Reprinted from a 1994 edition of The 411:
"Here's an oldie but goodie" not only starts out The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, but sums up the album as well. He had hip-hop heads jumpin' even before this album came out with joints like "La Di Da Di" and "The Show," with his old school partner Doug E. Fresh providing beat-box backgrounds. And to top all this off, Slick Rick was a major influence in the style of Snoop Dogg, who covered "La Di Da Di" on his debut album.
The majority of the material on Rick's album deals with females in both the positive and the negative. "Mona Lisa" and "Indian Girl (An Adult Story)" handle the basic man-gets-woman scenario while throwing in a little VD for a moral to the story. "Treat Her Like a Prostitute" kicks an out and out message to all the guys about the triflin' females and how to act when they're not faithful. "Teenage Love" is the other side of the coin, a slow jam for anybody going through the break-up stage of a relationship.
Where Slick Rick really stands out is with his articulate rhyming style and the ability to tell a story, while sticking with whatever topic he's chosen, whether it's the ladies or simply bragging about his rhymes. Tracks like "The Ruler's Back," "Kit (What's the Scoop)," "teacher, Teacher" and "Lick the Balls" allow Rick the opportunity to assure his status as an MC. He also drops a positive message effectively in "Children's Story" and "Hey Young World." Slick Rick and his DJ, Vance Wright, handled production of a few of the tracks, but the majority was left to the familiar likes of Hank Shocklee and Eric Sadler.
Rick's second album, The Ruler's Back, was not as good as his first, and unfortunately, trouble with the law and immigration problems made it difficult for his third album to be completed, although it was recently released. All that aside, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick has guaranteed Slick Rick a spot as one of the pioneers in the history of rap.
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