THE VOCAL GENIUS OF SLICK RICK - FOUNDATION LESSON #22 - JAYQUAN

[@ruffdiamonds2428]

The godfather of storytelling

[@twistedattic6553]

His subject matter and style was light-years ahead of its time as well as his flow. This album was a game changer.

[@hermanpattetson2585]

London Town! Y'all gotta get with Gigs. WYA!

[@doesitmatter3532]

Finally somebody that can see the genius that Slick Rick is. Been saying this for years.

[@MaqueradingDebutante]

for decades!

[@admiralman1472]

Where the hell do you live? Everyone says this.

[@doesitmatter3532]

@@admiralman1472 Washington DC area

[@michaelezell9142]

One of the greatest M.C.'s hands down

[@staciejones4059]

True story

[@rwiconcepts4492]

The Greatest MC, hands down. Nas is the second.

[@gullybop1695]

Agreed!!!

[@amirbey5963]

EASY

[@gullybop1695]

In my top 5.

[@imyanigmw]

The assimilation of his British accent, word mastery, wit, flashy appearance with a nonchalant demeanor and articulate eloquence made him a solidified legend. #mcrickyd

[@destinixshakur]

Yes it was the flex of his vocals that made him a GOAT

[@lilbasedboi]

Him and guru are my favorites of all time

[@Antoinedunaway]

Hip Hop's greatest storyteller

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Hands down

[@antoniomcmahon3499]

By far imo the most gifted rapper ever. To this day my favorite. Just as this video points out, even as a midteen in 84/85, I heard the unique inflections, vocals,etc..anytime I overhear anyone, young or old speaking on rap favorites, whatever..I make it my duty to throw down Slick Rick's name like the Ace of Spades!!!

[@darthfushang1]

He is the BEST plain and simple. He told a story in the form of a rap song and no one has come to his genius. Real, entertaining and true to life.

[@doomgoboomskat471]

Melley Mel

[@armyone90]

I agree his cadence & flow was light year ahead of its time. Bars too.

[@protectedsouls415]

On top of Rick's incredible storytelling raps.. you're right his vocal changeups, use of multiple characters and voices, sometimes goes sing-song mode n VERY melodic, vocal inflection n delivery is what makes him one of the more unique, top-tier Great MCs in my book. the creativity off the charts, anyways thanks JayQuan well done vid on The Ruler!!

[@BrandonMullanandfriends]

You hit on the head. Rick is one of the most creative artists of any genre. Well done video.

[@Steve_643]

The Show has 2 of the most unconventional songs that you really need to listen how great they are. The Show and La Di Da Di are very different sounding songs with the beat boxing and scratching taking time to reveal entertaining story telling done with sophisticated style. 2 classic tracks in early Hip Hop!

[@juniorjames7076]

La Di Da Di shows influences of late 70s reggae, the song itself switches to so many melodies exactly like a reggae DJ sound selector would. Going from a hip hop, to a slow jam, to a spoken word, than back to a slow jam...then end.

[@wotabottle]

Ricks writes and spits the most original phrases of any Emcee ever. He says things no other Emcee or person even says. Best ever to me.

[@banksta3]

"And I can't be held accountable if down her gown I pull... Girlfriends p*ssy look plump and poundable" 😂

[@DJezdic]

Won’t pretend to be a hip-hop expert but man I love me some Slick Rick he is the man!

[@Makadocious88]

I remember when i got into Slick Rick, i first listened to Who Rotten Em. I was falling asleep, that song took me to the story of that track. Amazing

[@bolder2009]

His flow on 'King' is untouchable. And that was just to let emcees know that they don't want it with him.

[@antoniomcmahon3499]

That and my favorite "yall cant fuck wit me" joint by Rick, "Lick the Balls"!! Straight bravado!

[@dj4562010]

I find that the production on "The Great Adventures" was before its time...

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Agreed

[@superskateboardingentertai9228]

Behind bars and The storyteller are great albums, it's a shame they are being overlooked cuz "the adventures. ..

[@mrsoulsodeep8530]

Bomb Squad!!

[@lgpatterson6259]

The Foundation absolutely

[@charlesstevensiii7762]

Cypress Hill ( very UNIQUE) voices

[@Asyousowsoooshallyoureap]

Rick is one of the very best ever... and one of, if not thee best shit talker too. So many facets to his greatness, and thats what keeps him so high on my all time great list... Cars come to a dead stop, rain find ways not to fall on my head top.

