Big Daddy Kane visits Jannus Landing!

Photos

- Big Daddy Kane performing

- Jannus Marquee

- Me with Big Daddy Kane

- Me with Dynasty aka The Femcee

I'll admit that throughout the years I have sort of neglected the work of Big Daddy Kane. I've never listened to any of his albums and couldn't really recite word for word any of his big singles.

It's nothing personal, just never got around to it.

Strangest thing is that Big Daddy Kanes verse on Public Enemy's "Burn Hollywood Burn" is one of my all time favorites. The line at the end of the song where he says, "aye yo I got Black Caesar back at the crib, ya'll wanna go check that out" kills me everytime.

Feeling as though I had been missing out, catching his show last Friday night at Jannus Landing seemed like a good place to start catching up.

Doors opened at 7 but the show technically didn't start til about 9:30. Which is fine by me, when I finally rolled in around 9 on a sugar high from Starbucks I found a spot in the back and chilled out to the wide variety of classic hip hop records being spun from the stage by DJ Sandman. Which to me is the best part of these old school shows. Sandman can always be counted on to set up the perfect vibe when waiting for a show to start.

The opening act was a local talent transplanted from New York (like everyone else here) named Dynasty who I had been hearing an awful lot about lately. Initially I had blown her off as another local backpack rapper yuppy trying to re-live the golden era artist that are a dime a dozen around here.

But a few things are different about Dynasty that peaked my interest, one is her DJ is Sandman, whose taste is good enough that I trust he wouldn't stand behind anything thats whack. And two, she has been garnering support by the likes of DJ Premier by getting spins on his radio show. A major accomplishment.

When I heard her rhyme I was actually sort of blown away by how raw her style was. This chick

could flat out rap. In fact, I will go so far as to say she is exactly what the mainstream hip hop scene is in desperate need of. Not only does she have the abilities to make it, she is naturally likable in a way that other female emcee's aren't. Almost like a Lauren Hill but meaner on the microphone.

Following the highly enjoyable set by Dynasty, the crowd was left in a state of confusion by the performance of Loyal. I have no idea of who Loyal is or where they came from or who they paid for the stage time, but they were worth seeing just for the experience of witnessing the akwardness of their performance.

They basically spent twenty minutes not rapping or rapping other peoples hit songs, then dancing provocatively on their male dancers. None of whom looked over 16 years old. The crowd was left looking confused and nobody really knew what to make of it.

Eventually around 11-ish Big Daddy Kane arrived and immediatly launched into a furious performance. I found it amazing that here is a man probably in his mid to late fourties rhyming three times faster and harder then guys half his age. Incredible!

Thankfully ticket prices for the show were only $15 because after about 25minutes Big Daddy Kane through down a couple of dance moves (which were quite impressive I must say) and abruptly ended his set before coming back out for a brief encore. Needless to say there were more then a handful of disappointed fans in the audience.

Ok, so normally this is were a person would end a concert review. But those of you that know me know how I like to take shit to the next level when I hit up a hip hop show.

Rather then go chase skirts on the streets of downtown St. Pete like a normal 26 yr old guy on a Friday night after a concert, I chose instead to wait for the security guard to turn his head and sneak backstage for photos.

What I got was something a little bit more special. After a few minutes of standing around outside of a door waiting for Kane to walk out, I was approached by none other then DJ Sandman who graciously introduced himself and invited me into the dressing room.

Inside the room standing around a table were Big Daddy Kane and none other then DJ Charlie Chase co-founder of the pioneering hip hop group The Cold Crush Brothers (Havn't ya'll ever seen Wild Style?!?). I basically just stood to the back, discussed hip hop fandom with a kid who's name unfortunatly escapes me at the moment and chilled out listening to the stories being told by Kane and Charlie Chase. It was crazy.

Just when I thought that things had died down, the kid who I was having the conversation with asked Kane to spit 16 bars for him. Kane obliged, spitting a mesmorizing politically tinged rhyme that wow'd the room. He then challenged the kid to spit 16, he accepted and laid down a nice verse. It was a little bit over 16 bars, prompting Kane to make a joke comparing the kid to Kool G Rap (what an honor to even be mentioned in the same sentence). Then Dynasty laid down some rhymes and I guess it must have been contagious because next thing I knew it seemed like the whole room was going in. Quite the experience to witness.

