Slick Rick is a 60 year old MC from New York City by way of London, England, United Kingdom becoming the 3rd artist to sign with Def Jam Recordings over 4 decades ago. His debut The Great Adventures of Slick Rick became a golden age landmark cementing Rick the Ruler one of the greatest storytellers hip hop has ever heard. The Ruler’s Back would be received more moderately & Behind Bars was a dope venting session of his time incarcerated. It’s been over 26 years since his 2nd best work The Art of Storytelling fulfilled his Def Jam contact & has opted to sign with Mass Appeal Records for his long-awaited 5th LP overseen by actor Idris Elba set to appear in A24 Films’ upcoming TV adaption of Things Fall Apart. Couple more noteworthy things to get off my chest here & first is the announcement of Mark Kerr now to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in light of his upcoming biopic that I’m anticipating in the fall The Smashing Machine with Mark being played by 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, United Football League (UFL) co-owner, TKO Group Holdings board of directors member, co-founder of $7 Productions & the final boss of professional wrestling himself The Rock of The Rock ‘n’ Soul Connection with the current record breaking 17-time WWE world champion John Cena accompanied by the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott. Speaking of the UFL since I’m at it for the fuck of it, the last thing I wanna say before finally diving into the music is I hope my hometown team the Michigan Panthers defeat the XFL conference champion DC Defenders in the Championship game this upcoming Sunday.
After the intro, the first song “Stress” featuring Giggs has a vintage old school vibe to the beat talking about feeling lonely & needing to be consoled whereas the self-produced “Angelic” flexes the higher-ups still studying “La-Di-Da-Di” to this very day justified by how much it’s been sampled or covered. “Foreign” suggests you peep the home increasing on him & the amount of individuals sleeping on him since he’s been gone leading into the “I Did That” interlude.
“Come On Let’s Go” goes for a hip house direction instrumentally grabbing his coat in spite of him having to go to work in a few hours right when things were getting hot while “Landlord” explains the occupation of owning property in New York these days isn’t easy whatsoever. After the “Mother Teresa” interlude, “Spirit to Cry” briefly discusses those wanting his soul to meet it’s demise just before “Documents” featuring Nas talks about being watched as if they’re top agent shoguns.
The piano-driven boom bap flare of “So You’re Having My Baby” suits it’s concept of getting a woman pregnant with her saying it’s his child while “Cuz I’m Here” gets back on the hip house tip observing all the honeys who came out to have fun. After the “Matrix” interlude, “We’re Not Losing” advises to keep it moving like him when taking Ls with the beat reminiscent to RZA’s production work 3 decades ago & “Another Great Adventure” produced by Q-Tip ends with a funky homage to his 1988 debut.
Reflecting where the Ruler’s been this past quarter of a century & where he’s going hereon out, Victory kicks off the Legend Has It series by reintroducing a pioneer to this next generation of hip hop fans who can still rock the mic like he did on his Who Made the Sunshine? appearances at the beginning of the decade. The production palatably blends hip house, funk, boom bap & hip hop’s golden age to backdrop Slick Rick’s themes of perseverance, storytelling, imagination & evolution.
Hip-hop legend Slick Rick has revealed the official cover image for his upcoming visual album, VICTORY, captured by renowned photographer Jonathan Mannion. The announcement marks a historic reunion between the…
Hip-hop royalty Slick Rick is back. The legendary storyteller and cultural icon has announced Victory, his first new album in more than 25 years — a bold, genre-bending visual project…
On this date thirty six ago, Hip-Hop’s greatest storyteller Slick Rick dropped his debut LP The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick on the Def Jam imprint.
MC Ricky D came on the scene with the “Original Human Beat Box” Doug E. Fresh in 1985 with the party anthem “The Show” and the X-rated flip side “La Di Da Di”. His highly anticipated debut LP is one of Hip Hop’s iconic projects that presented a concept, maintained a tempo with timeless lyrics and unforgettable beats courtesy of The Bomb Squad and Rick himself.
Being one of the few albums in the history of The Source that received the coveted Five Mics, it’s hard to pinpoint just a handful tracks that made the album stand out, however, there are some all-time favorites that still ring relevant three decades later. Storytelling tracks like “The Moment I Feared,” “Treat Her Like A Prostitute” and “Indian Girl” were reminiscent of his “La Di Da Di” days of X-rated rap. Rick served up some classic songs that are still bangin’ in the clubs to this day, including “Children’s Story”, “Mona Lisa” and the epic “Young World”.