[@joseburgos9020]

Grew up in PG County MD right outside of DC and lived on this album back in the day. One of flyest emcee's ever. To me, there were rappers and then there was Slick Rick. He entertained more than rapped and today's music can't touch it. Miss these times and thank you for chronicling it all so well. Props.

[@varisstrachan305]

Real shit ,SR made music,had hella SWAG,and gave u the art of storytelling 💯💯💯

[@TheEdub1]

My favorite Slick Rick track is The Rulers Back off of Great Adventures. I can listen to that song all day. Its just so dope and original to me and the horns are crazy.

[@NJbakintheday]

Bruh, I'm only a minute and a half into this video, and I had to stop and comment. I've been thinking about this same thing for a long time: the fact that it's not just singers who need to have a good voice. Vocal quality in a rapper is definitely a factor... a big one. A number of "ingredients" go into being a dope MC(lyrics, flow, timing, vocals, etc). I'm really feeling your analytical approach. It's why I subbed. Keep doing your thing.

[@KtotheG]

Guru put me on to vocal quality in MCs on his Gang Starr song, "It's Mostly the Voice" back in the day. Chuck D. used to also talk about how important vocal presence was to an MC's caliber back in the '80s. Today's generation virtually has no appreciation for voice. For them, it's all about lyrics, flow and/or beats.

[@mookeychase0907]

Yo my fav joint on Great Adventures is "The Moment I Feared" definitely...

[@carolynhowell9768]

What's up with the eye patch? I was told it have something to do with the illuminati. If anyone know anything about this, please post. Thank you much!!!!!

[@quranali3093]

@@carolynhowell9768 It has Absolutely Nothing to do with the Illuminati*Smdh*He lost his eye as a kid when a piece of Glass flew in it......

[@carllouisyoung]

That was ill when I first heard it..

[@tmccz1940]

mookeychase0907 it’s a shame that everyone sleeps in on it

[@lloydwebster8752]

I seen Danny Boy with his girl name Sarah in one of his cars, I think this one's a Riviera She calls out to me but, I really couldn't hear her So I went just a little bit closer So I'd hear a little clearer The Slickster at work.....

[@benzholmes4416]

His timing on a song was always one of, if not, the greatest imo

[@ThePennymink]

⚘⚘⚘🥰🥰🥰📻📟🎶 the best ever‼ I'm a1980 baby I was in love with SlickRick and still is. Thank you for this old school rap look back 1 ♥️

[@jlvelez3343]

That verse by Nas you’re talking about was so vivid you will see it acted out in the movie Belly

[@coolbreeze3769]

52 people don't like this dude?!? Respect the pioneers!

[@blomeister1]

I would say Slick Rick is my favourite rapper. He spent his childhood years here in South London and I was lucky to see him live in Brighton UK recently. Great video!

[@lukey1210]

blomeister1 what part of south London was he from? He got that brixton touch but I’m probably wrong

[@donlegendesau289]

*THIS BRITISH DUDE WAS THE KING IF HE DIDN'T GO TO JAIL RAPPERS WOULDN'T HAVE GOT PASS RICK..SALUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

[@lukej896]

London baby

[@Hooderaw]

Family fuck him though!

[@Bxdarealest]

Subbed, great work man, my boy ricky doesn’t get enough love. Truly amazing artist, so many underrated songs

[@vanessahanley2143]

...Hold on My Dude! Slick Ricky will forever be Relevant don't EVEN DOUBT HIM

[@hassanburton9063]

Yo Jay! You made a Distinction Between Vocals meaning the voice and Delivery of the Rhyme... Way to Go! 1985 Forever!!

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thanks for looking!

[@straieraswift5785]

The Foundation what about Dana dan

[@Lewthegod]

The best to ever do it....

[@michaelalvarado7176]

Myfavorite slick Rick song has to Hey Young World he sings it with such integrity and such passion it's actually quite moving in my opinion...

[@blacknoah1]

My favorite SR song as well.

[@bigmike1973ful]

slick rick made his legend off one 12 inch the show/la di da di with doug e fresh and one album the adventures of slick rick dude doesn't never have to release another album again

[@JayErve]

Slick Rick is a Genius. Thanks for giving this emcee his flowers 🙏

[@elvinparker248]

Master lyricist.. definitely on the top 5 list out of my top 10 of the MC's from the 80s until now...

[@richardsimmons9952]

I was waiting for you to mention that Biggie used the Slick Rick double character voice on "Give Me the Loot", DMX used it several times for "Damien" and "Stop Being Greedy". Nine also used it on a song on his 1st album on the song "Hit em like this".

