Slick Rick Reflects on His Classic Album ‘The Great Adventures of Slick Rick’ Turning 30
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Slick Rick’s classic 1988 debut album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. The LP, primarily produced by the legendary production team The Bomb Squad, solidified Rick "the Ruler" as hip-hop’s most celebrated storyteller.
In an interview with Billboard, Slick Rick reflected on his classic album turning 30, growing up in the Bronx, N.Y., and the state of hip-hop. Peep some of the highlights below:
On his 23-year-old mind state while recording Great Adventures of Slick Rick:
"Well, the mindset was probably, 'You put out a single here and there, but now you have to make a whole album, so you have to mentally prepare yourself for at least 12 songs. You have to come up with 12 good subject matters; you got to make sure that the music is good, the subject is interesting and humorous to your age group.' You know, you’re mentally preparing yourself."
"And then you want every one to be a hit. You know, like 'La Di Da Di' and 'The Show' [both with Doug E. Fresh] were before? You want to get as many hits as you can out of 12. So it’s like a mental preparation type of a thing, plus you still got that youthful excitement and energy and all of that stuff going on too, so that helps."
On knowing his classic song "Children’s Story" was going to be a hit:
"You can pretty much tell your song is popping when you’re with your peoples at that age group, and everybody is feeling it, and you don’t feel like, 'Oh I need to tweak this, I need to touch this up.' When you can see the reaction to yourself and your peers, then you know, 'Yeah, this is good to go,' before it hits a mass audience. You know the molehill could turn into a mountain."
On any current rappers he sees as a modern-day Slick Rick:
"Maybe bits and pieces, but not really the same exact person. Let’s say 50 Cent has a humorous side to him, even when he’s not rapping. He has that humor. And then you may have your conscious cats who are more conscious than humorous. Then you have the guys that can dress a little something-something. It’s bits and pieces."
You can read Slick Rick's full interview at Billboard.com.
Watch Slick Rick's "Children's Story" Video
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