Slick Rick

Slick Rick

Slick Rick performing at the 2009 Fresh Fest concert in Los Angeles, California
Background information
Birth name Ricky Martin Lloyd Walters
Born (1965-01-14) January 14, 1965
Mitcham, London, England
Origin The Bronx, New York, United States
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, record producer
Years active 1983–present
Labels Def Jam, Columbia, CBS Records, PolyGram, Universal
Associated acts Doug E. Fresh, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Dana Dane, Outkast, Aaliyah

Ricky Martin Lloyd Walters[1] (born 14 January 1965), better known by his stage name Slick Rick, is a Grammy-nominated English-born rapper. He has also been known as Rick the Ruler, MC Ricky D, and Ricky Dee. He began his career in late 1983, in the hip hop genre, where he recorded a series of acclaimed recordings such as "La Di Da Di" and "Children's Story". He is known for the use of narrative in his raps and has been called "hip hop's greatest storyteller."[2]

Slick Rick rose to stardom in an era known to fans as the Golden age of hip hop. His music has been frequently sampled and interpolated by other artists such as TLC, Black Star, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and Color Me Badd, with many of these songs later becoming hit singles. About.com ranked him #12 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time,[3] while The Source ranked him #15 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time.[4]

Early life

Walters was born and raised in the south-west London district of Mitcham, to an English Jamaican family. He was blinded in the right eye by broken glass as an infant.[5] He and his family moved to The Bronx in 1976.[6] As a child, he met Dana Dane, with whom he later formed a hip hop duo known as the Kangol Crew.

Initial fame

Walters first gained success in the rap industry after joining Doug E. Fresh's Get Fresh Crew, using the stage name MC Ricky D. He was featured on the single "The Show" and its even more popular B-side, "La Di Da Di". "La Di Da Di" featured Walters' rapping over Doug E. Fresh's beatbox. Both tracks gained some mainstream attention, they appeared on Top of the Pops and Soul Train with Fresh's Get Fresh Crew. In 1988 Walters' solo debut, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, came out on Def Jam Records. The album was very successful, reaching the #1 spot on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart. It also featured three charting singles: "Children's Story", "Hey Young World", and "Teenage Love". Slick Rick also appears as an unlockable fighter in the 2004 Electronic Arts fighting game Def Jam Fight for NY.

Incarceration and subsequent albums

In 1990, Walters shot his cousin, Mark Plummer, and a bystander. Plummer had previously been Walters' bodyguard and later admitted to having Walters shot outside a club. Walters was indicted on two counts of attempted murder and pled guilty to all charges, which included assault, use of a firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon. He spent five years in prison, two for the then second degree attempted murder charges he received for the shooting, and three for his struggle with the Immigration and Naturalization Services over his residency in the US. He was released from prison in 1997.[7]

After being bailed out by Russell Simmons, Walters recorded his second album, The Ruler's Back, released in 1991. The album received mixed reviews and wasn't as commercially successful as his debut. In the documentary film, The Show, Russell Simmons interviewed Walters while he was imprisoned on Rikers Island.[8]

Walters' third studio album Behind Bars was released in 1994, while he was still incarcerated. It was met with lukewarm sales and reviews. He was released from prison in 1996.

Walters remained with the Def Jam label, and on May 25, 1999, released a fourth album entitled The Art of Storytelling. Generally considered the authentic follow up to his 1988 debut, The Art of Storytelling was an artistically successful comeback album that paired him with prolific MCs like Nas, OutKast, Raekwon, and Snoop Dogg among others.

After performing on a Caribbean cruise ship in June 2001, Walters was arrested by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as he re-entered the United States through Florida. He was promptly told that he was being deported under a law allowing deportation of foreigners convicted of felonies. Rick was continuously refused bail, but after 17 months in prison he was released on November 7, 2003.[9][10] In October 2006, the Department of Homeland Security began a new attempt to deport Walters back to England,[11] moving the case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in New York to the more conservative Eleventh Circuit. The court is based in Atlanta, Georgia but the trial was expected to proceed in Florida, where immigration agents originally arrested Walters.

On May 23, 2008, New York Governor David Paterson granted Slick Rick a full and unconditional pardon on the attempted murder charges. The governor was pleased with his behavior since the mishap. Slick Rick has volunteered his time to mentor kids about violence.[7][12]

Later career and life

Slick Rick and the Soul Rebels Brass Band collaborated on June 21, 2012 in Washington, D.C. at the historic Howard Theatre which re-opened in April 2012.[13]

He and his wife have donated about a dozen items from his collection to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.[6]

Influence

Slick Rick's songs, especially his best-known songs "La Di Da Di" and "Children's Story", have been covered, referenced and sampled by numerous rappers. "La Di Da Di" was covered nearly word-for-word by Snoop Dogg on his 1993 album Doggystyle. It has also been sampled and interpolated on numerous other songs, including as the chorus of the Notorious B.I.G. hit "Hypnotize". Snoop Dogg essentially covered Slick Rick once again on his 2nd album Tha Doggfather with the song "Sixx Minutes" which borrows heavily from the song "The Show".

