1. Big Daddy Kane Family
2. Big Daddy Kane Songs

Kane, considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip-hop is mentioned in “SuperFly – My Untold Story of Hip-Hop.” “Big Daddy Kane is still today one of the best rappers. I would put Big Daddy Kane against any rapper in a battle. Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, any of them. Dec 24, 2009  Public Enemy ft Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube - Burn Hollywood. Public Enemy ft Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube - Burn Hollywood. Public Enemy ft. Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane - Burn Hollywood Burn.

'Very Special' is a song by Debra Laws from 1981. It is the title track of her first album, and features her brother Ronnie with call and response backing vocals. The song reached #90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of the year.^[1] It peaked at number 11 on the R&B chart.^[2] On that chart, it ranks as the 64th biggest hit of 1981.

'Very Special' has been most notably covered and/or sampled by Big Daddy Kane and Jennifer Lopez, and has been the subject of lawsuits in this regard.

• 3Track listing

Charts[edit]

Big Daddy Kane cover[edit]

'Very Special' was covered by Big Daddy Kane in 1993. It was the second single released from his fifth studio album, Looks Like a Job For.... Produced by Kane himself, the song is based on—and thus musically incorporates 'Very Special'. It is a duet with Salt-n-Pepa member DJ Spinderella. The chorus was performed by vocalists Karen Anderson and Laree Williams.

The song became an American Top 40 hit, becoming Big Daddy Kane's first and only single to crack the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 31.

Track listing[edit]

A-side[edit]

1. 'Very Special' (Album Version) – 5:05
2. 'Very Special' (Underground Mix) – 3:03
3. 'Very Special' (Edit Without Female Rap) – 3:53

B-side[edit]

1. 'Stop Shammin' (Album Version) – 3:57
2. 'Stop Shammin' (Instrumental Version) – 3:57

Chart history[edit]

Other cover versions and sampling[edit]

• In early 2003, Jennifer Lopez sampled 'Very Special' in her international hit song, 'All I Have', which reached number one in the US. This usage became the subject of a lawsuit by Laws as a result of Elektra Records giving their unilateral consent to the sampling.
• In 2013, K. Michelle sampled the song in 'V.S.O.P.', which charted almost identically to Laws' original on both the pop (#89) and R&B charts (#13).
• In 2014, Crystal Kay covered the song in Japanese, featuring Sandaime J Soul Brothers' vocalist Ryuji Imaichi.^[5]

References[edit]

1. ^Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN0-89820-089-X
2. ^1981: The Top 100 Soul/Funk/Disco Singles
3. ^Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN0-89820-089-X
4. ^1981: The Top 100 Soul/Funk/Disco Singles
5. ^Inc, Natasha. 'Crystal Kay×今市隆二、デュエットシーン収めた「Very Special」映像公開'. 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-01-04.

External links[edit]

• Listen to 'Very Special' on YouTube

Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927 – October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer.^[1] He created the character Dolemite, the pimp from the 1975 film Dolemite and its sequels, The Human Tornado and The Return of Dolemite.^[2] The persona was developed during his early comedy records.^[3][4] The recordings often featured Moore delivering profanity-filled rhyming poetry, which later earned Moore the nickname 'the Godfather of Rap'.^[4]

• 2Career

Early life[edit]

Moore was born and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas,^[5] and eventually moved to Akron, Ohio, and then Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, he preached in churches and worked as a nightclub dancer.^[6] He returned to Akron, working in clubs as a singer, dancer, and comedian, often appearing in character as Prince DuMarr.^[7] He joined the US Army and served in an entertainment unit in Germany, where he was nicknamed the Harlem Hillbilly for singing country songs in R&B style.^[1] He developed an interest in comedy in the Army after expanding on a singing performance for other servicemen.^[8]

After his honorable discharge he lived in Seattle, Washington and then Los Angeles, where he continued to work in clubs and was discovered by record producer Dootsie Williams.^[6] He recorded rhythm and blues songs for the Federal, Cash, Ball, Kent, and Imperial labels between 1955 and 1962, and released his first comedy albums, Below the Belt (1959), The Beatnik Scene (1962), and A Comedian Is Born (1964).^[8][9]