After that everybody said there goodbyes, I snapped some pics (unfortunatly not with Charlie Chase, but I'm sure there will be other chances) and escaped into the downtown night life.

My 10 favorite Hip-Hop Films

My ten favorite hip-hop films. Here they are in no particular order.

Belly - 1998's Belly would bring together a who's who of hip-hop acting talent led by acclaimed music video Director Hype Williams for what is arguably the most underrated film of the 1990's and what I believe to be the peak of hip hop influenced cinema. I will never understand how film yuppies and art snobs could spend so much effort drooling over the likes of Tarantino, Kevin Smith and others from the '90's indie film boom yet sleep so hard on an incredible talent such as Hype Williams. The intro to Belly is the greatest four minutes of cinema ever filmed (or at least my favorite). Check it out.

Boyz N The Hood - This is the first movie I ever sat through in a theater solo. I was about eight years old and given the option of seeing either this or the other big film that weekend, The Rocketeer. Thankfully I made the correct choice and to this day I have yet to forget the experience of witnessing this masterpiece on the big screen.

Menace II Society - No such list would be complete without the inclusion of the Hughes Brothers. Before they were hacks making big-budget trash like The Book Of Eli, they were renegade filmmakers in their youth directing classics like Dead Presidents and most importantly, Menace II Society. This is probably the bleakest and most nihilistic film of its kind. Larenz Tate should have been nominated for an Academy Award for his role as O-Dog.

New Jack City - Scarface homages are a dime a dozen when it comes to hip-hop films. But none are quite as good as Mario Van Peebles' New Jack City. There is a lot to love about this film, but the greatest thing is the portrayal of a lovable crack head played by a then barely-known Chris Rock.

Do The Right Thing - Spike Lee's epic portrayal of a Brooklyn neighborhood on the edge of chaos is the granddaddy of all hip hop films. Not only is it absolutely brilliant, one of the greatest pictures ever made, it was also a vehicle used as a promotional tool by Nike to advertise the Air Jordan sneaker, creating one of the most genius marketing campaigns of all time. Of course, one cannot mention Do The Right Thing without also mentioning its soundtrack, in particular the greatest hip-hop anthem ever made, Public Enemies' "Fight The Power".

Juice - I have probably seen this movie a hundred times and everytime I expect to see a different conclusion. I have never really been into the music of Tupac Shakur (I always thought he was a hypocritical phony), but I give him props for his performance in this film as Bishop. Had the man lived I have no doubt that the sky could have been the limit in terms of his acting abilities.

Friday - No doubt the definitive comedy of this genre. As a lifelong Ice Cube fan I have always felt that he is at best when his surroundings are more down to earth and basic, whether it be his music or films. Friday is a perfect example. The thing that is so great about this movie is that anybody can sit down and watch it and still find it enjoyable whether they are fans of hip hop cinema or not. The only thing that sucks about this movie is that it is to blame for the successful mainstream explosion of Chris Tucker (who was brilliant in Dead Presidents and Friday but sucks in everything else).

He Got Game - As a teenager who lived and breathed on basketball courts, He Got Game maintains a special place in my heart. Not because it is such a good movie, but because it encompasses every single aspect of basketball culture, from the love of the game to our love of the apparel we wear playing it. Once again Nike manages to sneak in an Air Jordan commercial about half way through. They don't stop there though, nearly every classic sneaker that was released around this time period makes a cameo in this film, heck, even a pair of Kobe Bryant Adidas makes an appearance. Also worth mentioning is that Public Enemy re-united along with their production crew The Bomb Squad for all new material for the films soundtrack.

Don't Be A Menace - The Wayans were such an important part of my childhood that it would be almost criminal not to include something with them on this list. I remember back in the day when this was released I was almost terrified to go and see it in the movie theater. Having just seen movies like Pulp Fiction and From Dusk Til Dawn the Mirimax logo had an almost dangerous feel to it (mind you I was about eleven at the time), add onto the fact that this was a black movie and during this time in my cities history things were also a little tense. Nonetheless, my father forced me into seeing this opening weekend and to this day it is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

House Party - I was in the first grade (I think) the first time my parents let me rent this from the video store. At the time it was the greatest thing I had ever seen and probably rented it thirty more times back to back. I learned a lot from this film, all of which I'm sure has permanently scarred me in some way or another.