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For the first time ever, Slick Rick is headed to Australia! The legendary Hip-Hop icon kicks off his Australian Spring Tour beginning March. Tickets are on sale 12 Jan!
17 MARCH | THE BACKROOM (BRISBANE) BUY TICKETS
18 MARCH | MAX WATTS (SYDNEY) BUY TICKETS
22 MARCH | FOWLERS LIVE (ADELAIDE) BUY TICKETS
23 MARCH | MAX WATTS (MELBOURNE) BUY TICKETS
24 MARCH | CAPITOL (PERTH) BUY TICKETS
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED...
Slick Rick's 8th annual birthday celebration hits Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday, January 20th. If you've been to The Ruler's past birthday bashes then you know you're already in for a huge surprise! In case you missed last year's fete, relive what went down HERE.
Get tickets HERE.
Truck-style jewelry, regal stage gear and blinged-out eye patches–three icons of extravagance – span the arc of Slick Rick’s rise to stardom in the late eighties to today. The charismatic, flamboyant, and witty emcee will greet audiences in Austria, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland this spring, headlining the “Lyrics and Baubles” tour featuring DJ Kaos and The Slickettes . MC Lyte’s Next Top Female MC winner Intelligenz fills the tour’s opening act slot.
“Looking forward to expanding my horizons and experiencing/absorbing other cultures outside of the US.” Rick said. It is going to be nice experience seeing what is going on in the hip hop scene in other parts of the world. I’ll be performing material from all four of my albums, building up momentum for the blowout 30 th anniversary celebrations of The Great Adventures of Slick Rick in November 2018.”
TOUR DATES: Thursday, March 28 Barcelona, Spain Saturday, March 31 Lausanne, Switzerland BUY TICKETS Tuesday, April 2 Zurich, Switzerland BUY TICKETS Wednesday, April 4 Munich, Germany BUY TICKETS Thursday, April 5 Cologne, Germany BUY TICKETS Friday, April 6 Vienna, Austria BUY TICKETS Saturday, April 7 Berlin, Germany BUY TICKETS Sunday, April 8 Hamburg, Germany BUY TICKETS Monday, April 9 Copenhagen, Denmark BUY TICKETS Wednesday, April 11 Malmoe, Sweden BUY TICKETS Thursday, April 12 Helsinki, Finland BUY TICKETS Saturday, April 14 Stockholm, Sweden BUY TICKETS
A salute to Hip-Hop with some of its most celebrated storytellers...
Join Slick Rick, EMPD, Black Moon and Smif N Wessun a City Parks Foundation SummerStage Sunday, September 17th at Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
"Fresh dressed like a million bucks. Threw on the Bally shoes and the fly green socks."
Swizz Beatz celebrated his collaboration with Bally by throwing a star-studded bash at Public Arts Hotel which featured performances by The Get Fresh Crew aka Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. Their set included hits "The Show" and "La Di Da Di". Guests in attendance included Alicia Keys, A$AP Rocky, Jermaine Dupri, 2 Chainz, A$AP Ferg and more!
"Bally also has this great heritage with music," Swizz Beats tells VOGUE. "They didn’t just start it today because it's a cool thing to do — it goes all the way back to the '80s, so to have Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh performing tonight as an homage to Bally and an homage to them, that’s just a home run."
Slick Rick took the stage at Springfield Park in Queens for CityParks annual SummerStage series Friday, July 7th. And of course, The Ruler did not disappoint! Rick surprised attendees with performances from Queens legends Mr. Cheeks of The Lost Boyz and femcee Roxanne Shante. Check out pics below from the night:
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Today (June 8) marks Global Hip-Hop Day, a day designated to celebrate the global and cultural impact of the genre that was created over 40 years ago. The first-ever event, which is held in conjunction with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the office of The Bronx Borough President, and New York radio station Hot 97, took place today in the Bronx.
This year's ceremony recognized Slick Rick along with Fat Joe, The LOX, DJ Kool Herc as ICON honorees for their musical contributions. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post's Black Voices, Rick praised Global Hip-hop Day. “It’s a good thing, because hip-hop is due recognition. And it’s addressing the influence it has over modern day youth and the future of modern society.”
The Ruler is heading back across the pond for the Liverpool International Music Festival this July! He'll be hitting the stage alongside Golden Era veterans DJ Clark Kent, DJ Stretch Armstrong, Kool DJ Red Alert and The Jungle Brothers. It's going down July 23rd, get tickets HERE.