Salute The Ruler, his DJ Vance Wright, Rick Rubin, The Bomb Squad and the entire Def Jam squad from the heyday for this timeless classic!
Slick Rick was, and still is, one of the greatest storytellers in hip-hop history. After the promotion and success of his first album, The Adventures of Slick Rick, the British MC continued his ascent to stardom with his sophomore effort The Ruler’s Back.
Slick Rick’s second album was finished quickly because he was hit with a five-year stint behind bars. The first hit single off the album was “I Shouldn’t Have Done It,” reaching number two on the Hot Rap Charts.
Following “I Shouldn’t Have Done It,” Slick Rick released the singles “Mistakes of a Woman in Love With Other Men” and “It’s A Boy.” The project also features production from Mr. Lee and Slick Rick himself. Russell Simmons served as executive producer.
On this date in 2008, Governor David Paterson of New York gave a full and unconditional pardon to Hip Hop icon Ricky “Slick Rick” Walters for attempted murder and weapons convictions to help him avoid deportation.
In 1991, Slick Rick plead guilty to two counts of attempted murder and eight other illegal weapons charges for shooting his cousin and another man, leaving him to serve six years out of a ten-year sentence in a New York State Prison. He was released from prison in 1997 and discharged from parole supervision in 2000. Since then, Walters has been fighting deportation for his convictions.
“Mr. Walters has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his convictions, had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison and on parole, and has been living without incident in the community for more than 10 years,” Paterson said in a statement on May 23, 2008. “In that time, he has volunteered at youth outreach programs to counsel youth against violence, and has become a symbol of rehabilitation for many young people.”
Paterson urged immigration officials to grant 43-year-old Walters “relief from deportation” so he is not separated from his wife Mandy and their two teenage children.
Under federal law, legal immigrants of the United States convicted of an aggravated felony or a weapon offense must be deported. For certain offenses, deportation can be avoided by a Governor’s pardon, but for weapon offenses, a non-citizen must make an appeal before an immigration court.
Beenie Man will forever go down in history as one of the greatest dancehall artists to ever do it.
Best known for his timeless smashes such as “Girls Dem Sugar” featuring Mya, “King of Dancehall,” and “Who Am I (Sim Simma),” the Jamaican recording artist and DJ continues to bless audiences all around the world with his feel-good music and energy.
Thanks to the power of social media, Beanie Man’s “Who Am I” released back in 1997 recently saw a resurgence, with big name celebrities all participating in the #SimSimmaChallenge. Most notably, La La Anthony FaceTimed all her friends including Kim Kardashian, Kelly Rowland, and Ciara — initiating the challenge by saying the first two words of the chorus, “Sim Simma,” and waiting for them to finish the rest of the lyrics: “who got the keys to my Bimmer!”
And now, after seven years since his last full-length album, Beanie Man blesses his fans with Simma. The highly-anticipated project sees Beenie Man reuniting with Mya on “Docta,” along with standout features from Giggs, Shenseea, Patoranking, and more.
The Source caught up with Beenie Man via Instagram Live, who had just gotten off a plane after performing in Costa Rica and Belize. Read below as we discuss the new project, reuniting with Mya, working with Giggs, “Who Am I” resurfacing, falling in love with Hip-Hop thanks to Slick Rick, working with Nicki Minaj, and more!
This is your first album in 7 years, why is now the right time?
Now is the right time because music needed me. Because where Dancehall is right now, it’s not in its best point. It’s not the strongest point right now, because dancehall has been reduced to other music and people are starting to do other things. Afrobeat popped off, Hip-Hop popped off, R&B popped off. Dancehall needs good music right now, so it’s the right time.
What inspired the album cover art? I love that the goat just walked into the shot.
[laughs] That’s wicked. This is greatness, it’s something that comes. Greatness is greatness. You cannot pay for greatness. I am here to taking a picture, and this goat is welcome. That’s greatness.
You’re the “King of Dancehall.” Who’s the Queen of Dancehall?
Queen of Dancehall is Spice.
“Girls Dem Sugar” was such a timeless record. talk about reuniting with Mya on “Docta.”
