New York will be in the house agains on Oct. 17 when Brooklyn’s finest, Big Daddy Kane, faces off against the Bronx’s KRS-One in the latest Verzuz battle. The event will take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and kick off at 7 p.m. ET in a battle of two MCs who helped define the genre with in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Kane, who rose to prominence in the 80s as part of the Queens’ Juice Crew — which also featured Marley Marl — set himself apart from the pack with his double-time flow, signature high-top fade and casual cool style on early hits including “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” and “Smooth Operator.”
KRS-One blew up around the same time as Kane, but followed a different path to stardom, focusing on conscious lyrics and social commentary, first as part of the Boogie Down Productions crew alongside late DJ Scott La Rock and then as a solo act. With an in-your-face, rapid-fire attack, KRS pulled no punches on songs such as the squealing “Sound of Da Police,” BDP’s “My Philosophy” and “The Bridge Is Over.”
The latter earned KRS the nickname “the Blastmaster,” as it is considered to be the final blow in a long-running rap battle known as The Bridge Wars, which pitted BDP against Marl’s Juice Crew in a fight for the title of rap’s birthplace.
The Kane/KRS brawl is the foll0w-up to the most recent Verzuz showdown between two N.Y. MC’s, Fat Joe and Ja Rule.
Check out some Big Daddy Kane and KRS-One classics below.