Richard Walter a.k.a Slick Rick was born February 14, 1965 in London, England. Of Jamaican parentage, he moved to the US at age 11, and he later attended New York's High School of Music & Art. He already experienced his 5 minutes of rap fame by backing up doug E. Fresh for his masterpiece, "The Show", in 1985. Slick Rick was not the most enlightened of hip hop's rappers, as "Treat Her Like A Prostitute" on his debut album confirmed. He does, however, live up to his name on his more impressive numbers. These included his standard, "The Ruler". It was also impossible to argue with the superb production of Rich himself along side Jam Master Jay (Run DMC) and Jank Shocklee and Eric Sadler (The Bomb Squad). His second album was recorded in just 3 weeks while he was out of jail on bail, and facing up to 10 years for attempted murder (shooting his cousin and his friend, then undergoing a high speed car chase which ended in both him and his girlfriend breaking legs.) It continued the jazzy rhythms of his debut, which would attain platinum status in his adopted US homeland. However, Rick was subsequently jailed for the above offense, eventually serving 6 years of his sentence before being released in 1996. Despite being behind bars, Rick's confident, efficient half-sung delivery proved a powerful influence on subsequent rappers, including Snoop Doggy Dogg. He made his eagerly anticipated return in 1999 with the Us Top 10 album, "The Art of Storytelling'.
Bio written by: Precious_1 |
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