Big Daddy Kane Talks Prince & Rick James ‘80s Studio Stories, Answers Qs from Eminem, Nas, Pusha

For more stories rooted in the spirit of perseverance, check out Tres Generaciones Tequila: https://www.tresgeneraciones.com/

On November 30, 2023, IDEA GENERATION and Tres Generaciones Tequila hosted an event with rapper Big Daddy Kane.

The legendary MC and IDEA GENERATION Founder Noah Callahan-Bever sat down together in Brooklyn, NY in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop and Tres Generaciones Tequila. In front of a live audience, the Smooth Operator himself and NCB discussed Kane's iconic career, getting the only sample ever cleared by Prince, hitting the studio with Rick James in the '80s, being left of the Batman soundtrack, and the many challenges he's faced in his career and how he's continued to persevere. The room was packed with fans sipping on Tres Generaciones Tequila, and the after party was jumping thanks to DJ Perly and DJ Drewski.

Special thanks to our partners at Tres Generaciones for bringing this experience to life. More about Tres: https://www.tresgeneraciones.com/

0:00 Intro
2:00 Being a Hip Hop Heavyweight champion
2:50 Start as a DJ / getting into rap
4:30 Rap battle against Kool Moe Dee
6:00 Working with Biz Markie
12:20 Working with Marley Marl
14:00 Making of "Raw'
18:00 Musical background / having an ear for samples
20:00 "Ain't No Half Steppin'" / "Just a Friend"
23:30 Second album
25:30 Joining RUSH management / Lyor Cohen
30:00 Working with Teddy Riley / "Smooth Operator"
31:30 Being in the studio with Rick James
34:00 Working with Quincy Jones
37:30 Third album
43:00 Working with a young Jay-Z
46:00 Tupac and Nas
49:00 Fourth album and stepping away from music
52:30 Late '90s and early 2000s
54:40 Versuz with KRS One
56:00 Questions from Pusha T, Eminem, Nas