Slick Rick Becomes First Golden Era Icon To Drop Cinematic Visual Album

Respectively a hip-hop pioneer, particularly in the lane of rap storytelling, an act that slates the British-Jamaican born and Bronx buttered emcee a poet, Slick Rick continues to set blueprints with the release his first album in 26 years, ‘Victory,’ a cinematic visual work that is the first of its kind.

On Friday (June 13), once known as MC Ricky D, Slick Rick dropped his first album since 1999’s The Art of Storytelling, Victory. The work encompasses many firsts. It is not only the first album the legendary emcee has released in 26 years, but the first project he drops as an artist of Idris Elba’s 7 Wallace UK-based record label. And this is not the average album. It is a collaborative effort between 7 Wallace and Nas’ Mass Appeal, to whom he is also signed, as part of the record label/creative agency’s “Legend Has It” project. Victory is beyond a typical one. The work is beyond tunes and also presents as a cinematic visual album, which premiered in the United States at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday. And if one truly thinks about it, Slick Rick is one of, if not the first, rapper from the Golden Era to produce a work of this caliber.

Both Elba and Nas stand as executive producers, with seasoned British-Nigerian director Meji Alabi aiding with execution. Q-Tip also makes production contributions to the track “Another Great Adventure,” and Young Guru, a mastermind behind several post-Y2K classics, is stationed among the audio engineers on the album. Alabi, who is renowned for his work with some of modern Africa’s most prominent acts including Tiwa Savage, Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, a plethora more—and is also the genius behind Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl,” showcased his understanding of Slick Rick’s legacy through his directive, big time.

Catching up with the victorious director at the New York City premiere of Victory at the Tribeca Film Festival, Alabi says the collaborative pull between Elba and Nas is telling of Slick Rick’s everlasting influence, and that Elba in particular was intentional about his participation as executive director.

“It just shows how influential Slick Rick is overtime,” said Alabi. “He was able to bring people like Idris. Idris wanted to executive produce this. He wanted to be a part of it. He’s been inspired by Rock from what he’s done in the past to what he’s done in the present. Same with Nas. These are people who looked up to Rick as a leader, as somebody who is originally one of the best in the game.”

The visual album chronicles a young Slick Rick amid the prime of his childhood and early adult years featuring depictions of the times with a time capsule-like theme, as the “Children’s Story” emcee looks back into such moments in his life. From his first girlfriend, living in his London apartment with his Jamaican parents, to moments at the house of ill fame and the tribulations of being a Bronx landlord, observers are offered a realistic depiction of Slick Rick’s journey to legend.

Victory was filmed throughout three continents: Europe, Africa, and North America. Of course, MC Ricky D made a return to his stomping grounds of the United Kingdom to film the respective visuals. Recognizing his stance as an elder statesman of hip-hop culture, at the premiere, Slick Rick told me how fun it was to go back to the UK to curate what is a history making work, as one of the first hip-hop class acts of the Golden Era to release a cinematic visual album.

“It was fun. It comes with the job,” he said. “If you make it to certain heights, you got to travel on the international type tip. It was a good thing. Doing my thing, bringing the game back to the people. Elder statesman type. You studying?”

Well, there are plenty of people who have been studying the moves of Slick Rick. His impact on post-Golden Era generation rappers (mid eighties to early nineties), in the era I coined as the ‘90s phenomenon (early to late nineties), an era that marks the coming of Nas, The Notorious B.I.G, Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep—most of whom are well documented in their creative courage from Slick Rick. Tek and Steele of the iconic ‘90s potent duo Smif-N-Wessun were present at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere, gracing the red carpet—a presence that stands as proof of the longevity of camaraderie among hip-hop class acts. Steele told me how witnessing this coming of Victory is a guide to ownership in hip-hop culture, as most acts of that era were not necessarily privy on exactly how to commercialize their real rap.

“When you’re talking about the makers, the owners, the creators, now you’re talking about ownership,” said Steele. “We are already the makers of the intellectual property. We never discuss owning at the beginning. We never thought that was important. Now we got the leaders of the movement—pioneers and the fore fathers actually leading and showing by example, instead of having this bitterness which creates this gap.”

It is really a for-us-by-us initiative. Being signed to Elba’s 7 Wallace, and in collaboration with Nas’ Mass Appeal and Alabi as the director, Victory is a dominantly Black curated and operated project. It stands as proof that inter-collaborative efforts stand a chance in the hip-hop game, and it is fair to say that the caliber of hip-hop acts that have the most effective influence on such moves is that of a pioneer—or rather, elder statesman.

Nas embarks on his second collaboration with Slick Rick on the track “Documents,” with their first being 1999’s “Me and Nas Bring It To Your Hardest.” And Nas, forever paying homage, sampled Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story” on his Kanye West-featured 2018 track “Cops Shot the Kid.” UK veteran rapper Giggs is also featured on the album on the track “Stress,” bringing one of the UK’s most prolific emcees on the journey.

Victory is part of Mass Appeal’s “Legend Has It” project, a special series of new albums from seven distinct hip-hop class acts, including Mobb Deep, Ghostface Killah, De La Soul, Big L, Raekwon, and a joint album featuring DJ Premier and Nas himself. Victory first premiered in London at SXSW on June 7.

Slick Rick the Ruler is surely back.