The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

The Great Adventures of Slick Rick is the debut studio album by hip hop recording artist Slick Rick, released on November 1, 1988.

The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1, 1988[1]
GenreHip hop
Length49:46
Label
Producer
Slick Rick chronology
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
(1988)
The Ruler's Back
(1991)
Singles from The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
  1. "Teenage Love"
    Released: November 1988
  2. "Children's Story"
    Released: April 4, 1989
  3. "Hey Young World"
    Released: June 15, 1989

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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Mojo     [3]
NME7/10[4]
Q     [5]
Rolling Stone     [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [7]
Select4/5[8]
The Source     [9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[10]
The Village VoiceC+[11]

The Philadelphia Inquirer called "Let's Get Crazy" "one of the year's most jolting, exciting pieces of music."[12] 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."[13]

In 1998, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick was selected as one of The Source's "100 Best Albums".[14] The album was retrospectively awarded a perfect "five-mic" score by the magazine in 2002.[9] In 2012, it was ranked at number 99 on Slant Magazine's list of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s".[15] In VH1's 2008 ranking of the "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs", the single "Children's Story" placed at number 61.[16]

Hip hop artist Nas cites The Great Adventures of Slick Rick as one of his favorite albums.[17] 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.[18]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Treat Her Like a Prostitute"Ricky WaltersSlick Rick3:55
2."The Ruler's Back"Ricky WaltersJam Master Jay, Jerry Martin5:38
3."Children's Story"Ricky WaltersSlick Rick4:02
4."The Moment I Feared"
The Bomb Squad3:36
5."Let's Get Crazy"
  • Ricky Walters
  • Hank Shocklee
  • Eric Sadler
The Bomb Squad3:51
6."Indian Girl (An Adult Story)"Ricky WaltersSlick Rick3:17
7."Teenage Love"
  • Ricky Walters
  • Hank Shocklee
  • Eric Sadler
Jerry Martin4:53
8."Mona Lisa"Ricky WaltersSlick Rick, Jerry Martin4:08
9."Kit (What's the Scoop)"
  • Ricky Walters
  • Hank Shocklee
  • Eric Sadler
Jerry Martin3:22
10."Hey Young World"Ricky WaltersSlick Rick4:37
11."Teacher, Teacher"
  • Ricky Walters
  • N. Johnson
  • Hank Shocklee
  • Eric Sadler
The Bomb Squad5:00
12."Lick the Balls"
  • Ricky Walters
  • Hank Shocklee
  • Eric Sadler
The Bomb Squad3:56
Total length:49:46
Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition
No.TitleLength
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

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  • 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

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Mistakes of a woman in love with other men, What about the children?, Crack head man - song, music - Copyright Info". Faqs.org. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  2. ^ Huey, Steve. "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick – Slick Rick". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  3. ^ Bungey, John (July 2019). "Slick Rick: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick". Mojo. No. 308. p. 107.
  4. ^ "Slick Rick: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick". NME. February 17, 1996. p. 48.
  5. ^ "Slick Rick: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick". Q. No. 168. September 2000. p. 128.
  6. ^ Guterman, Jimmy (June 1, 1989). "Slick Rick: Great Adventures Of Slick Rick". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Slick Rick". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 744. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Lowe, Steve (July 2000). "3rd Bass: The Cactus Album / Slick Rick: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick". Select. No. 121. p. 117.
  9. ^ a b "Got Five On It". The Source. No. 150. March 2002. pp. 174–179.
  10. ^ Hampton, Dream (1995). "Slick Rick". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 359. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 27, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Tucker, Ken (December 11, 1988). "Slick Rick The Great Adventures of Slick Rick". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G12.
  13. ^ Darling, Cary (March 3, 1989). "Pop Albums". Orange County Register. p. P32.
  14. ^ "100 Best Albums". The Source. No. 100. January 1998.
  15. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. March 5, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  16. ^ Macnie, Jim (September 24, 2008). "VH1's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Ever". VH1. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  17. ^ Ahmed, Insanul (May 23, 2012). "Nas' 25 Favorite Albums". Complex. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  18. ^ Batey, Angus (October 2009). "My record collection – Busta Rhymes". Q. No. 279. p. 46.
  19. ^ "Slick Rick Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Slick Rick Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  22. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Slick Rick – Great Adventures of Slick Rick". Recording Industry Association of America.