SummerStage 2017 full season line-up has been announced! This year’s festival includes more than 150 individual artists from around the globe, celebrating a variety of genres and disciplines, from indie-rock, hip-hop, Latin, jazz, dance, comedy and everything in between.
Hip-hop’s most celebrated storyteller, aka Slick Rick will be performing on July 7th at Springfield Park in Queens.
DETAILS:
July 7th 6pm-9pm Springfield Park 184th St. & 146th Terrace Queens, NY 11413
Get tickets HERE.
Slick Rick “The Great Adventures of…” Children’s Book is an 18-page, puffy-cover children’s book with illustrations detailing Rick’s classic cops-and-robbers -“Children’s Story”.
Just hearing the opening lines begins a sing-along that can quickly fill a room: “Once upon a time / Not long ago / When people wore pajamas / and lived life slow….” Rick’s lines from the song are re-created in visual form in an 18-page book with a puffy cover – presented like a legit children’s book, thick pages and all. From the little boy who was misled to the tense police chase, to the unsure children hearing the story from their “uncle Ricky,” this is the most unique way the story has ever been presented.
“The Great Adventures of…” includes 18 pages of original art drawn by Gilberto Aguirre Mata along with the CD of the album.
Available for purchase here!
For the Vinyl collectors we are offering a limited “Children’s Story” 45 with “The Moment I Feared” on the B-Side. This is the first time these two are available on the same 7”. The exclusive 45 includes a picture sleeve 45 with “Children’s Story” and “The Moment I Feared” (with artwork taken from the original “Children’s Story” 12-inch).
Available for purchase here!
Slick Rick announces the Record Store Day release of Great Adventures of… Children’s Book April 22, in partnership with Universal Music Group and Get On Down, “the hip-hop box set kings,” according to FACTmagazine. Based on Rick’s 1988 rap classic “Children’s Story,” this actual children’s book will arrive with a puffy cover; thick, high-caliper pages and illustrations detailing characters and events described in the cops-and-robbers single from The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.
Storytelling has been a part of the hip-hop lexicon from the artform’s start. In the passing decades no tale-weaver has ever compared to Slick Rick. Even masters who came in Rick’s wake – including Will Smith, Ghostface and Eminem – will readily admit, no one does it better than MC Ricky D.
By 1987, Rick headed out on a solo career, landing on Def Jam Records. Amongst fierce competition in 1988 – alongside labelmates Public Enemy and legends like Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, Ice-T and N.W.A. – Rick released arguably the most unique album of the year: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.
Produced by Rick himself alongside proven NYC hit makers like Jam Master Jay and The Bomb Squad, the album showed that Rick’s lyrical skills were only matched by his vivid imagination, as heard on singles like “Hey Young World” and “Teenage Love”; but even more so in deeper album cuts including “Mona Lisa,” “The Ruler’s Back”, “The Moment I Feared” and “KIT (What’s The Scoop).”
When it comes to Rick and his tales, though, the smash single “Children’s Story” is perhaps his best, recited to this day by fans and MCs in training as a rite of passage. Just hearing the opening lines begins a sing-along that can quickly fill a room: “Once upon a time / Not long ago / When people wore pajamas and lived life slow….”
While grimier songs from rap’s golden age sound dated today, “Children’s Story” remains transcendent, a timeless classic, thanks to its warm, pop-friendly production. And Rick’s cautionary tale was flipped into Montell Jordan’s bold life-style statement “This Is How We Do It,” achieving even higher levels of acclaim. From television commercials to NBA games and parties from coast-to-coast, this throwback track, it seems, will always have a bright life.
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Slick Rick celebrated his 52nd birthday aka his "Victory Celebration" at Brooklyn Bowl this past weekend and it was star-studded! This year's theme was dedicated to the "Ladies of Hip-Hop" and boy did they represent. Legendary femcees Yo-Yo, Rah Digga and Le'Shaun took the stage and surprised The Ruler to make it a birthday to remember! Peep the pics courtesy of Pancakes and Whiskey below:
NiceKicks.com caught up with The Ruler aka Slick Rick to chat about trends in Hip-Hop, his signature style, fashionable peers and more. Check out an excerpt below:
Nice Kicks: When it comes to hip-hop, who would you consider your most fashionable peers over the years?
