# Slick Rick
**Slick Rick** is the stage name of **Richard Martin Lloyd Walters** (born 1965), a British-American rapper born in London and raised in the Bronx who became one of hip-hop's defining storytellers, known for "La Di Da Di," "The Show," and the platinum 1988 debut album *The Great Adventures of Slick Rick*.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [2](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/02637538-a5ae-44c9-9af4-c703a17b21ec) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) The Guardian has called him the most-sampled hip-hop artist in history, and his method of voicing several characters within a single song shaped rap storytelling from the late 1980s onward.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) • [4](https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/1/11699/files/2016/10/Book-of-Rhymes-Chp-5-Storytelling-Adam-Bradley-1f3m7d4.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965, in South Wimbledon, London, to Jamaican parents; family moved to the Bronx in 1976, when he was 10 or 11[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) |
| Signature image | An eye patch covering a right eye injured by broken glass in childhood[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) |
| First fame | "The Show" and "La Di Da Di" with Doug E. Fresh's Get Fresh Crew, 1985; "The Show" sold 1 million copies in the US and reached the Top 10 in Britain[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) |
| Debut album | *The Great Adventures of Slick Rick* (1988, Def Jam), platinum, No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop chart[6](https://slickrickisart.com/about) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/c8e04a936301ba183b29191177056146) |
| Prison | Convicted of attempted murder in 1990 and sentenced to six years; released in 1996[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) |
| Immigration | Detained by immigration authorities in 2002 and faced deportation proceedings but was not deported; full pardon from New York governor David Paterson in 2008; American citizenship granted in 2016[5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-05-et-quick5.5-story.html) |
| Albums | *The Great Adventures of Slick Rick* (1988), *The Ruler's Back* (1991), *Behind Bars* (1994), *The Art of Storytelling* (1999), *Victory* (2025)[6](https://slickrickisart.com/about) • [8](https://music.apple.com/us/album/victory/1814636791) |
## Early life in London and the Bronx
Walters was born to Jamaican parents in the South Wimbledon district of London; the Guardian and the Recording Academy place the family home in Mitcham, in southwest London.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) His right eye was injured by glass from a broken window when he was two years old, according to the Recording Academy, and he began wearing an eye patch, an accessory that became part of his stage image.[5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) The family relocated to the Bronx in 1976, seeking a better life, when he was 10 or 11; Encyclopedia.com instead dates the move to the late 1970s, when he was 14.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick)
He attended New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, where he majored in visual art, and befriended the rapper Dana Dane; the two formed the Kangol Crew, named for the hats they wore, and performed at neighborhood hip-hop parties.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) In a 2012 Red Bull Music Academy lecture, Walters traced his storytelling method to his schoolwork: he treated a rap like an English essay, with a beginning, a body, and an end, and voiced different characters, an approach he said he took from the [Alvin and the Chipmunks](https://www.edgepedia.org/alvin-and-the-chipmunks) children's records, on which [Ross Bagdasarian](https://www.edgepedia.org/ross-bagdasarian) manipulated tapes of his own voice to hold conversations with himself.[9](https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2012/07/slick-rick-interview/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z)
## Doug E. Fresh and "La Di Da Di"
**The Get Fresh Crew years.** Walters's break came when he entered a talent contest at a Bronx club called The Armoury, where one of the judges was the beatboxer [Doug E. Fresh](https://www.edgepedia.org/doug-e-fresh); the two teamed up, and Walters joined Fresh's Get Fresh Crew as MC Ricky D.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) The crew's 1985 single paired "The Show," which sold 1 million copies in the United States and reached the Top 10 in Britain, with the B-side "La Di Da Di," a long comic narrative that became one of the most sampled songs in the history of music.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) The critic Peter Shapiro later called the two tracks "the greatest two-sided single since 'Hound Dog/Love Me Tender'" in *The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop*.[5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/)
At the height of the single's success Walters was still working as a mail clerk at [Lehman Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/lehman-brothers), earning about $520 a month, while performance fees reached roughly $300 per show; he left the crew in 1987, citing a financial dispute, and signed a solo contract with Def Jam Records.[9](https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2012/07/slick-rick-interview/) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick)
## Def Jam and *The Great Adventures of Slick Rick*
His solo debut, *The Great Adventures of Slick Rick* (1988), went platinum and reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop chart.[6](https://slickrickisart.com/about) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/c8e04a936301ba183b29191177056146) Its singles showed his range: "Children's Story," a cautionary tale that reached the R&B top five, "Teenage Love," and the duet with [Al B. Sure!](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-b-sure) "If I'm Not Your Lover," which climbed to number two in 1989.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) In May 1989 the Los Angeles Times reported that the album, then No. 1 on the black-music charts, had sold nearly 750,000 copies, and described his "coy, droning, playful raps" as sounding "like an English gentleman on speed."[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-13-ca-2816-story.html) Adam Bradley, a scholar of hip-hop poetics at the [University of Colorado Boulder](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-colorado-boulder), counts "Children's Story," the love story "Mona Lisa," and the explicit "Sleazy Gynecologist" among the songs through which Rick helped establish the conventions that define rap as a storytelling genre.[4](https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/1/11699/files/2016/10/Book-of-Rhymes-Chp-5-Storytelling-Adam-Bradley-1f3m7d4.pdf)
