Four decades after he dazzled hip-hop fans across the globe with “La-Di-Da-Di,” his witty and unapologetically raunchy solo showcase for Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew, Slick Rick’s legacy as a masterful storyteller, pioneering melodic rapper, and style icon remains secure.
Slick Rick emerged during the early years of hip-hop’s vaunted golden age. He was a platinum-selling solo star in an era defined by world-conquering groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A. Just like his peers, Slick Rick created sounds mimicked in the decades since, whether it’s Snoop Dogg rewriting “La-Di-Da-Di” as “Lodi Dodi,” or Future, Young Thug and Lil Uzi Vert harmonizing in a flow reminiscent of Ricky D on Doug E. Fresh’s “The Show.” According to the website WhoSampled, Slick Rick’s voice and music have been used more than 1,800 times, making him one of the most sampled hip-hop artists in history.
Rick raps in a droll, leisurely cadence with a heavy British accent and an unforgettably nasal voice, and sometimes swerves into cartoony vocal tones. His classic single about a stick-up kid on the run, “Children’s Story,” swings between slapstick humor and unexpected tragedy. “Cops shot the kid, I can still hear him scream,” he raps. Then there’s “Hey Young World,” one of the most affecting and moving songs in the genre’s history, on which he dispenses wisdom to troubled youth with gentle yet firm verses. “Believe it or not, the Lord still shines on you.”
Born Ricky Walters in 1965 to a Jamaican family, he immigrated from London to the Bronx in 1976. His famed eyepatch is the result of a childhood accident. While attending Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, he formed the Kangol Crew with Dana Dane.
Walters initially called himself Ricky D when he joined beatboxer and rapper Doug E. Fresh’s Get Fresh Crew in 1984. The group’s debut 12-inch, “The Show” b/w “La-Di-Da-Di,” was inescapable on Black music radio stations between 1985 and 1986. The single was eventually certified gold, a major accomplishment for a record that never cracked the Billboard Hot 100. Slick Rick signed with Def Jam as a solo artist and in 1988 released his debut masterwork, The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick, yielding breakout singles like “Children’s Story,” “Hey Young World” and “Teenage Love.”
At the height of his success, a dispute with a cousin led to violence and a prison sentence. Bailed out by Def Jam’s Russell Simmons, Rick recorded a second album, 1991’s The Ruler’s Back, highlighted by the rap hit “I Shouldn’t Have Done It” before being convicted and sentenced to years in prison. A third album, Behind Bars, was constructed from verses completed during furloughs and work-release programs. Its highlight is the title track, which boasts jazzy, contemplative production from Warren G and Rick’s softly poignant lyrics about life in the slammer.
Despite being a hip-hop elder statesman upon completion of his sentence, Slick Rick quickly appeared on Outkast’s “Da Art of Storytellin,’ Pt. 1.” A fourth album, 1999’s gold-selling The Art of Storytelling, proved that interest in his work remained high. Unlike many of his peers, Slick Rick has continued to score high-profile cameos in recent years, from JAY-Z’s hit “Girls, Girls, Girls” to collaborations with Mariah Carey, Mos Def, Black Eyed Peas, and Missy Elliott. His style seems ageless, and representative of a throughline between hip-hop’s mythic New York past and its global present.