"Children's Story" has been covered by rapper Everlast on his album Eat at Whitey's, by MC duo Black Star on their 1998 album Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, by Tricky on the album Nearly God with the rap performed by Martina Topley-Bird, and by Israeli rapper Sagol 59 on the album The Two Sides of Sagol 59. Rapper The Game recorded a similar song, "Compton Story". The song has also been referenced and interpolated by numerous artists, including Montell Jordan for his 1995 hit, "This Is How We Do It".

Honors

On October 6, 2008, Rick was honoured on the VH1 Hip Hop Honors show.

Rapping style

Slick Rick's style is commended by music critics. Music journalist Peter Shapiro says, "'Children's Story' was important because of its narrative structure and Rick's understanding of how crucial little sonic details—such as his use of a female voice and his yawning rap—were to hip hop style."[14]

He is largely known for his story raps, such as 'Children's Story' and 'La Di Da Di'. Shapiro writes that he "largely introduced the art of narrative into hip hop… none of the spinners of picaresque rhymes who followed did it with the same grace or humor."[15] AllMusic states that he has the "reputation as hip hop's greatest storyteller."[2] In the book Check the Technique, Slick Rick says, "I was never the type to say freestyle raps, I usually tell a story, and to do that well I've always had to work things out beforehand."[16] Kool Moe Dee comments, "Slick Rick raised the lost art of hip hop storytelling to a level never seen again."[17] Devin the Dude notes that Slick Rick's 'Indian Girl' is a good example of the type of humor that existed in hip hop's golden era,[18] and Peter Shapiro says that "he was funnier than Rudy Ray Moore or Redd Foxx."[14]

Slick Rick uses very clear enunciation and raps with the "Queen's English".[14] O.C. states: "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick is one of the greatest albums ever… the stuff he was just saying on there, it was so clear… the [clear] syllable dude was Slick Rick for me".[19] He is also renowned for his unique "smooth, British-tinged flow"[16] which contains distinct structures. In the book How to Rap, it is noted that on the song 'I Own America', he "puts a rest on almost every other 1 beat so that each set of two lines begins with a rest."[20] Kool Moe Dee stated that, "Rick accomplished being totally original at a time when most MCs were using very similar cadences."[21] He has what is described as "singsong cadences";[2] Andy Cat of Ugly Duckling mentions that Slick Rick uses a melodic delivery on the track 'Hey Young World'.[22] Slick Rick is also known to extensively use punch ins, especially in his story rhymes as different characters;[23] Kool Moe Dee says Rick used "multi-voices to portray multiple characters."[17]

References in popular culture

Slick Rick has been referenced in numerous songs:

Discography

References

  1. ↑ David Drake, Insanul Ahmed (October 19, 2012). "The 30 Biggest Criminal Trials in Rap History: The People of the State of New York v. Richard Walters (1990)". Complex.
  2. 1 2 3 Huey, Steve. "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  3. ↑ "50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987 - 2007)". Rap.about.com. 1999-02-15. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  4. ↑ "The Source's Top 50 Lyricists Of All Time ," thisis50.com, July 7, 2012.
  5. ↑ Bush, John. "Slick Rick Biography". allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  6. 1 2 David Gonzalez, "At 50, a Hip-Hop Pioneer Still Has Stories to Tell," New York Times, February 8, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Sewell Chan, "Governor Pardons Hip-Hop Pioneer," New York Times, May 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Slick Rick Interview". "The Show". youtube.com. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  9. ↑ "Slick Rick regains legal status". CNN.com (Cable News Network LP). Associated Press. 2003-11-04. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved 2004-05-24.
  10. ↑ Patel, Joseph (2003-11-07). "The Great Adventures Can Resume: Slick Rick Is A Free Man". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  11. ↑ Jeffries, Alexis (18 October 2006). "Slick Rick Facing Deportation, Again". Vibe. Vibe Media Group, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  12. ↑ "Hip-hop pioneer 'Slick Rick' pardoned". ABC News. Associated Press. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  13. ↑ "Soul Rebels at the Howard Theatre". Thehowardtheatre.com. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 Shapiro, Peter. The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop, 2nd Edition, Penguin, 2005, p.336.
  15. ↑ Shapiro, Peter, 2005, The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop, 2nd Edition, Penguin, p. 337.
  16. 1 2 Coleman, Brian. Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies. New York: Villard/Random House, 2007, p. 319.
  17. 1 2 Kool Moe Dee. There's A God On The Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003, p.63.
  18. ↑ Edwards, Paul. How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, 2009, p. 39.
  19. ↑ Edwards, Paul, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, 2009, p. 244.
  20. ↑ Edwards, Paul, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, 2009, p. 129.
  21. ↑ Kool Moe Dee. There's A God On The Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2003, p.64.
  22. ↑ Edwards, Paul. How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, 2009, p. 253.
  23. ↑ Edwards, Paul. How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, 2009, p. 276.

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