Slick Rick

During his initial years he was well-known for his flamboyant dressing style. He used to wear a lot of gold chains and also wore gold and diamonds on his eye-patch and teeth. With time, mellowed down his style.

His best known songs like ‘La Di Da Di’ and ‘Children’s Story’ have often been covered by various other artists like Snoop Dogg and Notorious B.I.G.

He married Mandy Aragones in 1996. The couple has two children.

He was born to Jamaican parents in London. He was blinded in his right eye by broken glass when he was a child and has been wearing an eye-patch ever since.

He went to the La Guardia High School of Music & Art during the late 1970s and met the aspiring musician Dana Dane there. The two young boys formed a hip hop duo called the Kangol Crew.

He met Doug E. Fresh in 1984 and joined his Get Fresh Crew. He played using the stage name MC Ricky D and was featured on the single, ‘The Show’ and track, ‘La Di Da Di’.

In 1988 he decided to go solo and released his album, ‘The Great Adventures of Slick Rick’. The album had the singles ‘Children’s Story’ and ‘Teenage Love’ and reached the No.1 spot on Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop chart.

He played himself in the 1988 film ‘Tougher Than Leather’ which featured the hip hop group Run-D.M.C. The film was released to coincide with the group’s album of the same name.

In 1990 he shot two people and was indicted on two counts of attempted murder and sentenced to five years in prison. He released his second album while he was out on bail.

His album, ‘The Ruler’s Back’ was out in 1991. It featured songs by Vance Wright and Mr.Lee along with Rick. The single, ‘I Shouldn’t Have Done It’ peaked at No.2 on the Hot Rap Singles.

His debut album, ‘The Great Adventures of Slick Rick’ was platinum certified and selected as one of ‘The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums. It had topped the Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart for five nonconsecutive weeks.

His most recent album, ‘The Art of Storytelling’ was his comeback album after his jail stint for an attempted murder. It proved to be his highest charting album so far and was certified gold within weeks of its release.