In 1994, Big Daddy Kane—a major label, gold-certified artist, appeared on the Treacherous Three’s first album in a decade, Old School Flava. “We Wit’ It” featured Kane, alongside Chuck D, Grandmaster Caz, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Heavy D, Tito, and the Treacherous Three lineup of Kool Moe Dee, Special K, and LA Sunshine.

More than 20 years later, Kane is praising a contemporary MC, Macklemore, for supporting the very same Rap pioneers. On Sunday (August 30), the Seattle, Washington MC/producer duo of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performed single “Downtown” at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. The independent, Grammy Award-winning pair brought single guests The Cold Crush Brothers’ Caz, The Furious Five’s Melle Mel, and The Treacherous Three’s Kool Moe Dee with them in a major televised event, before a crowd that included Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and The Weeknd.

While Macklemore has been criticized for alleged “White Appropriation” in Hip-Hop, as well as “softening” the culture, one person who vehemently defends the veteran is Big Daddy Kane. On Instagram, the former Juice Crew MC called out those who challenge Macklemore’s merits, especially based on race.

REAL TALK!!! I don’t see one artist in the game that put Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee or Grandmaster Caz on their new song or let them perform on the VMA’s (Including Me) but people wanna have a problem with @macklemore for paying homage to them? We don’t acknowledge our own & get mad when another color does. Now if one of them passes, then we wanna post shit about them, say RIP & get t-shirts with their picture. FOH!!!!!!! Learn about your history & preserve it now. If not, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! To me this is about real pioneers getting recognition in today’s society.

A photo posted by Big Daddy Kane (@officialbigdaddykane) on Aug 31, 2015 at 1:22pm PDT

“I don’t see one artist in the game that put Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee or Grandmaster Caz on their new song or let them perform on the VMA’s (including me) but people wanna have a problem with Macklemore for paying homage to them?,” penned the MC known for uplifting songs like “Young, Gifted and Black,” “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” and “Erase Racism.” “We don’t acknowledge our own and get mad when another color does. Now if one of them passes, then we wanna post shit about them, say RIP and get t-shirts with their picture.” An incensed Kane later wrote, “To me this is about real pioneers getting recognition in today’s society.”

Do you agree with B.D.K.? Did Macklemore’s inclusion of three pioneering MCs preserve the culture, or was it a calculated move after he’s come under criticism by Azealia Banks, Drake, Brother Ali, and others?

Related: Finding The Greatest Of All Time MC: The Golden Age of Hip-Hop (1978-Present) (AFH Original)