Big Daddy Kane to Enter Berklee Hip-Hop Hall of Fame

Brooklyn’s own Big Daddy Kane is getting a Hall of Fame honor built for a lyricist of his caliber. Berklee College of Music will induct the Grammy-winning MC into its Hip-Hop Hall of Fame on Thursday, November 19, at 8 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston.

This will not be a quiet plaque ceremony. Berklee students will perform original work and brand-new arrangements built around Kane’s catalog, and then Kane himself closes the night with a showcase set of his timeless hits. The evening is presented by Berklee’s Africana Studies Division, which is also marking its fifth anniversary.

Kane, born Antonio Hardy, came up as a cornerstone of the legendary Juice Crew in the mid-1980s and rewrote what technical, lyrical rap could sound like. He went on to win a Grammy in 1991 for his work on Quincy Jones’s “Back on the Block.” Dean Emmett G. Price III said Kane exemplifies the cultural significance and enduring influence of hip-hop.

Kane joins a serious roster of past inductees, including Rakim, Roxanne Shante, Kid ‘n Play and Edo G. Tickets are $19.50 in advance and $16.50 for students. One of the smoothest to ever touch a microphone is finally getting his flowers in Boston, and 107.3 VIP salutes him.

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Photo: RustyShack / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)