If you're gonna call your album Veteranz Day, you better have the history to back it up. Given that he made his debut on the rap scene in 1988 and was the genre's first bona-fide sex symbol -- his resume includes a Playgirl spread and Madonna's infamous Sex book, Big Daddy Kane's got that covered. |

But it's been four years since Kane's last album, Daddy's Home, and the scene's changed dramatically since his "raw" days, when he served up his classic albums Long Live the Kane (1988) and It's A Big Daddy Thing(1989). How's he keeping up with the state of hip-hop today? We caught up with the Barry White of rap to find out.

You seem to have meshed your upbeat rhyme style with modern, slower, more mellowed beats. Was it hard switching your delivery?

I think that the majority of it sounds contemporary. There are a few cuts that have some old school flavor, but the majority of the album has new school flavor. And as far as switching the style up, it wasn't really too much I had to switch up lyrically. I just modernized the way I flow to the way that cats rap today, which wasn't really no problem at all.

Do you feel that you get more love for your old material, or have your fans and critics been accepting of the evolution of Kane?

Really, all I get is respect for my old material because that's all the public is familiar with.

Is that frustrating?

No, it would be frustrating if nobody remembered a damn thing from me. If somebody said, "Yeah, Kane, he had some record out back in the days," that would be frustrating. As long as somebody see you and they're like, "R-A-W, Kane! Go ahead, Kane, do your thing! No half steppin'! Warm it up, Kane!" I mean, hey, then that's all cool because that's people not only knowing you, but knowing your material. And when ten years later you can still say, "Take a walk as the Kane start to talk" and hold the mic out and everybody shouts, "Ain't no half steppin'," that's great.

During the summer of '89, you headlined on LL Cool J's Nitro tour, along with Slick Rick, De La Soul and EPMD. Hip-Hop has become so divided, the chances of all those artists playing on the same bill today is slim. What was it like touring with such a diverse group of artists and what are your thoughts on the internal categorization of hip-hop today?

I think that it was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to travel on the road with those artists. My most memorable tour would probably be the Chocolate City one with Queen Latifah, Third Bass, Digital Underground and MC Lyte, 'cause we were really like family. I mean, everybody was together, we shared and had water gun fights and things of that nature. However, as far as the LL tour, we had a good time out there too. It's really all about bonding, just being friends regardless of which faction of music you do. As far as today, I don't think that nothing like that could really happen again for several reasons: Rap has become very regional, you have artists that are really into where they're from; and also you have the problem of trying to get a big rap tour into a venue, which is very difficult the majority of the time.

What do you love most and hate most about the current state of hip-hop?

I don't like how it has become so industrialized. The industry has such a strong hold on rap music now and it's really dictating the pace and making it where artists don't really have the opportunity to expose their talents. You can have a talented artist that will not get his proper dues because he's not doing what fits the regular format. You can have a talented artist that abandons his nature, his grassroots, to do something else that is the regular format and is not him. Then he makes a hit album but is gone the next year because now that he's in the driver's seat he wants to do what he does best, but that's not what the people really wanna hear from him because they done already heard him this other way, so he's gone. Of course there's a positive side because rap artists now have the opportunity for even bigger exposure and even bigger contracts, so they can make a lot of money.

How did it feel opening for Common, someone you undoubtedly paved the way for, this past July?

Common wasn't comfortable with that, but to me it doesn't really make a difference, especially not in a club. I'm not a fan of going on first in coliseums because black people are always late [laughs]. So in a coliseum, if they say you going on at eight o'clock, you go on at eight o'clock, ain't no 8:15 p.m., ain't even no 8:02 p.m. -- eight o'clock means eight o'clock and when your time is up, it's up because they only have the building for a certain amount of hours. In a club, I'm fine with [going on first] because they gon' wait until it's packed before they start the show, so I'm cool with that. And, I mean, Common does have new material and I don't, so I'm fine with it. Also, he had that band. I didn't feel like waiting for them to break down drums and all that s--- for me to finally get to go on stage. Plus, I love Common. I think in '97 the three best albums that came out was Common's, Rakim's and Biggie.

Is there any truth to the rumor that there may be a Juice Crew reunion?

I know that there's supposed to be a new "Symphony" with myself, Kool G. Rap and Noreaga. Other than that, naw, I don't know.

How do you feel about your new album, Veteranz Day?

I think that the album is hot. It's been pushed back a few times, so I'd say there's two songs on there that might be a little outdated now, like "Terror in Your Error," but other than maybe one more song, the album is real tight.

How does it feel to be labeled a sex symbol?

[Smiles] The only bad side about anything like that would be trying to live up to it. People expect to see you looking like a sex symbol every time they see you [laughs]. You know, it might be a day you wanna come out looking scrappy and bummy and just relax, but then people see you out of character and all of sudden it's like, "Kane fell off" [laughs]. Other than that, getting chicks back in high school wasn't no easy thing for me, so I have the opportunity to do it now because people think I look good -- they didn't think I did before the records, but if they wanna say that I do now, hey, cool, I'm with that.

Finally, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?

None of your damn business.

MARGEAUX WATSON(November 24, 1998)