Musing on Big Daddy Kane

Reliving one's teenage years is either seen as a case of nostalgia or a sign of a midlife crisis. For me, seeing Big Daddy Kane at Prospect Park on August 8 was (possibly) a case of both.





I thought there would be a large turnout for the free concert, so I arrived after 2:30 p.m. expecting to see a line stretch along Prospect Park West. As luck would have it, I was the first in line, so I passed the time by listening to sound check and sipping on a half-liter bottle of Poland Spring water. It would be more than an hour before another person joined me, and we ended up reminiscing about other rap pioneers like Doug E. Fresh and A Tribe Called Quest.



As much as I enjoyed bonding with my fellow hip-hop fans, it paled in comparison to meeting Big Daddy Kane and Ralph McDaniels before the show. They were as easygoing as I imagined they would be, which only made me more psyched about the performance. When the gates opened just after 6:30 p.m., I made a beeline for the first row and took a seat with a great view of the stage. I was content with my position until a Celebrate Brooklyn! staffer came along and upgraded me to the VIP section as a reward for showing up so early.



Brooklyn was represented in the real first row, where I sat between another fan and a photographer. Supporting acts like DJ JS-1 and the Retro Kidz took the audience back to the 1980s with their performances, but we were on our feet by the time Big Daddy Kane took the stage. This was good and bad, for while I got a free Lyricist Lounge t-shirt that was way too big for me (it was double extra large), I also got a sharp elbow in the mouth from an inebriated idiot who wanted a free mixtape CD. It didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the rapper's performance, but I was afraid of going home looking like Ed Helms' character in The Hangover. (There was no bleeding or chipping, but my upper front teeth were numb for the rest of the night.)





He kicked things off with a medley of "Set It Off," "Warm It Up, Kane," and "I Get the Job Done." Other jams included "Raw," "Smooth Operator," and "Ain't No Half-Stepping" ... but the highlights were Masta Ace and Craig G joining him for "The Symphony" and Scoob and Scrap dancing with him for the show's finale. Being a teen again felt great, but the best part was it cost me less than $20. In this economy, that's not a deal -- that's a steal!