Career[edit]

Big Daddy Kane Family

Dolemite records and wider acclaim[edit]

By his own account, he was working at the world famous Dolphin's of Hollywood record store in Los Angeles, CA in 1970 when he began hearing obscene stories of 'Dolemite' recounted by a local man named Rico. Moore began recording the stories, and assumed the role of 'Dolemite' in his club act and on recordings.^[10] In 1970–71 he recorded three albums of material, Eat Out More Often, This Pussy Belongs To Me, and The Dirty Dozens, where 'with jazz and R&B musicians playing in the background, [Moore] would recite raunchy, sexually explicit rhymes that often had to do with pimps, prostitutes, players, and hustlers.'^[11]

Moore was influenced by more mainstream comedians such as Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, as well as by traditions such as the Dozens. The recordings were usually made in Moore's own house, with friends in attendance to give a party atmosphere. The album covers and contents were often too racy to be put on display in record stores,^[10] but the records became popular through word of mouth and were highly successful in black American communities,^[1] where his 'warped wit and anti-establishment outlook' were embraced.^[4]

Dolemite movie and later success[edit]

Moore spent most of his earnings from the records to finance the movie Dolemite, which appeared in 1975 and has been described as 'one of the great blaxploitation movies' of the 1970s.^[3][4] The character was 'the ultimate ghetto hero: a bad dude, profane, skilled at kung-fu, dressed to kill and hell-bent on protecting the community from evil menaces. He was a pimp with a kung-fu-fightingclique of prostitutes and he was known for his sexual prowess.'^[10]

The film was successful and was followed by The Human Tornado, The Monkey Hustle, and Petey Wheatstraw: The Devil's Son-in-Law. Moore continued to release albums that appealed to his enduring fanbase through the 1970s and 1980s, but little of his work reached the mainstream white audience. His 'rapid-fire rhyming salaciousness exceeded the wildest excesses' of Foxx and Pryor,^[1] and his highly explicit style kept him off television and major films.^[3][10] At the same time, Moore often spoke in his church and regularly took his mother to the National Baptist Convention. He said that: 'I wasn't saying dirty words just to say them... It was a form of art, sketches in which I developed ghetto characters who cursed. I don't want to be referred to as a dirty old man, rather a ghetto expressionist.'^[10]

Influence on rap and later life[edit]

He came to be regarded as a major influence by many later rap stars. Snoop Dogg said: 'Without Rudy Ray Moore, there would be no Snoop Dogg, and that's for real.'^[1] Moore appeared on Big Daddy Kane's 1990 album Taste of Chocolate and 2 Live Crew's 1994 album Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4. On an episode of Martin titled 'The Players Came Home,' he appeared as himself in the Dolemite character. He also reprised his Dolemite character in an appearance on Snoop Dogg's 1999 album No Limit Top Dogg and Busta Rhymes' When Disaster Strikes... and Genesis.

In 2000, Moore starred in Big Money Hustlas, a movie created by and starring the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse, in which he played Dolemite for the first time in over 20 years. In 2006, Moore voice-acted in the show Sons of Butcher, as Rudy in season 2. In 2008, he reprised the character Petey Wheatstraw on the song 'I Live for the Funk', which featured Blowfly and Daniel Jordan. It marked the first time Blowfly and Moore collaborated on the same record together, as well as the 30-year anniversary of the movie Petey Wheatstraw; it was also the final recording Moore made before his death.^[12]

On October 19, 2008, Moore died in Akron, Ohio, of complications from diabetes. He was never married. His mother, two brothers and a sister, a daughter, and grandchildren survived him.^[10]

Legacy[edit]

On June 7, 2018, it was announced that Craig Brewer would direct Dolemite Is My Name from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski with Netflix producing and distributing and Eddie Murphy starring as Moore.^[13][14] Later that month, the rest of the principal cast was announced.^[15][16][17] In July 2018, Chris Rock and Ron Cephas Jones joined the cast.^[18]Principal photography began on June 12, 2018.^[19] In August 2019, the trailer was released. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and received a limited release on October 4, 2019, before digital streaming on October 25, 2019.

