Videos: Slick Rick
Cuz It's Wrong
Hey Young World
I Shouldn't Have Done It
Mistakes
Sittin' In My Car
Street Talkin'
Teenage Love
Richard Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known by his stage name Slick Rick (also known as MC Ricky D and Rick the Ruler) is a Grammy-nominated British American rapper. He began his career in late 1983, in the hip hop genre, where he recorded a series of acclaimed recordings such as, "Children's Story", "La Di Da Di" and "Hey Young World." Walters is best known for his British accent and his story telling innovations in this genre. His music has been frequently sampled and interpolated by other artists such as, TLC, Black Star, and Snoop Dogg; with many of these songs later becoming hit singles. Slick Rick rose to stardom in an era known to fans as the Golden age hip hop.Originally from Mitcham in London, England, Walters moved with his British Jamaican family to The Bronx in 1975 where he met Dana Dane with whom he later formed a hip hop duo known as the Kangol Crew. Walters received his characteristic eye patch after being blinded in the right eye by broken glass as an infant.[1] Once he gained a degree of wealth, Walters earned a reputation for wearing the eye patch over his right eye, and a significant amount of gold and diamond jewelry.
He first gained success in the rap industry by joining Doug E. Fresh's Get Fresh Crew, with the stage name MC Ricky D. He was featured on two singles, "The Show" and "La Di Da Di". "La Di Da Di" featured Walters' rapping over Doug E. Fresh's beatbox. These singles gained some mainstream attention. 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". These are now some of Walters' best known songs.
In 1990, Walters shot a bystander and his cousin whom he had hired as a bodyguard and who later admitted to having Walters shot outside a club. Walters was indicted on two counts of attempted murder and plead 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 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 bailed out by Russell Simmons, head of Def Jam records. After being bailed out Walters recorded his second album, The Ruler's Back. The album got mixed reviews and wasn't as commercially successful as his debut. In the documentary film, The Show, Russell Simmons interviews Walters while he was a prisoner on Rikers Island.[citation needed]
Walters third studio album Behind Bars was released while he was still incarcerated. It was met with lukewarm sales and reviews. After being 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. On October 6, 2008, Rick was honoured on the VH1 Hip Hop Honors show.
"La Di Da Di", "Mona Lisa" and "Children's Story" are among Walters most well known songs, with "La Di Da Di" being covered nearly word-for-word by Snoop Dogg on his 1993 album Doggystyle. Lines from "La Di Da Di" were borrowed by other multiple high profile artists. "Children's Story" was sampled by Montell Jordan for his 1995 hit, "This Is How We Do It", and rapper Everlast covered the song for his album Eat at Whitey's. Rapper Eminem also borrowed from the song extensively in his diss track "Can-I-Bitch". "Children's Story" was covered with similar lyrics by the MC duo Black Star on their 1998 album "Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star", as well as by Tricky on the album Nearly God. It was also paid tribute to by A Tribe Called Quest on their song "8 Million Stories". With a similar and very similar lyrics, rapper The Game also made a similar song which was named "Compton Story". "Compton Story" was on the Mixtape BWS Radio 5 made in 2008. The chorus of Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Hypnotize" is also derived from "La Di Da Di".
[edit] Rapping styleSlick Rick’s style is commended by music critics - music journalist Peter Shapiro says, “‘La Di Da Di' 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.”[2]
He is largely known for his story raps, such as ‘Children’s Story’ and ‘La Di Da Di' – “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.”[3] - Allmusic states that he has the “reputation as hip hop's greatest storyteller.”[4] 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.”[5] Kool Moe Dee comments, “Slick Rick raised the lost art of hip hop storytelling to a level never seen again.”[6] 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,[7] and Peter Shapiro says that “he was funnier than Rudy Ray Moore or Red Foxx”[8]
Slick Rick uses very clear enunciation and raps with the “Queen’s English”.[9] 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”.[10] He is also renowned for his unique “smooth, British-tinged flow”[11] 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,”.[12] Kool Moe Dee states that, “Rick accomplished being totally original at a time when most MCs were using very similar cadences.”[13] He has what is described as “singsong cadences”[14] - Andy Cat of Ugly Duckling mentions that Slick Rick uses a melodic delivery on the track ‘Hey Young World’.[15] Slick Rick is also known to extensively use punch ins, especially in his story rhymes as different characters[16] - Kool Moe Dee says Rick used “multi-voices to portray multiple characters.”[17]
[edit] Personal lifeAfter 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 because he was a British citizen since he had been born in London and moved to the States as a youth. In 1996, a law was passed which called for foreigners convicted of violent felonies to be deported, a ruling which was more vigorously enforced amid heightened security concerns after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Rick was continuously refused bail, but after 17 months in prison he was released on November 7, 2003.[18][19]
Rumours suggested that Walters planned to release a new album, "The Adventure Continues," in 2007. However, in a recent XXL Magazine interview, he denied the claim.[20] Rick is supposedly "waiting for a market to open up for a mature audience."
