Credit: Mika Väisänen

1988 was a pivotal year for rap music. The industry had just had one of its most exciting decades and was rapidly expanding sonically. With Rick Rubin, Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, and various others entering the fold, it was diversifying and, most importantly, growing. That said, certain MCs were at the forefront of the culture, and aside from figures such as LL Cool J and Eazy-E, Big Daddy Kane was one of them.

During the 1980s, Juice Crew was one of the most prominent New York collectives. As part of the legendary collective, alongside MC Shan, Biz Markie, Masta Ace, Marley Marl, and many more, Big Daddy Kane was a pillar of East Coast hip-hop. In an interview with online magazine Rock The Bells, the Brooklyn native spoke about the creation of his hit, ‘Set It Off’.

‘Set It Off’ was the third single released for Kane’s iconic debut album, Long Live The Kane. The album, which boasted tracks such as ‘Ain’t No Half Steppin’ and ‘Raw,’ was one of the most influential projects of hip-hop’s golden age. Although it wasn’t the highest-selling body of work, its legacy remained long after.

Released on the same date as the iconic Public Enemy LP, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Big Daddy Kane’s project saw flawless production from Marley Marl and The 45 King and effortless lyricism from Juice Crew members such as Mister Cee and Biz Markie.

The latter was present during the creation of ‘Set It Off’. recalling that 1988 day when the song came to materialise, Kane told Rock The Bells, “I was hangin’ with Biz at 45 King’s house, and he played a beat that he tailor-made for Biz that was really slow, but Biz didn’t like it. I said that I would take it, but I wanted it faster. He knocked it up a few beats per minute, but I asked for it to be much faster.”

Big Daddy Kane had unknowingly returned the song to its original tempo. Recounting what he was told by 45 King, he continued, “45 found that interesting because that was the original tempo of the beat. It was only slowed down to match Biz’s flow. He took that disk out and put another one in with the same beat at the faster tempo with a sample on it, but he said that I couldn’t have it because it was for a Public Enemy remix, and he was waiting on confirmation.”

Big Daddy Kane had also been listening to some funk and soul, and after receiving the final beat from 45, King took it to his close friend Marley Marl to add some finishing touches. Speaking about the final polish he added to the instrumental, Kane concluded, “A few weeks later, he called and told Biz that I could have it. During that time, I was listening to a James Brown compilation, and there’s a horn breakdown on ‘Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved’, and I knew I wanted that for the beat, so I got Marley to add it.”

‘Set It Off’ is still considered a New York classic to this day, and it inspired many of the artists in the 1990s that followed, becoming a seminal moment in hip-hop history.