-Richard Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known by stage names Slick Rick, MC Ricky D and The Ruler, is a rapper. Originally from South Wimbledon, London, England, he moved with his family to The Bronx in 1975 where he met B-Weezy who taught him how to rap.[citation needed] He has always credited "B" from St. Louis for his success with his career. Rick's characteristic eyepatch was acquired after being blinded in the right eye by broken glass as an infant. He is best known for a series of rap recordings during the 1980s, including "Children's Story" and "La Di Da Di".
-Charlie Rock of Harlem World crew was instrumental in bringing Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh together when Doug requested an introduction after he had seen him win local MC battle contests. It was at an MC contest at the 369 Armory on 142nd street in Harlem, given by promotion partners Ray Chandler & Charlie Rock, that Rick & Doug were formally introduced by Rock.
-As a 20-year-old in the summer of 1985 he scored his first big hits (with Doug E. Fresh), "La Di Da Di" and "The Show" and "All the Way Down" circa. 1986.
-Slick Rick released the song "La Di Da Di" back in the early 1980s which features Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew. His first album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick was released in 1988 while he was living in New York City. "Children's Story", which appears on The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, is one of the most famous songs in rap and has been covered by Black Star, Black Rob, Everlast, Messy Marv, Tricky's side project Nearly God, UK rapper Ramson Badbones, Björk, Nonpoint, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Japanese rapper Zeebra. "Children's Story" was also featured on the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on Playback FM, a classic hip-hop station. The album attained platinum status, but Rick was unable to exploit this due to an arrest for attempted murder.
He shot a bystander and his cousin whom he’d hired as a body guard and who later admitted to having Walters shot outside a club in 1991. Russell Simmons, head of Def Jam records, bailed him out and Rick quickly recorded The Ruler's Back before spending five years in prison, two for the second degree attempted murder charges he received for that shooting, and three while hassling with Immigrations Services over his residency in the US.
"La Di Da Di", "Mona Lisa" and "Children's Story" are among his best known songs, with "La Di Da Di" being covered nearly word-for-word by Snoop Dogg on his 1993 album Doggystyle, and lines from "La Di Da Di" being borrowed by multiple high profile artists. "Children's Story" was also sampled by Montell Jordan for his 1995 hit, "This Is How We Do It", and was also covered by Black Star on their debut album.
A third album Behind Bars was recorded whilst still in prison, and released to lukewarm sales and reviews. Released from prison in 1998, he remained with Def Jam and on May 25, 1999 released a fourth album, entitled The Art of Storytelling, generally considered the authentic follow up to his 1988 debut. An artistically successful comeback that paired him with MC's like Nas, OutKast, Raekwon, and Snoop Dogg, among others.
In June 2002, after performing on a Caribbean cruise ship, Rick was arrested by the then INS as he re-entered the United States through Florida. He was promptly told that he was being deported because he is a British citizen; since he had been born in London and moved to the States as a youth. In 1996, a law was passed which called for foreigners convicted of violent felonies to be deported, a ruling which was more vigorously enforced amid heightened security concerns after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Rick was continuously refused bail, but after 17 months in prison he was released on November 7, 2003.
Rumors suggested that Rick planned to release a new album, "The Adventure Continues," in 2007. However, in a recent XXL Magazine interview, he denied the claim. Rick is supposedly "waiting for a market to open up for a [more] mature audience".
In October 2006, the INS began a new attempt to deport Walters, moving the case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in New York to the more conservative Eleventh Circuit. The court is based in Atlanta, Georgia but the trial is expected to proceed in Florida, where INS agents originally arrested Walters.
He is featured on Chamillionaire's debut single for Ultimate Victory called "Hip hop Police", and he makes a reference to his signature eye patch in his verse on the song.
Slick Rick (KeyFiguresRemix1998)
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