She bought him a boombox for his birthday, sparking his interest in music, and he began freestyling and writing lyrics.[29] Known as "Jazzy" around the neighborhood, he later adopted the stage name "Jay-Z" in homage to his mentor Jaz-O.[2][30] Jay-Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-O's early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including "HP Gets Busy", "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie".[31][32] Jay-Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL Cool J in the early 1990s.[33] He first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut "Show and Prove" on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddy's Home. Jay-Z has been referred to as Big Daddy Kane's hype man during this period,[34] although Kane explains that he didn't fill the traditional hype man role, and was instead basically making cameo appearances on stage. "When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage."[35][36] The young Jay-Z appeared on a popular song by Big L, "Da Graveyard", and on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build", which also featured early appearances by DMX and Ja Rule in 1995.