Big Daddy Kane

MCA

Like Kool Moe Dee and Eric B & Rakim, the Big Daddy was large in the mid-’80s, before Compton gangstas came to kill and the hippie-consciousness of De La Soul took everybody three feet higher. Hits like “Smooth Operator” and the Teddy Riley-produced “I Get the Job Done” made Kane a household name, but he’s been struggling to recover his game ever since. While Kane still excels at the smooth-flow, get-your-panties-off groove—he cops beats on Daddy’s Home from slo-jam classics like Teddy Pendergrass’ “Close the Door” and Barry White’s “You’re the One I Need”—he’s trying to get in where he’ll fit in, instead of raising Kane as usual. BDK posse member Scoob Lover has been reborn as the Big Scoob, and now acts as clown and foil à la Flavor Flav. But that gambit, plus appearances by Bootsy Collins and Joshua Redman, isn’t enough to save this one.