## Prison and the middle albums
In early 1990 Walters shot at his cousin, who he said had harassed his mother, and injured a bystander; he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to six years in prison.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) He recorded material for two follow-up albums while out on bail and in custody: *The Ruler's Back* (1991) and *Behind Bars* (1994), the latter made partly on a work-release program in 1993.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) Neither sold well, and Walters later called both "a rushed job" and "junk."[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) Released from prison in 1996, he returned in 1999 with *The Art of Storytelling*, a more cohesive record featuring Nas, OutKast, Raekwon, and [Snoop Dogg](https://www.edgepedia.org/snoop-dogg), which claimed a gold plaque.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-23-ca-40001-story.html)
In 2002, after performing on a cruise ship, he was detained by immigration authorities under a federal law requiring the deportation of foreign nationals who had served more than five years for a felony conviction, having passed the threshold by twelve days; a legal struggle followed until New York governor [David Paterson](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-paterson) granted him a full pardon in 2008, and he became an American citizen in 2016.[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z)
## Sampling and influence
The Guardian in 2025 called Walters "the most-sampled hip-hop artist in history" and reported that "La Di Da Di" has been sampled more than 1,200 times, providing the hook for [The Notorious B.I.G.](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-notorious-b-i-g)'s "Hypnotize," the chorus for [Miley Cyrus](https://www.edgepedia.org/miley-cyrus)'s "We Can't Stop," and material used by artists from 2Pac to [Kanye West](https://www.edgepedia.org/kanye-west); Snoop Dogg covered the song in full on his 1993 debut *Doggystyle*.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) Counts differ by source: the Recording Academy says the song has been sampled over 800 times, while his promotional biography gives a catalog total of over 900 samples.[5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) • [6](https://slickrickisart.com/about)
His standing among rappers is unusual for an artist with so few records. [Ghostface Killah](https://www.edgepedia.org/ghostface-killah) has called him the greatest of all time, Eminem has described himself as "a product of Slick Rick," Jay-Z likened him to Matisse, and [Questlove](https://www.edgepedia.org/questlove) called his voice "the most beautiful thing to happen to hip-hop culture."[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) "La-Di-Da-Di" was designated for long-term preservation in the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry, a list of about 650 recordings, and he has received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.[6](https://slickrickisart.com/about) • [5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/)
## *Victory* and the return after 26 years
*Victory*, released in June 2025 on [Idris Elba](https://www.edgepedia.org/idris-elba)'s label 7Wallace, is Walters's first album since 1999, a gap of 26 years.[5](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/) • [8](https://music.apple.com/us/album/victory/1814636791) The release consists of 15 songs in 27 minutes, with Walters handling about 95 percent of the production himself and sharing executive producer duties with Elba; guests include Nas and the British artists Giggs and Estelle.[8](https://music.apple.com/us/album/victory/1814636791) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/c8e04a936301ba183b29191177056146) Four years in the making, it was recorded at Elba's homes in London and Paris, and it is framed as a visual album, with videos shot in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa.[7](https://apnews.com/article/c8e04a936301ba183b29191177056146) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z) He told the Associated Press that his subjects have grown with him: "Can't always be children all the time."[7](https://apnews.com/article/c8e04a936301ba183b29191177056146)
## References
1. [Slick Rick, Encyclopedia.com (Contemporary Musicians)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/slick-rick)
2. [M.C. Ricky D / Richard Martin Lloyd Walters, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/02637538-a5ae-44c9-9af4-c703a17b21ec)
3. [Alexis Petridis, "'You can't wear gold without diamonds!' Hip-hop legend Slick Rick on bling, British roots and his 26-year break," The Guardian, June 16, 2025](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/16/slick-rick-interview-hip-hop-bling-british-roots-jay-z)
4. [Adam Bradley, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop, chapter 5](https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.uoregon.edu/dist/1/11699/files/2016/10/Book-of-Rhymes-Chp-5-Storytelling-Adam-Bradley-1f3m7d4.pdf)
5. ["On His First Album In 26 Years, Slick Rick Takes A 'Victory' Lap," Grammy.com, June 16, 2025](https://www.grammy.com/news/slick-rick-interview-new-album-victory-samples-storytelling/)
6. [SLICK RICK IS ART, official biography](https://slickrickisart.com/about)
7. ["Slick Rick returns after 26 years with 'Victory' album and proves hip-hop storytelling still reigns," Associated Press, June 13, 2025](https://apnews.com/article/c8e04a936301ba183b29191177056146)
8. [VICTORY, Slick Rick, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/victory/1814636791)
9. ["5x5: Slick Rick Interview," Red Bull Music Academy Daily, July 13, 2012](https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2012/07/slick-rick-interview/)
10. ["Slick Rick: Making Musical Adventures in Rapland," Los Angeles Times, May 13, 1989](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-13-ca-2816-story.html)
11. ["Slick Rick Makes His Return to Rap, Ever the Storyteller," Los Angeles Times, May 23, 1999](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-23-ca-40001-story.html)
12. [Slick Rick ruling overturned](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-05-et-quick5.5-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Hip hop scenes worldwide › Artists, groups, and people: Hip hop scenes worldwide › East Coast rap (New York and Philadelphia)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license