or, ‘Can you play old soul?’ Sure, I can do that. ‘Can you play house music, hip-hop?’
“So you had to love everything. Also, it was a really exciting time because all these genres had just been invented. When you’re playing house records in 1989, house music was invented two years before.”
He also cited Prince Paul as one of his favourite hip-hop producers, explaining how rap music changed when sampling entered the equation. “There was a change in hip-hop when all the producers started using samplers,” Moby said. “Early hip-hop was cute, but it was kind of a little goofy because it was like the Fat Boys and Whodini. It was fun but a little goofy.
“Then all of a sudden, The Bomb Squad, Rakim and Prince Paul got their hands on samplers, and that’s when the world really changed.”