When discussing the greatest emcees in hip hop, Jay-Z and Big Daddy Kane have to be in that conversation otherwise it is blasphemy. Big Daddy Kane laid down the foundation and blueprint while Jay-Z ran with it.\u00a0 There is a reason if you are familiar with both of their work it is evident that Big Daddy Kane influenced Jay-Z significantly.\u00a0 Early on in Jay-Z\u2019s career Kane took him under his wing.\u00a0 The goal was to help him land a record deal.<\/p>\n
Kane initially befriended Jay-Z through another emcee, Jaz-O. Jaz-O himself was an artist who had significant underground buzz looking to land a deal as well.\u00a0 They all met at Fresh Gordon\u2019s house. The year was 1988.\u00a0 He was a producer with a home studio who at that point had worked with 80s artists including the Fat Boys and Salt N Pepa.\u00a0 The song itself was significant in that Big Daddy Kane was impressed by Jay-Z.\u00a0 Also the verses that Kane used would eventually be used commercially for the Juice Crew\u2019s signature song, \u201cThe Symphony\u201d.<\/p>\n