Photographer: George DuBose.

Big Daddy Kane had already sealed his place in the hip-hop canon by the time his second classic full-length, IT'S A BIG DADDY THING, dropped in 1989. Featuring an expanded production staff including Prince Paul, Easy Mo Bee, Mister Cee, and Teddy Riley as well as a few beats from Marley Marl, IT'S A BIG DADDY THING finds the Bed-Stuy native as sharp as ever, slap-boxing listeners' ears with rapid-fire one-liners. At 17 tracks deep, IT'S A BIG DADDY THING combines positive Afro-centrism ("Young, Gifted and Black," "Children Are the Future") with more party-oriented themes ("Ain't No Stopping Us Now," "It's a Big Daddy Thing"), mack-daddy slow jams ("To Be Your Man"), and brazen misogyny ("Pimpin' Ain't Easy"). A handful of the record's tracks--such as "Another Victory," "Smooth Operator," and "Warm It Up Kane"--are essential for any DJ's crate and continue to rock hip-hop parties to this day. Nice & Smooth, Ant Live, Blue Magic, Scrap Lover, and Scoob Lover make guest appearances.

If Big Daddy Kane's debut album painted him as an enormously talented battle MC, his follow-up, It's a Big Daddy Thing, finds him aggressively expanding into new territory and gunning for a wider audience outside the hip-hop faithful. Unlike later efforts, most of it is rousingly successful, making for an album that's arguably just as strong as his near-classic debut. This is where Kane starts to take his place as one of hip-hop's first sex symbols, thanks to the gliding "Smooth Operator," the somewhat dated ballad "To Be Your Man," and the Teddy Riley-produced new jack swing track "I Get the Job Done." If the latter is a blatant attempt at crossing over, with a vastly different sound than anything else on the album, it's also a player's statement of purpose. Elsewhere, Kane plays the anti-drug, pro-education social commentator, bringing his Nation of Islam beliefs further into the spotlight on tracks like "Another Victory," "Children R the Future," "Calling Mr. Welfare," and "Rap Summary (Lean on Me)." "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" sits a little uneasily alongside that progressive-minded material, not just for its obvious subject matter but for the line where Kane declares himself "anti-faggot"; nonetheless, it remains something of a favorite among fans who look past that slip. And of course, there are plenty of showcases for Kane's near-peerless technique, including "Mortal Combat," a live version of the rare B-side "Wrath of Kane," and "Warm It Up, Kane." There's some filler in the second half, like the amusing, blaxploitation-styled "Big Daddy's Theme," but overall It's a Big Daddy Thing is a strong, varied album that captures every important side of one of rap's major talents. ~ Steve Huey