Slick Rick: I give it to Busta Rhymes because he was very creative and energetic and Missy Elliott because of her showmanship with the style. Wu Tang Clan of course because they got that whole Brooklyn/Clark Wallabee thing going on. And then Harlem, give Puffy and his clique their props. Early Puffy days when he first came out with the fur coats and jewelry. See, Harlem was really known for the jewelry and the furs. Brooklyn was known for the Clarks Wallabees and the slacks. Bronx was known for the b-boy adidas and PUMAs. Queens the same — dudes in sweatshirts, adidas and Lee jeans so they kept it moving like that. Then Brooklyn and Manhattan took it to another level, so I give Puffy and his team due props, too.
Read the rest of Rick's interview HERE.
It's that time again! The Ruler requests your presence at his annual birthday bash at Brooklyn Bowl on Friday, January 20th.
This year's celebration, entitled "American-Brit Victory Celebration" marks his victory after fighting a 23-year battle for U.S. citizenship.
Last year, Hip-Hop heavyweights Raekwon, Fabolous, Dana Dane, Large Professor, Peter Gunz, Aquil Davidson of "Wreckx-N-Effect" and Parrish Smith of EPMD were all in attendance at the sold out show! One can only wonder what surprises The Ruler has under his sleeves this year!
Tickets are selling out fast, reserve your spot by purchasing tickets HERE.
The Ruler Receives Royal Treatment For First-Ever UK Performances Last Month
NEW YORK – The Coming Home Tour – starring rap superstar Slick Rick in his first-ever appearances around his native United Kingdom – just wrapped. Following dates in Manchester, Bristol, London, Birmingham and Brighton, he stopped in Dublin, Ireland and made an impromptu appearance in Paris, France with Redman and De La Soul. Featuring DJ Kaos, the Rickettes and the official winner of MC Lyte’s Next Top Female MC Inteligenz, the highly anticipated late November run was an overwhelming success, selling out in record time. Live Nation UK streamed the London show worldwide. Slick Rick next performs his annual Brooklyn Bowl birthday bash January 20, 2017, before embarking on a series of US dates through March.
“'Coming Home' was a major milestone for me personally and for my career,” said Slick Rick. “But it belonged entirely to the UK. That’s why my intermission was dedicated to some legendary Brits we’ve lost: David Bowie, Benny Hill, Princess Diana and Amy Winehouse. My set ended with raining confetti, celebrating my birthplace and the fans who’ve never seen me on stage before.”
The concert events were indeed epic nights to remember. Skiddle.com hailed the Manchester show “a spectacle, fascinating even before a single stanza was spit.” The performances opened with a montage surveying Rick’s career through the years and showcased his passion for fashion. With outfit changes throughout, the dapper rapper wore, by turns, Clark Wallabies, pieces of his extensive Kangol hat collection and hand-painted, custom-made boots he himself designed.
Songwall.com said of the London performance: “Slick Rick arrived blindingly charismatic in fluorescent yellow and arctic white and dripping in incandescent jewels from microphone to eye patch, facets of his trademark chains flaring under the coloured lights.”
They added, “Commanding the stage with a regal stillness, contrasting with the seemingly unbridled energy of the backing singers, Slick Rick effortlessly and meticulously energised the audience with a stream of tracks, the crowd dancing, smiling, and meeting him word-for-word – united in rhythm as they chanted his name.”
Although Grammy-nominated Slick Rick is “Hip-Hop’s Greatest Storyteller” and among the best, most charismatic and most influential emcees from rap’s golden age, he’s been unable to travel and perform outside of the United States for most of his iconic career. A more than two-decade immigration battle ended in April 2016, when he became a naturalized US Citizen.
Enjoy the video recap below:
To celebrate the release of Dec 99th, his collaborative album with Ferrari Sheppard, Yasiin Bey formerly known as Mos Def held a special concert performance last night at New York City’s famed Apollo Theater.
Yasiin announced his plans to retire earlier this year, with two performances in New York City and three in Washington, DC later this month. The rapper surprised fans by bringing out Slick Rick to perform their hit "Auditorium" off the 2009 album, The Ecstatic. Watch the full show below:
What does Alexander Wang have in common Slick Rick? Well, nothing at all, really, except for the fact that the designer’s latest collaboration pays homage to the role he and other rappers played in hip-hop style. In the very early days, there was Slick Rick and The Kangol Crew, a hip-hop group he started in high school, when he and Dana Dane would wear the Kangol flatcaps with suit jackets to perform. Read more HERE.
