Big Daddy Kane's Birthday, Brooklyn, Circa 1990.

I can't recall how this recording first got in our hands (maybe from Ill?) but this got significant burn on KCR. It's also what put Big Ill The Mack on the map as someone to look out for, not just for sounding next level, but for his not-so-thinly-veiled disses aimed directly at the man of the hour, Big Daddy Kane. You hear him slam the mic on the floor when he is done, and what had been a crowd making noise turned into a group of people dumbfounded with dropped jaws. Can you say awkward?

Before Ill wraps it up last, you get Special Ed, Bizmarkie, Smooth B, Masta Ace, Just-Ice, Lakim Shabbazz, Positive K, Scoob, Scrap, Markey Fresh, Fruikwan, Kane, Jay-Z and Jaz. Al Skratch was apparently not around. Perhaps he was with his "homies"...zzzz.

Kane's Birthday Freestyle with Special Ed, Bizmarkie, Smooth B, Masta Ace, Just-Ice, Lakim Shabbazz, Positive K, Scoob Lover, Scrap Lover, Markey Fresh, Fruikwan, Kane, Jay-Z, Jaz, and Big Ill

Men At Work

Ahhhh...whether it's 1987 or 2007, listening to a Marley Marl radio show remains one of life's simple pleasures. Here's a radio rip of "For Your Own Concern" by Big Daddy Kane, where he drops rhymes that make it on his first album. This is vintage '87 Marley Marl, using the same drum kit as "My Melody."

And from 1990, here is Kool G Rap's monster "Men At Work", given a simple but funky Marley Marl remix. It doesn't come close to the original album version, but it's still worthwhile.

Big Daddy Kane "For Your Own Concern"
Kool G Rap "Men At Work" (Marley Marl Remix)