BY BANDINI / JANUARY 17, 2018

Big Daddy Kane is the latest guest on Drink Champs. The Brooklyn, New York lyrical legend is in a casual mood, often joking during the three-hour episode. N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN interview the Juice Crew MC about a number of highlights from his life and career. There are probing questions about a rumored Madonna relationship, requests for groupie details, inquiries about just how close he was to real-life gangsters and pimps, as well as confirmation as to whether Slick Rick really pulled a gun on him while on tour with LL Cool J.

For lovers of Hip-Hop music and folklore, near the 10:00 mark, Big Daddy Kane’s writing credits for Biz Markie become an interesting discussion point. N.O.R.E. asks the Brooklyn, New York legend if he wrote Biz’s 1988 single, “Vapors.” Notably, the Rap video hit about escalating status within the Juice Crew family featured a second verse about Kane’s own come-up.

This leads to noteworthy facts about Kane’s beginnings, and track record for writing Rap hits while as a high school student. “The first [record I wrote for members of the Juice Crew] was some of ‘Nobody Beats The Biz.’ Biz [Markie] came to me, he was like, ‘Yo, I got this [reworking of The Wiz advertisement with a unique flow].’ He was like, ‘Flow like [I am imitating], just put something together.’ So that was the first record.” Kane said that in those days, he spent a lot of time with Biz Markie, who grew up in various parts of New York City. It allowed him to mimic aspects of the MC/producer/DJ’s style effectively. At the time, Kane was not yet knighted into the Juice Crew, but B-I-Z was with Mr. Magic and Marley Marl’s would-be legendary collective. The concept of “Vapors,” which became a video single and a song recreated by other artists, including Snoop Dogg, was all Biz. Kane was urged to speak with singer T.J. Swan, and Biz’s DJ, The Legendary Cool V, to get their stories. As a note, DJ Cool V now publishes a series of Juice Crew-related books.

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