Big Daddy Kane announced in June that he'll soon be releasing his final album, Curtain Call. Speaking to Vibe, he credits LL COOL J for getting him back into the studio to record his first full-length project since 1998's Veteranz Day.
“LL COOL J came and played his album for me,” Kane recalls. “We sat in an alley, just sitting there listening to it and bumping it from the truck. I told him how phenomenal I thought it was, how lyrical he was on there and the diversity that he showed. He was like, ’It’s that time, not just for me, but for you, too. We need to do this right now.’ To see that fire in him and also him wanting to share that light, I was like, ‘Maybe you’re right.’”
He adds LL called Q-Tip to help put the battery in his back and noted that Busta Rhymes had also been encouraging him to make his musical return.
Kane says after almost 30 years away, his return has been met with love.
“It’s been getting a great reception,” he tells Vibe. “Some people are even saying things like, ‘This can’t be your last!’ So I’m very, very appreciative. I’m just hoping that everybody that’s into Big Daddy Kane supports it.”
While the album does not yet have a release date, Kane plans to drop it sometime in September and celebrate with wine tastings. The project features his son Tasheem Hardy, as well as Busta, Anthony Hamilton, Jadakiss and Conway the Machine.