Mya, she’s kind of my nurse. When it comes to music, me and her get together to do music, it’s always a beautiful sound. Always one of them sounds we can listen to, write to, dance to. One of them sounds we can be ourselves with. This song “Docta” is wicked, I love it. When I sent it to her, I never expected that from her. But I expect everything because it’s greatness, and there’s nothing you can do about grades.
I was watching the music video for “Girls Dem Sugar,” also iconic. Best memory from that moment?
Best memory was the idea of making the song in the first place, because we’re always in the studio with The Neptunes. I started to sing, then I came up with the idea that we need somebody to sing a hook. Pharrell decides that he can get Mya. I said okay, let’s see great you are. Mya popped off. The rest is history.
I love that you got Giggs on the record, I’m a huge fan. How did you guys end up collaborating?
You see, there are different artists. You have veterans, then you have young artists. You have artists that just come, or artists who have been there. Giggs is an artist that’s been there. I respect Giggs and he respects me the same way, we get in the studio and sound just makes. Two of us speak for ourselves. When we get together, we just make the music.
Because Giggs was supposed to have 3 days to make his part of the record. I went to the studio to make my part of the record one time, so Giggs is not having that. He’s not walking out here with that sound without me in it. Just record one time. I really appreciate that. I like when artists put their creative thinking together. Know that yes, I can do this. Not tomorrow, not next week. I can do the studio right now. I really appreciate that with Giggs, he did that. He knocked it out one time.
How’d you link with Shenseea on “Fitness Instructor”?
I linked with Shenseea a long long long time ago, before she became the person that she is today. Long long long time. She was so young. She decides “okay, I’m gonna take on this music business.” She came to us first, then she went to Grammys. We’ve known Shenseea long time. We are friends long time.
How does it feel to have “Who Am I” revived on social media? Did you expect that?
It’s not what you’re expecting, it’s what’s happening. You don’t expect “Sim Simma” to come back after 25 years. You don’t expect that. Bam! Right back at you, right in your face. Right there. People are running the challenge and asking people walking past you: “Sim Simma!” And expect people to say “who got the keys to the Bimmer”? It’s a great thing. It’s a great feeling, because that’s why you make music that lasts forever. You don’t make music that lasts for 6 months.
Back when that song was released, we didn’t really have TikTok and all that. Are you active on these social media apps?
Me, I don’t have a phone. I don’t do phone because sometimes you’re up 3 in the morning and somebody calls you like “hello? Are you alright?” 3 or 4 in the morning: “how are you doing?” I can’t do that.
How long have you not had a phone?
I haven’t had a phone for years. A lot of years. For those who know me know. For those who don’t don’t.
So how did they contact you?
Well, my girlfriend has a phone. My son has a phone, my daughter has a phone. My next kid has a phone. Everybody that’s around me has a phone. As long as they got that number, they got my number.
I respect that because that means you’re living in the moment.
Yeah. I’m living in the time. [laughs]
Shout out to Waka Flocka, he called you the GOAT.
Ah, thank you.
How did it feel to be on the airplane and everyone started singing the song?
Every plane I come on, people do that. It’s the first time I get captured. [laughs] People do that every time, every plane I’m on. You see, I fly first class. My band is in the back of the plane, but I don’t like to be in first class by myself sometimes when I’m trying to lounge. Coming from England, coming from Germany, I’ll be in the back of the plane. But that alwayshappens to me, someone just caught it.
It’s a beautiful moment!
It’s always a beautiful moment when the fans back you up and sing something of yours.
Hip-Hop celebrates 50 years this year. What was the moment you fell in love with Hip-Hop?
Seriously. My first Hip-Hop artist was Slick Rick. “Six minutes, six minutes, six minutes Doug E Fresh you’re on.” [raps “The Show”] “La-di-da-di, we like to party. We don’t cause trouble, we don’t bother nobody. We’re, just some men that’s on the mic, and when we rock upon the mic we rock the mic right.” [raps “La Di Da Di”] That’s when I first fell in love with it.
How was it seeing Nicki Minaj dance to your music recently?
Nicki Minaj always dancing to my music. [laughs] Any fan of mine is a Nicki Minaj fan too.
What’s the story behind “Gun Shot”?
That’s a funny story. She did a song, then she wanted a badman verse. She said “come get a badman.” [laughs] “Fix it.” She actually loved it. That was funny. She wanted a badman verse and she said “come give it to me.”
