The Bronx, NY · hip-hop

Slick Rick

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The Ruler — rap's greatest storyteller, eyepatch and all, 'Children's Story' still the masterclass every MC studies.

Slick Rick, born Ricky Martin Lloyd Walters in Mitcham, south-west London, in 1965 to Jamaican parents, moved with his family to the Bronx at age eleven. He attended LaGuardia High School, where he majored in visual art and met future rapper Dana Dane; the two formed the Kangol Crew before Rick met Doug E. Fresh at a talent showcase in 1984.

Performing as MC Ricky D, he joined Fresh's Get Fresh Crew and rapped over Fresh's beatboxing on "The Show" and its B-side "La Di Da Di" in 1985, tracks that reached audiences beyond hip-hop through appearances on Top of the Pops and Soul Train. "La Di Da Di" went on to become one of the most sampled recordings in music.

Signed to Def Jam in 1986 as the label's third artist, Rick produced his solo debut, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, with DJ Vance Wright. Released in 1988, it topped Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart and carried four singles, including "Children's Story", "Mona Lisa" and "Hey Young World".

His conversational, unhurried delivery, often voicing different characters within a single verse, built songs as complete narratives rather than loose rhymes. Blind in his right eye since infancy after an accident with broken glass, he has performed ever since behind an eyepatch and heavy gold jewellery.

Legal trouble interrupted his career: Rick released The Ruler's Back (1991) and Behind Bars (1994) while facing murder charges and imprisonment, then returned with The Art of Storytelling in 1999 after his release from prison in 1997. He put out Victory on Mass Appeal Records in 2025 and has been honored by VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

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