Golden-Age Hip Hop has given us a bundle of bangers that still sound good to this day. However, for Slick Rick, “good” wasn’t good enough. According to the British-born emcee, many of those early records didn’t meet his standards.
“The industry didn’t give me the quality that I gave myself,” Slick Rick reflects during an interview with Rolling Stone. “I gave myself ‘Children’s Story,’ ‘Mona Lisa,’ ‘Hey Young World.’ They gave me stuff that didn’t make a mark on society. You can’t lie to yourself—my stuff was better than what you were giving me.”
For Rick, the epiphany came a few years prior—around the time he was still with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew. By his own recollection, he recognized the value of songs like “La Di Da Di” and “The Show” after seeing their impact.
Slick Rick adds, “Well, if this made noise, imagine if they made this right here.”
Rick followed his instincts—and it paid off. This echoes what Bobby Brown said in his hit “On Our Own.”
“You want something done, you gotta do it yourself.”
Salute to Rick the Ruler!