Discography[edit]

• Below the Belt (1959)
• Beatnik Scene (1962)
• A Comedian Is Born (1964)
• Let's Come Together (1970, recorded 1967)
• Eat Out More Often (1970)
• This Pussy Belongs to Me (1970)^[20]
• Dolemite for President (1972)
• Merry Christmas, Baby
• The Cockpit
• Return of Dolemite
• Sensuous Black Man
• Zodiac
• I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing
• Jokes by Redd Foxx
• Live in Concert
• The Player—The Hustler
• House Party: Dirty Dozens Vol.1
• The Streaker
• Dolemite Is Another Crazy Nigger
• Sweet Peeter Jeeter
• Turning Point
• Close Encounter of the Sex Kind
• Good-Ole Big Ones
• Hip-Shakin' Papa
• Greatest Hits (1995)
• This Ain't No White Christmas
• Raw, Rude, and Real—More Greatest Hits
• Phantom Surfers - XXX Party (2000)
• 21st-Century Dolemite (2002)
• Hully Gully Fever
• Genius of Rudy Ray Moore
• Dolemite for President — Special Edition (2008)
• 50 Years of Cussing (2009)
• 50 Years of Cussing, Vol. 2 (2019)

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

Big Daddy Kane Songs

1. ^ ^abcdeDouglas Martin, 'Rudy Ray Moore, 81, a Precursor of Rap, Dies', NY Times, 22 October 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014
2. ^Reid, Shaheem. 'Dolemite Tells Dirty Jokes, Warns Snoop Of His Mic Supremacy'. MTV News.
3. ^ ^abcAllmusic Biography by Cub Koda. Retrieved February 23, 2014
4. ^ ^abcdSoren Baker, '`Dolemite' star explores music', The Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2002. Retrieved February 23, 2014
5. ^Koch, Stephen (November 4, 2019). 'Straight outta Westark: Rudy Ray Moore'. Arkansas Times. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
6. ^ ^abDootsie Williams, Liner notes for Below The Belt. Retrieved February 23, 2014
7. ^Obituary, Rudolph Frank 'Rudy Ray Moore' Moore, 21 October 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014
8. ^ ^abBiography by Mark Jason Murray at Rudy Ray Moore website. Retrieved February 23, 2014
9. ^Discography at WangDangDula.com. Retrieved February 23, 2014
10. ^ ^abcdefJocelyn Y Stewart, 'Obituary: Rudy Ray Moore', Los Angeles Times, 21 October 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014
11. ^Alex Henderson, Review of This Pussy Belongs To Me at Allmusic.com. Retrieved February 23, 2014
12. ^I Live 4 The Funk – Analog Medium
13. ^Galuppo, Mia (June 7, 2018). 'Eddie Murphy to Star as Rudy Ray Moore for Netflix'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
14. ^McNary, Dave; McNary, Dave (June 8, 2018). 'Film News Roundup: Eddie Murphy to Star in Biopic 'Dolemite Is My Name' for Netflix'.
15. ^'Wesley Snipes Joins Eddie Murphy in Netflix's 'Dolemite Is My Name!' (Exclusive)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
16. ^'T.I. in Talks to Join Eddie Murphy in Netflix's 'Dolemite Is My Name!' (Exclusive)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
17. ^'Keegan-Michael Key Joins Eddie Murphy in 'Dolemite Is My Name!' (Exclusive)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
18. ^''This Is Us' Star Ron Cephas Jones Joins Eddie Murphy in 'Dolemite' (Exclusive)'. The Hollywood Reporter.
19. ^Fleming Jr., Mike (June 7, 2018). 'Eddie Murphy to Star as Rudy Ray Moore for Netflix'. Deadline. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
20. ^'This Pussy Belongs to Me - Rudy Ray Moore | Songs, Reviews, Credits'. AllMusic.

External links[edit]

• Rudy Ray Moore on IMDb
• Zolten, Jerry, 'I Ain't Lyin'!' The Unexpurgated Truth about Rudy Ray Moore.' Living Blues # 157, May/June 2001.