In October 2006, the Department of Homeland Security began a new attempt to deport Walters,[21] 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 Gov. David Paterson granted Slick Rick a full and unconditional pardon on the attempted murder charges.[22] The governor was pleased with his behavior since the mishap. He has volunteered his time to mentor youths about violence.[23][dead link]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums* The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
o Released: November 3, 1988
o Billboard 200 chart position: #31
o R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #1
o Last RIAA Certification: Platinum[24]
o Singles: "Teenage Love", "Children's Story" & "Hey Young World"* The Ruler's Back
o Released: July 2, 1991
o Billboard 200 chart position: #29
o R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #18
o Last RIAA Certification: None
o Singles: " A Woman in Love With Other Men", "It's A Boy" & "I Shouldn't Have Done It"* Behind Bars
o Released: November 22, 1994
o Billboard 200 chart position: #51
o R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #11
o Last RIAA Certification: None
o Singles: "Behind Bars" & "Sittin' In My Car"* The Art of Storytelling
o Released: May 25, 1999
o Billboard 200 chart position: #8
o R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #1
o Last RIAA Certification: Gold[25]
o Singles: "Street Talkin'"[edit] Singles
Year Single Chart positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap
1988 "Children's Story" - 5 2 The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
" Hey Young World" - 42 17
" Teenage Love" - 16 8
1991 "I Shouldn't Have Done It" - 50 2 The Ruler's Back
" Mistakes of a Woman in Love with Other Men" - - -
" It's a Boy" - - -
1994 "Behind Bars" 87 63 12 Behind Bars
1995 "Sittin' in My Car" - 56 11
1999 "Street Talkin'" - 65 22 The Art of Storytelling
[edit] Featured Singles
Year Single Chart positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK
1996 "I Like" (Montell Jordan featuring Slick Rick) 28 11 - 24 The Nutty Professor soundtrack
1999 "Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)" (Outkast featuring Slick Rick) - 67 - - Aquemini
2001 "Girls, Girls, Girls" (Jay-Z featuring Slick Rick, Q-Tip & Biz Markie)* 15 4 9 11 The Blueprint
2007 "Hip Hop Police" (Chamillionaire featuring Slick Rick) 101 76 - 50 Ultimate Victory
[edit] Appearances* 1986: "The Show (Oh My God! Remix)" (from the Doug E Fresh album Oh My God!)
* 1989: "If I'm Not Your Lover (12" remix from the Al B. Sure! album In Effect Mode)
* 1991: "Get Bizzy" (from the Greyson & Jaysun album Livin Like a Troopa)
* 1994: "Let's All Get Down" (from the Nice & Smooth album Jewel of the Nile)
* 1994: "Move On..." (from the compilation The Show (Original Soundtrack))
* 1996: I Like (From the Montell Jordan album More)
* 1996: "Got To Give It Up" (from the Aaliyah album One in a Million)
* 1997: "Just Another Case" (from the CRU album Da Dirty 30)
* 1998: "Fresh" (from the Jermaine Dupri album Life In 1472)
* 1998: "Faces Of Def" (bonus track on Jayo Felony's Watcha Gonna Do?)
* 1998: "Unify" (from the Kid Capri album Soundtrack to the Streets)
* 1998: "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" (from WWF Aggression with Ice-T & Charles Wright)
* 1999: "If We Give You A Chance" (from the Warren G album I Want It All)
* 1999: "Your Moms House"
* 1999: "Night Riders" (from the Rahzel album Make The Music 2000)
* 1999: "So Fresh" (from the Will Smith album Willennium)
* 1999: "Don't Come My Way" (from the Whiteboys soundtrack with Common)
* 1999: "Da Art of Storytellin' (Pt. 1)" (from the OutKast album Aquemini)
* 2000: "Why Not" (from the Erick Sermon album Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis)
* 2001: "What We Do (For Love)" (from the De La Soul album AOI: Bionix)
* 2001: "Pie" (from WWF The Music, Vol. 5 with The Rock)
* 2001: "Girls, Girls, Girls" (from the Jay-Z album The Blueprint)
* 2001: "Guidance Counselor"(from the Little-T And One Track Mike album Fome Is Dape)
* 2001: "Hey Young World, Part 2" (from the Macy Gray album The Id)
* 2002: "Women Lose Weight" (from the Morcheeba album Charango)
* 2004: "The Return (Remix)" (from the Jay-Z/R. Kelly album Unfinished Business)
* 2005: Performs live for Vox Entertainment @ Club Strata NYC
* 2005: "The Sun" (from the Ghostface Killah album Put It on the Line)
* 2005: "Irresistible Delicious" (from the Missy Elliott album The Cookbook)
* 2006: "Vows" (from the Juggaknots album Use Your Confusion)
* 2007: "Hip Hop Police" (from the Chamillionaire album Ultimate Victory)
* 2008: "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" (Honoree)
* 2009: "Y.O.U." (from the Asher Roth album Asleep in the Bread Aisle - UK bonus track)
* 2009: "Auditorium" (from the Mos Def album The Ecstatic)
* 2009: "We Will Rob You" (from the Raekwon album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II)
* 2009: "Family Jewels" (from the Dynas album The Apartment)
* 2010: "Rock The Bells 2010" (from album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick)[edit] Filmography
* Backstage appearance on Jay-Z's Fade to Black DVD.
* Cameo in Ludacris's music video for the single, "Number One Spot".
* Cameo, wearing his excessive jewelry in the New York Shit music video (2:56) by Busta Rhymes featuring Swizz Beatz.
* Himself in the game Def Jam: Fight for NY.
* Drug kingpin in the 1999 movie Whiteboyz, co-starring fellow rappers Doug E. Fresh, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Dead Prez and Mic Geronimo.
* Cameo in the film Brown Sugar, which starred Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan.
* Himself in the seminal Run DMC film, Tougher Than Leather, performing the song Treat Her Like a Prostitute.
* Interviewee in 1995 documentary The Show
* Opened Chris Rock's Apollo Theatre comedy Show Bigger & Blacker