Someone asked why Bounty Killer isn’t on the album.
Oh, because he’s making his own album. He’s putting out his own album, so it wasn’t the right time right now. He’s working, I’m working.
Beenie Man will forever go down in history as one of the greatest dancehall artists to ever do it.
Best known for his timeless smashes such as “Girls Dem Sugar” featuring Mya, “King of Dancehall,” and “Who Am I (Sim Simma),” the Jamaican recording artist and DJ continues to bless audiences all around the world with his feel-good music and energy.
Thanks to the power of social media, Beanie Man’s “Who Am I” released back in 1997 recently saw a resurgence, with big name celebrities all participating in the #SimSimmaChallenge. Most notably, La La Anthony FaceTimed all her friends including Kim Kardashian, Kelly Rowland, and Ciara — initiating the challenge by saying the first two words of the chorus, “Sim Simma,” and waiting for them to finish the rest of the lyrics: “who got the keys to my Bimmer!”
And now, after seven years since his last full-length album, Beanie Man blesses his fans with Simma. The highly-anticipated project sees Beenie Man reuniting with Mya on “Docta,” along with standout features from Giggs, Shenseea, Patoranking, and more.
The Source caught up with Beenie Man via Instagram Live, who had just gotten off a plane after performing in Costa Rica and Belize. Read below as we discuss the new project, reuniting with Mya, working with Giggs, “Who Am I” resurfacing, falling in love with Hip-Hop thanks to Slick Rick, working with Nicki Minaj, and more!
This is your first album in 7 years, why is now the right time?
Now is the right time because music needed me. Because where Dancehall is right now, it’s not in its best point. It’s not the strongest point right now, because dancehall has been reduced to other music and people are starting to do other things. Afrobeat popped off, Hip-Hop popped off, R&B popped off. Dancehall needs good music right now, so it’s the right time.
What inspired the album cover art? I love that the goat just walked into the shot.
[laughs] That’s wicked. This is greatness, it’s something that comes. Greatness is greatness. You cannot pay for greatness. I am here to taking a picture, and this goat is welcome. That’s greatness.
You’re the “King of Dancehall.” Who’s the Queen of Dancehall?
Queen of Dancehall is Spice.
“Girls Dem Sugar” was such a timeless record. talk about reuniting with Mya on “Docta.”
Mya, she’s kind of my nurse. When it comes to music, me and her get together to do music, it’s always a beautiful sound. Always one of them sounds we can listen to, write to, dance to. One of them sounds we can be ourselves with. This song “Docta” is wicked, I love it. When I sent it to her, I never expected that from her. But I expect everything because it’s greatness, and there’s nothing you can do about grades.
I was watching the music video for “Girls Dem Sugar,” also iconic. Best memory from that moment?
Best memory was the idea of making the song in the first place, because we’re always in the studio with The Neptunes. I started to sing, then I came up with the idea that we need somebody to sing a hook. Pharrell decides that he can get Mya. I said okay, let’s see great you are. Mya popped off. The rest is history.
I love that you got Giggs on the record, I’m a huge fan. How did you guys end up collaborating?
You see, there are different artists. You have veterans, then you have young artists. You have artists that just come, or artists who have been there. Giggs is an artist that’s been there. I respect Giggs and he respects me the same way, we get in the studio and sound just makes. Two of us speak for ourselves. When we get together, we just make the music.
Because Giggs was supposed to have 3 days to make his part of the record. I went to the studio to make my part of the record one time, so Giggs is not having that. He’s not walking out here with that sound without me in it. Just record one time. I really appreciate that. I like when artists put their creative thinking together. Know that yes, I can do this. Not tomorrow, not next week. I can do the studio right now. I really appreciate that with Giggs, he did that. He knocked it out one time.
How’d you link with Shenseea on “Fitness Instructor”?
I linked with Shenseea a long long long time ago, before she became the person that she is today. Long long long time. She was so young. She decides “okay, I’m gonna take on this music business.” She came to us first, then she went to Grammys. We’ve known Shenseea long time. We are friends long time.
How does it feel to have “Who Am I” revived on social media? Did you expect that?
