Slick Rick

Slick Rick (born January 14, 1965) is an East Coast rapper, known for a series of hip hop recordings during the 1980s. Born Richard Walters in South Wimbledon, London, England, he was blinded by broken glass as an infant and took to wearing an eyepatch from an early age. Walters moved with his family to the Bronx in 1975. Charlie Rock of Harlem World crew was instrumental in bringing Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh together when Doug requested an introduction after he had seen him win local MC battle contests. It was at an MC contest at the 369 Armory on 142nd street in Harlem, given by promotion partners Ray Chandler & Charlie Rock, The Rick & Doug were formally introduced by Rock. As a 20-year-old in the summer of 1985 he scored his first big hits, "La Di Da Di" and "The Show." Slick Rick released The Great Adventures of Slick Rick in 1988 while living in New York City. Children's Story, which appears on The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, is one of the most famous in rap and hip-hop and has been covered by Black Star (comprised of Mos Def and Talib Kweli) and Everlast. The album attained platinum status, but Walters was unable to exploit this due to an arrest for attempted murder. He shot his cousin and a bystander, accusing his cousin of extorting money. Russell Simmons, head of Def Jam records, bailed him out and Walters quickly recorded The Ruler's Back before spending five years in prison. "La Di Da Di", "Mona Lisa" and Children's Story are among his best known songs, with "La Di Da Di" being covered nearly word-for-word by Snoop Dogg on his 1993 album Doggystyle. When Walters was released in 1994, he immediately recorded Behind Bars. On May 25, 1999, Slick Rick released his fourth album entitled The Art Of Storytelling on the Def Jam label. The album featured Nas, OutKast, Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Kid Capri, Canibus, and Doug E. Fresh. In June 2002, after performing on a Caribbean cruise ship, Walters was arrested by the then INS as he re-entered the United States through Florida. He was promptly told that he was being deported because he was technically a British citizen; he had been born in London to American parents 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 practiced in the hightened security concerns after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Walters was continuously refused bail, but after 17 months in prison he was released on November 7th 2003. Walters's music was often criticized for perceived misogyny; however, his lyrics are relatively tame compared to those of his successors.