The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
1988 studio album by Slick Rick
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The Great Adventures of Slick Rick is the debut studio album by English-American hip hop artist Slick Rick, released on November 1, 1988. Widely considered one of the most influential hip hop albums of all time, it introduced Slick Rick’s distinctive storytelling style, blending humor, vivid narratives, and complex rhymes. The album was a critical and commercial success, and its influence can be seen in generations of rappers who followed.[2]
| The Great Adventures of Slick Rick | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1, 1988[1] | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 49:46 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producers |
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| Slick Rick chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Great Adventures of Slick Rick | ||||
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It topped Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five nonconsecutive weeks and peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [3] |
| Mojo |  [4] |
| NME | 7/10[5] |
| Q | [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Select | 4/5[9] |
| The Source | [10] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[11] |
| The Village Voice | C+[12] |
The Philadelphia Inquirer called "Let's Get Crazy" "one of the year's most jolting, exciting pieces of music."[13] The Orange County Register concluded that "Rick's goofy rap style makes him seem less a braggart than a beleaguered Everyman and, with its wickedly sharp production, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick sounds great."[14]
In 1998, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick was selected as one of The Source's "100 Best Albums".[15] The album was retrospectively awarded a perfect "five-mic" score by the magazine in 2002.[10] In 2012, it was ranked at number 99 on Slant Magazine's list of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s".[16] In VH1's 2008 ranking of the "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs", the single "Children's Story" placed at number 61.[17]
Hip hop artist Nas cites The Great Adventures of Slick Rick as one of his favorite albums.[18] In 2009, fellow rapper Busta Rhymes said of the album:
No artist before or since has painted pictures as vividly as Slick Rick did on that album. He embodied what it was to be a superstar: the over-the-top persona, the jewellery, the clothes, his swagger, charisma, attitude. He had that London twang and the mannerisms, but still had the 'hood mentality – the urban, edgy approach. Nobody else had that combination.[19]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Treat Her Like a Prostitute" | Ricky Walters | Slick Rick | 3:55 |
| 2. | "The Ruler's Back" | Ricky Walters | Jam Master Jay, Jerry Martin | 5:38 |
| 3. | "Children's Story" | Ricky Walters | Slick Rick | 4:02 |
| 4. | "The Moment I Feared" |
| The Bomb Squad | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Let's Get Crazy" |
| The Bomb Squad | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Indian Girl (An Adult Story)" | Ricky Walters | Slick Rick | 3:17 |
| 7. | "Teenage Love" |
| Jerry Martin | 4:53 |
| 8. | "Mona Lisa" | Ricky Walters | Slick Rick, Jerry Martin | 4:08 |
| 9. | "Kit (What's the Scoop)" |
| Jerry Martin | 3:22 |
| 10. | "Hey Young World" | Ricky Walters | Slick Rick | 4:37 |
| 11. | "Teacher, Teacher" |
| The Bomb Squad | 5:00 |
| 12. | "Lick the Balls" |
| The Bomb Squad | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 49:46 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Children's Story" (Demo) | 2:49 |
| 14. | "A Teenage Love" (Demo) | 4:17 |
| 15. | "Mona Lisa" (Demo) | 3:19 |
| 16. | "Hey Young World" (Demo) | 4:38 |
| 17. | "Snakes of the World Today" | 2:39 |
Personnel
- Glen E. Friedman—photography
- Jason Mizell (as Jam Master Jay)—producer
- Jerry Martin—producer
- Eric "Vietnam" Sadler—producer
- Hank Shocklee—producer
- Slick Rick—vocals
- Ricky Walters—producer
- Rick Rubin—executive producer
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[24] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||