The New York and Los Angeles rappers Slick Rick believes set the hip-hop standard
Slick Rick has lived through it all, when it comes to hip-hop and its various phases.
While he was born in London, he and his family uprooted when he was 11 and ended up settling in the Bronx. This was in the mid- to late-’70s, a very special time in which to be growing up in the Bronx, of all places. It was here, during this era, that hip-hop itself was being developed.
The young Rick naturally became swept up in this exciting new culture, and, in time, he came to engage with it himself as a rapper. His talent was recognised by Doug E Fresh, a hip-hop pioneer otherwise known as the Human Beat Box, and he was invited into the fold of Doug’s Get Fresh crew.
Known initially as MC Ricky D, the young Rick got his recording career up and running in the mid-’80s as a contributor to Doug E Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew songs ‘The Show’ and ‘La Di Da Di,’ which gained a fair amount of attention for Rick. His voice and style was so distinct that people took notice.
As The Roots drummer and hip-hop aficionado, Questlove, once put it, “Point blank: Slick Rick’s voice was the most beautiful thing to happen to hip-hop culture.”
By the end of the decade, Slick Rick, as he was now calling himself, was ready to establish himself as a solo star. He released his debut album, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, in 1988, and it proved to be a big success. His particular knack for vivid story-telling was on display as never before, and the album proved hugely influential.
Rick continued to release albums as the 1990s set in, with The Ruler’s Back coming out 1991, Behind Bars following that in ’94, and The Art of Storytelling rounding off the decade in 1999. He had been a true fixture of hip-hop’s early decades, growing up alongside it and then becoming a major part of the culture in his own right.
Rick’s career went quiet throughout the new millennium, with the odd new release dropping here and there. But there was nothing substantial until 2025, when, at last, he released a new album. Victory, his fifth, was released on Idris Elba’s 7Wallace label and Mass Appeal Records in June.
As part of the promotion for that album, Slick Rick gave an interview to NME and the subject of hip-hop’s evolution came up. Given where he grew up and how long he has been in the game, his perspective on hip-hop is especially apt, and, according to him, there are certain stand-out performers from across the decades who have set the standard for others to follow.
Rick conceded that, while he was developing his style as a young rapper, hip-hop was still in its infancy. “But then came Wu-Tang Clan,” he said. “[Big Daddy] Kane, Rakim, Lauryn [Hill], Missy [Elliott] — all them cats raised the game.”
Rick also felt compelled to shout out Kendrick Lamar, too. “Wu-Tang, Rakim, Kendrick Lamar — they pushed the standard,” he insisted. “Once that bar’s set, anything below it? It just don’t move you the same. You gotta elevate or it fades into the background.”