Hip-hop, as both a musical genre and a cultural movement, has seen rapid growth in the past two decades. What started by a group of people at block parties in the Bronx has emerged to be a way to express political views and social activism, with the likes of NWA, Ice T, Kool Moe Dee, Nas, and more leading the pack.
That said, hip-hop icon Big Daddy Kane is currently gearing up for another upcoming hip-hop-themed documentary on Netflix. Titled Paragraph I Manifest, the documentary chronicles how important lyricism in hip-hop with many A-list guest stars like Eminem, Jay-Z, Common, and more. Here's everything we know about the project.
8 Big Daddy Kane Will Host The Documentary
Legendary rapper Big Daddy Kane will likely host the documentary. During the peak of his career, Kane has been regarded as one of the "illest" writers in the golden age of hip-hop and influenced many big stars we know today like Eminem, Ice T, Nas, and more. In the past few months, the masterful wordsmith has posted a series of post-interview pictures with many prolific songwriters in the game, including Jay-Z and Common.
7 The Hip-Hop Legend Has Been Busy With Other Movies
Ever since he dropped his last album Veteranz' Day in 1998, Big Daddy Kane has been switching into acting as his career option. Last June, the rapper starred on Bad Dad Rehab: The Next Session on TV One. The film chronicles his character's fatherhood journey and how he makes amends to become a better father.
"I love it when you get to see a father doing the right thing, even though it’s the type of situation where these are fathers that have been doing the wrong thing but turning their life around to make amends and do the right thing," the rapper explains about his recent roles.
6 Production Started Earlier This Year
Back in February 2021, Kane posted a picture with Eminem on his Instagram, captioning, "Chopping it up tonight with this great lyricist @eminem We spread a lot of love in this convo." Many thought it was just a conversation to promote Em's recent surprise-released album, Music to Be Murdered By Side B, but it turned out that the Rap God has been enlisted to join the documentary.
5 Jay-Z Will Be A Part Of The Documentary
A few months later, Jay-Z became the latest big name to join Big Daddy Kane in Paragraph I Manifest. The Hard Knock Life rapper was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and became the first living solo rapper to join the honor. In fact, Kane even enlisted Jay's Roc Nation as one of the producing companies that helm the project.
"Brooklyn in da House!" he captions.
4 It Will Center Around Lyricism In Hip-Hop
As mentioned, Paragraph I Manifest will center around the battle rap culture in hip-hop and how lyricism has propelled the genre to a whole new level. That also explains why Kane had enlisted many great writers and battlers, like Eminem and Jay-Z, to join the project.
"It’s about lyricism and it’s coming together so great," Kane said. "So it’s a lot of amazing stuff and I think that people that appreciate hip-hop and people that appreciate lyrics are really going to enjoy this."
3 Many Other A-List Battle Rappers Are Expected
Besides the aforementioned big names, Big Daddy Kane also invited many fantastic rap battlers to join the conversation like KRS-One.
"I got the battle rappers, Goodz Da Animal, Aye Verb, discussing battle rap today, versus battle rap in the 1980s," he told AllHipHop.com. "The main reason why I really wanted to do this is because I see so many talented young artists that have unique styles. And they make hit songs but a lot of things that artists don’t understand is for longevity purposes your listeners have to tune into you as the artist."
2 Eminem Was Also Recently In Other Hip-Hop Themed Documentaries
Interestingly, this isn't the only hip-hop documentary Eminem has been involved in in the past few months. Last year, the Rap God sat down with Estevan Oriol for LA Originals where the rapper talked about the impact of tattoos in hip-hop and how tat artist Mister Cartoon has made a name for himself in the community.
1 The Documentary Is Coming 'Soon'
Unfortunately, Big Daddy Kane doesn't have an exact release date for Paragraph I Manifest to reveal at the moment except saying that the docu is coming "really soon." However, we still have a good collection of hip-hop-themed documentaries to watch on Netflix, including Biggie's I Got A Story to Tell and Hip-Hop Evolution.