Audiobook Written By Rap Coalition CEO & Founder Wendy Day Arrives Just In Time For Christmas
New York, NY – December 12, 2016 – Rap Coalition announces that legendary rapper Slick Rick is the voice of the audiobook edition of HOW TO GET A RECORD DEAL, Wendy Day’s sage guidebook for anyone passionate about cracking the hard-to-penetrate music business. The audiobook is available at www.iwantarecorddeal.com and http://www.ricktheruler.net/.
Day and Rick have been close friends for more than two decades. “When Rick entered the music industry in the late ‘80s there was no path, so he created one,” said Day. “He’s still standing strong, and has always been a supporter of my work. His career typifies what I write about in the book: standing out, overcoming setbacks, and becoming a world-class performer.”
Rick said, “I’m hard-pressed to express how honored I am to have completed this audiobook with my dear friend, Wendy. She’s one of the few people I’ve trusted in my career, always giving it to me straight, raw and honest, with a generous dose of compassion.”
Day’s focus in the book is educating rappers, singers, producers and musicians about how to build a career in the music business beyond signing a recording contract (or without the benefit of a label deal in the first place). Slick Rick’s trademark British accent delivers no-holds-barred facts and fundamentals Day collected through the years as an advocate for some of the biggest urban and pop stars. He conveys her cutting-edge counsel musicians and managers navigating a dodgy and volatile industry need to heed.
“My goal is to ensure that dreams of fame & fortune don’t end up becoming daunting nightmares,” said Day, who has shopped and negotiated deals for stars such as Eminem, Master P, Do Or Die, Twista, Boosie, Webbie, BG, Pimp C from UGK, C-Murder, Fiend, Trouble, David Banner, and Young Buck; the music labels No Limit and Cash Money Records, and producers Beats By The Pound.
HOW TO GET A RECORD DEAL was first released March 2016 as a digital book available at Amazon and iTunes.
About Slick Rick Grammy-nominated Slick Rick is “Hip-Hop’s Greatest Storyteller.” He was originally a member of Doug E. Fresh’s Get Fresh Crew, and released four solo albums on Def Jam Records. His music has been sampled and interpolated over 600 times by such artist as Beyonce, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Amy Winehouse, Notorious BIG, Nas, Method Man, Mary J Blige and TLC. He is a VH-1 Hip-Hop Honors recipient, and more than a dozen items from his personal collection are part of a collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. In April 2016, Rick became a US Citizen after a 20-year immigration battle.
About Wendy Day Wendy Day founded Rap Coalition in 1992. She has devoted her career to educating and supporting artists, and has helped build some of the biggest stars in urban and pop music. Additionally, she has worked with a veritable who's who of urban music, playing pivotal roles in the careers of Master P, C-Murder, Do Or Die, Twista, Beats By The Pound, Eminem, Cash Money Records, BG, Lil Wayne, Hot Boyz, Juvenile, Boosie, Webbie, David Banner, Fiend, Ras Kass, Young Buck, Trouble, Slick Rick, and many others. Wendy has written for such publications as The Source, AllHipHop.com and Ozone Magazine, and she’s been included on the Source Power 30 List twice. Wendy often called upon to speak at universities and industry conferences and conventions. In 2017, Wendy Day will celebrate her 25th Anniversary in the music business.
In true royal fashion, Slick Rick has taken over Spotify UK's "Old School Hip Hop House Party" playlist featuring some of his favorite "Golden Era" tunes, including "Set It Off" by Big Daddy Kane, "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy, "Momma Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J to name a few. Listen HERE.
Ricky Walters is famous – notorious, even – for several reasons. There is his reputation as one of the finest-ever MCs from hip-hop’s golden age. The Guardian caught up with the "Golden Era" MC ahead of his UK "Coming Home Tour". Check out an excerpt below:
“I think what I brought to hip-hop was a visual, storybook-type of a style, like reading a children’s book, but in rap form,” he notes, referring to a US musical whose own fame has grown in the week since this interview. “Or like the Broadway play Hamilton, bringing American history to the theatre in rhyme form.”
Read the interview HERE.