It’s not what you’re expecting, it’s what’s happening. You don’t expect “Sim Simma” to come back after 25 years. You don’t expect that. Bam! Right back at you, right in your face. Right there. People are running the challenge and asking people walking past you: “Sim Simma!” And expect people to say “who got the keys to the Bimmer”? It’s a great thing. It’s a great feeling, because that’s why you make music that lasts forever. You don’t make music that lasts for 6 months.
Back when that song was released, we didn’t really have TikTok and all that. Are you active on these social media apps?
Me, I don’t have a phone. I don’t do phone because sometimes you’re up 3 in the morning and somebody calls you like “hello? Are you alright?” 3 or 4 in the morning: “how are you doing?” I can’t do that.
How long have you not had a phone?
I haven’t had a phone for years. A lot of years. For those who know me know. For those who don’t don’t.
So how did they contact you?
Well, my girlfriend has a phone. My son has a phone, my daughter has a phone. My next kid has a phone. Everybody that’s around me has a phone. As long as they got that number, they got my number.
I respect that because that means you’re living in the moment.
Yeah. I’m living in the time. [laughs]
Shout out to Waka Flocka, he called you the GOAT.
Ah, thank you.
How did it feel to be on the airplane and everyone started singing the song?
Every plane I come on, people do that. It’s the first time I get captured. [laughs] People do that every time, every plane I’m on. You see, I fly first class. My band is in the back of the plane, but I don’t like to be in first class by myself sometimes when I’m trying to lounge. Coming from England, coming from Germany, I’ll be in the back of the plane. But that alwayshappens to me, someone just caught it.
It’s a beautiful moment!
It’s always a beautiful moment when the fans back you up and sing something of yours.
Hip-Hop celebrates 50 years this year. What was the moment you fell in love with Hip-Hop?
Seriously. My first Hip-Hop artist was Slick Rick. “Six minutes, six minutes, six minutes Doug E Fresh you’re on.” [raps “The Show”] “La-di-da-di, we like to party. We don’t cause trouble, we don’t bother nobody. We’re, just some men that’s on the mic, and when we rock upon the mic we rock the mic right.” [raps “La Di Da Di”] That’s when I first fell in love with it.
How was it seeing Nicki Minaj dance to your music recently?
Nicki Minaj always dancing to my music. [laughs] Any fan of mine is a Nicki Minaj fan too.
What’s the story behind “Gun Shot”?
That’s a funny story. She did a song, then she wanted a badman verse. She said “come get a badman.” [laughs] “Fix it.” She actually loved it. That was funny. She wanted a badman verse and she said “come give it to me.”
Someone asked why Bounty Killer isn’t on the album.
Oh, because he’s making his own album. He’s putting out his own album, so it wasn’t the right time right now. He’s working, I’m working.
Critically the album has been hailed as the only proper sequel to his breakthrough debut album, The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick. Due to continuous run-ins with the law, the public could never fully experience Slick Rick as an artist. For the same reason, the world will never know what his outstanding ability and outspoken persona could have done for Hip Hop culture. What is apparent is that when the master storyteller has the time, he can pen and deliver a masterpiece.
The Art of Storytelling was Slick Rick’s most commercially successful album, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop charts. The album even went gold during its first week of sales. True to the title, the album contains narratives that could only be crafted by the pen that scribed the famous “Children’s Story.” And although he has not strayed away from his signature rhetoric, The Art of Storytelling shows improvement and Slick Rick’s ability to stay relevant as far as his style blending with the famous sound of the time. This album deserves all accolades and is a proper farewell to Slick Rick as an album rapper.
Critically the album has been hailed as the only proper sequel to his breakthrough debut album, The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick. Due to continuous run-ins with the law, the public could never fully experience Slick Rick as an artist. For the same reason, the world will never know what his outstanding ability and outspoken persona could have done for Hip Hop culture. What is apparent is that when the master storyteller has the time, he can pen and deliver a masterpiece.
The Art of Storytelling was Slick Rick’s most commercially successful album, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop charts. The album even went gold during its first week of sales. True to the title, the album contains narratives that could only be crafted by the pen that scribed the famous “Children’s Story.” And although he has not strayed away from his signature rhetoric, The Art of Storytelling shows improvement and Slick Rick’s ability to stay relevant as far as his style blending with the famous sound of the time. This album deserves all accolades and is a proper farewell to Slick Rick as an album rapper.
