Big Daddy Kane

Big Daddy Kane, the stage name of Antonio Hardy, is a rapper, producer and actor who was born in Brooklyn and started out in 1986 with the Juice Crew collective, after meeting Mister Cee in high school; Mister Cee became his DJ. He co-wrote early lyrics for Biz Markie, then signed with Cold Chillin' Records in 1987 and released the single Raw. Kane drew notice for syncing rhymes over fast beats and for setting style trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His 1988 debut album, Long Live the Kane, featured Ain't No Half Steppin, and 1989's It's a Big Daddy Thing became his biggest hit record. He won a Grammy Award in 1991 for his work on Quincy Jones's Back on the Block. His first film role came in Posse (1993), Mario Van Peebles's western, and he also appeared in Robert Townsend's The Meteor Man (1993). He later turned up in Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005).