Slick Rick

The only thing more iconic, interesting, and intriguing than the stories Slick Rick tells on wax might be his own. Lasting through four decades, six presidencies, and countless trends, he endures as the most sampled hip-hop artist in history with GRAMMY Award nominations and numerous multiplatinum albums to his name. Its why he remains synonymous with rap music, culture, and fashion. Its why he counts some of the most influential people in the world as ardent admirerswhether it be Eminem declaring, Im just a product of Slick Rick on 2020s Godzilla, JAY-Z citing him as an inspiration on NETFLIXs My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, A-list star Idris Elba signing him to his 7 Wallace UK imprint, Mark Ronson dissecting his work as part of a TED Talk, or Mariah Carey welcoming him on stage to perform their duet Giving Me Life during a sold-out show at Radio City Music Hall in 2019. Its why rappers started to ditch jeans and oversized hoodies for high fashionas WWD notes, Slick Rick pioneered the merge of luxury and street. Its why no celebration is complete until somebody busts out La-Di-Da-Di, Mona Lisa, Hey Young World or Childrens Story. And, here we goBorn to Jamaican parents, the man named Ricky Walters emigrated from the posh side of London to The Bronx in 1976. After majoring in visual art at Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music The Show and La Di Da Di. The latter would be sampled, interpolated, and shouted out north of 800 times by 2020, spanning Snoop Doggs Lodi Dodi from 1993s seminal Doggy Style through Jay Rocks GRAMMY Award-winning Kings Dead [feat. Future, Kendrick Lamar, & James Blake] from the chart-dominating Black Panther: The Album in 2018. Its long history includes nods by Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill, The Notorious B.I.G., Pusha T, and many more.In many ways, the story is just getting started. He will drop his first album in 21 years imminently and continues to collaborate with some of the most influential names in entertainment and fashion. The New York Times put it best with the headline, Hip-Hop pioneer still has stories to tell. However, after all of these years, theres still nothing like the story of Slick Rick.