Big Daddy Kane recently appeared on the Drink Champs podcast, where he discussed Hip Hip 50, the importance of celebrating pioneers of the genre, going commercial, and more. The performer also shared his take on the origin of hip hop, claiming that it doesn't have just one.
"Me as a student of hip hop, one thing I've always understood is that hip hop music has no origin," he explains. "Grandmaster Caz said it best," he continues, "hip hop didn't invent anything, it reinvented everything." Big Daddy Kane then went on to describe how hip hop is a conglomeration of various genres, pulling elements from jazz, rock, soul, and more. "That's all I was doing, was incorporating elements that already been a part of hip hop," he explains.
Big Daddy Kane On "Drink Champs"
Big Daddy Kane then went on to discuss taking an experimental route to his beats early on, sharing why he chose to go a more commercial route with his sound. "I wanted to explore different things and try to open the mind frame of my fanbase, you know, to see a bigger picture," he explained. "That's what I was really trying to do. I just was a little too early with it." He also adds that if he had waited a few years and done it through Bad Boy Records, he would have been a "bad motherf*cker."
"I honestly don't see what the problem is," he says of going the commercial route. "I don't have a problem with Hammer music, I didn't have a problem with Fresh Prince music, because it was hip hop from a commercial standpoint. Everything don't need to be thugged out." Big Daddy Kane also describes feeling like there's room for everyone to take whichever route they choose, regardless of backlash. He says that as long as artists are being themselves and speaking their own truth, nobody can hate on them. Leave your thoughts in the comments section, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates on Big Daddy Kane.
