Slick Rick

His career began in 1985; Walters first gained success in the rap industry after joining Doug E. Fresh's Get Fresh Crew, using the stage name MC Ricky D. He was featured on the single "The Show" and its even more popular B-side, "La Di Da Di", which featured Walters' rapping over Doug E. Fresh's beatbox. Both tracks gained some mainstream attention, they appeared on Top of the Pops[15] and Soul Train[16] with the Get Fresh Crew. Reflecting on the single in Rolling Stone magazine, Roots drummer and Tonight Show bandleader Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson said, "Point blank: Slick Rick's voice was the most beautiful thing to happen to hip-hop culture [...] Rick is full of punchlines, wit, melody, cool cadence, confidence and style. He is the blueprint."[17]

In 1986, Slick Rick joined Russell Simmons's Rush Artist Management and became the third artist signed to Def Jam Records,[4] the leading rap/hip-hop label at the time.[18] Collaborating with his friend, DJ Vance Wright, Walters produced his solo debut, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, which came out in 1988 on Def Jam. The album was very successful, reaching the No. 1 spot on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart. It also featured four charting singles: "Children's Story", "Mona Lisa", "Hey Young World", and "Teenage Love". The release is known for its storytelling and vocal characterizations. "With the combination of Rick's Dick Van Dyke-on-dope accent and his unique narrative style, the record was an instant classic," wrote critic Matt Weiner. "Each of Rick's songs was an amusing, enthralling story that lasted from the first groove to the last."[19]

In 1989, Walters' mother, Veronica, hired his first cousin, Mark Plummer, as his bodyguard. By 1990, Plummer had become a liability, having tried numerous times to extort money from the artist.[20] Plummer was fired and, unsatisfied with his severance package, tried to rob Walters on numerous occasions and also threatened to kill the rapper and his mother.[21] When Walters found bullet holes in his front door, he bought guns for protection. On July 3, 1990, Walters spotted Plummer in his neighborhood, and fired at least four shots. One bullet hit Plummer; another caught a passerby in the foot. Neither suffered life-threatening injuries.[20]

He eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and other charges, including assault, use of a firearm, and criminal possession of a weapon.[22] The rapper called it an act of self-defense.[23] He spent five years in prison, two for the then-second-degree attempted-murder charges he received for the shooting, and three for disputes with the Immigration and Naturalization Services over his residency in the U.S. He was released from prison in 1997.[24]

After being bailed out by Russell Simmons, Walters recorded his second album, The Ruler's Back, released in 1991. Despite peaking at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100,[25] the album received mixed reviews and was not as commercially successful as his debut. In the documentary film, The Show, Russell Simmons interviewed Walters while he was imprisoned on Rikers Island.[26]

Walters' third studio album (the fourth for Def Jam) Behind Bars was released in 1994,[27] while he was still incarcerated. It was met with lukewarm sales and reviews. Behind Bars peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and No. 51 on the Billboard 200.[28]

Slick Rick in 1997

Walters remained with the Def Jam label, and on May 25, 1999, released a fourth album, The Art of Storytelling. The Art of Storytelling was a comeback-album that paired him with prolific MCs like Nas, OutKast, Raekwon, and Snoop Dogg. The Los Angeles Times announced it as the "triumphant return of rap's premier yarn-spinner", calling the song "2 Way Street" "a much-needed alternative to rap's misogynistic slant".[29] It charted higher than any of Slick Rick's prior releases: No. 8 on the Billboard 200; and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

After performing on a Caribbean cruise ship in June 2002, Walters was arrested by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as he re-entered the United States through Florida. He was promptly told that he was being deported under a law allowing deportation of foreigners convicted of felonies. Rick was continuously refused bail, but after 17 months in prison he was released on November 7, 2003.[30][31] In October 2006, the Department of Homeland Security began a new attempt to deport Walters back to the United Kingdom,[32] 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 was expected to proceed in Florida, where immigration agents originally arrested Walters.

On May 23, 2008, New York Governor David Paterson granted Slick Rick a full and unconditional pardon on the attempted murder charges. The governor was pleased with his behavior since the attempted murders. Slick Rick volunteered his time to mentor kids about violence.[24][33]

Walters married his wife Mandy Aragones in April 1997, four years after the couple met at a Manhattan nightclub. The performer has two children from a previous relationship. He and his wife have donated about a dozen items from his collection to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.[11]

Slick Rick at the Out4Fame Festival in 2016

Slick Rick and the Soul Rebels Brass Band collaborated on June 21, 2012, in Washington, D.C. at the historic Howard Theatre which re-opened in April 2012.[34]

In addition, Rick was a Mixx Cares Humanitarian Award recipient.[35]

On April 15, 2016, Rick was granted U.S. citizenship, remarking, "I am so proud of this moment—and so honored to finally become an American citizen."[36][37] He will also retain his UK citizenship.[36][37]

On November 2, 2018, Rick released the single "Snakes of the World Today". In 2020, Rick featured on Westside Gunn's album Who Made the Sunshine.