1/2 Steppin' 2001

I just found a Big Daddy Kane appearance I never knew about (yay, internets!). Public Announcement is a not bad but kinda bland R&B group that's been putting out albums since the early 90's. But they're mainly known for singing with R. Kelly. In 2000, they put out a single called "Mamacita" on RCA Records, which they followed up with this one: "John Doe : The New Remix," in 2001 - both from their album Don't Hold Back.

Now, you've got a couple versions of this track on the 12": The Remix Clean, The Remix Instrumental, The A Cappella and The Extended Remix Dirty. They're produced by Mike Dunn and feature a female vocalist named Mz Lelee. I did a few needle drops and it's pretty boring. And that's already more than you need to know about that.

But what's interesting about this single, is, as the sticker reads, "The Never Before Available 'Mamacita' Remix Featuring Big Daddy Kane." Specifically, it's titled the "1/2 Steppin' Remix." Now, the bulk of the song is pretty flat and lifeless, with lyrics of the "hey there, shorty; I've been feelin' you" variety; but we don't care about that part...

The production for this one is credited to Eddie James (and co-produced by Ike Lee). But it should really read Marley Marl, because they're just singing over the "Ain't No Half Steppin'" instrumental.

So this is what you do: first, fish the 12" or CD single out of an on- or offline dollar bin (Protip: all Public Announcement singles can be found in dollar bins). Then skip to the last song and start it about three quarters of the way in, and you've got yourself a nice little Kane song with him kicking a cool, contemporary verse over "Ain't No Half Steppin'." Sure, it's a little short, but still not a bad deal, right? ;)