[@jlvelez3343]

Richard Simmons there was a rapper by the name of Gemini ( I think) that used it as his whole style. X’s best use of it was Stop Being Greedy.

[@stephenheath8465]

also Warning too

[@kpimkpim349]

Perfect video. I'm glad you brought up his moody and musicality. His hooks and bridges read like someone that does folk music, and there so much control in his delivery that you dont even realize hes actually singing his verses. Insane levels of talent

[@Boombastic82]

the production and music of slick Rick back then was way ahead of that time.

[@DIXIFREELY]

He also got a great look on Outkast's Art of Storytelling joint from Aquemini.

[@wakazashi20]

JayQuan! thanks for dropping knowledge. I will definitely go back and listen to the first 2 albums of Slick Rick that I have, as I am eager to listen to them in a different way now. And I will be sure to give his other albums a listen to as well. Peace!!

[@JaeBenjamins]

King of the multi track...Slick Rick...

[@lukey1210]

U.C.ME!! Visuals MG not far infront of shock g (humpty hump)

[@p.russell3260]

"... Built it. Anything else you need Pharoh?"

[@b7k1l8yn]

This is like going to class!! excellent discussion about the greatest story of all time!

[@jusfadez5920]

Hip-Hop has only one RULER and his name is Slick Rick!!

[@philliplyn2692]

Slick right the man with many styles and with the truck jewels he's definitely a game changer given him the credit and the respect he deserves thanks for sharing this one lol bring back the good old days of hip hop

[@banksta3]

Greatest story teller, most versatile voice, one of a kind cadence, hilarious, intelligent, conscious. One of my top 5, his small catalog is the only real knock. Only dude approaching his versatile voice that comes to mind is Em. But Rick's default voice is much stronger to me, especially as he got older.

[@QuaVerTelevision911]

I love these discussions, so fresh.

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thank you for looking!

[@kincamell2]

Thank You. I had the privilege to see Slick Rick in concert on a couple of occasions. Ps Ghostface, Andre 3000, Common, Black Thought,Scarface, Tupac , Ras Kass, Ice Cube and Melle Mel are also great story tellers. Pps that Slick Rick "Mistakes," and "Runaway" are two of my favorites. Ppps i agree Nas is one of most gifted , ever.

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Agreed bro. Thanks for looking!

[@kincamell2]

The Foundation thank you for the feedback. I meant to also include Redman and Lupe Fiasco. Their story telling is very vivid as well. I think The Jacka had a gift with the pen too. Ps Slick Rick has some super stellar features especially the one he did with CRU "Just Another Case," The one with Ghost & Rae on "The Sun," One of the songs he did with Outkast" The Art of Story Telling," and the one he did with Mos Def I think it was called "The Auditorium".

[@kincamell2]

Caz, Rakim , Kane , Biggie, Big L , Jay Z and Pharoe are some the best too. KRS too. Ps That Melvin Bliss "Synthetic Substitution" is one of the best songs ever.

[@GeeMoney843]

Thank u for these videos. Well produced. They take me back in time. I lived it and came up in hip hop from the 80s. These lessons feel authentic

[@macn4u]

Maryland checkin in This Guy Slick Rick was The Best at What He Did No Doubt. He still is🙏🏿🥊💪🏿

[@laperez7946]

Rick is hip hop. Took fashion,gold,skills,and confidence on another level ! I thought British rappers rapped this way, but proved wrong. He borrowed off the jamaican Djs in his rhyme style.

[@wotabottle]

Rick is Jamaican.

[@roypatterson9910]

I remember Beat Street very well, I remember when it first came out, and I still like the movie til this day. And I remember when Slick Rick first came out, I loved his music from the very beginning, and I listened to all the old school rappers back then, like Public Enemy, EPMD, Kwame, ATL "Above The Law", Too Short, Beastie Boys, Craig Mack, NWA, De La Soul, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Poor Righteous Teachers, Special Ed, Fat Boys, Terminator X, LL Cool J, DMX, Snoop Dog, 2 Live Crew, Redheaded Kingpin, and yes, I also listened to Vanilla Ice, Three Times Dope, Cool C, Ice T, and a few others who I can't think of right now, but I used to listen to all the good rappers. Oh yeah, and almost forgot Kool Moe D.

[@Pootjuice]

He also has to be one of the most sampled in the game. I hope he owns his publishing.

[@cinnamonspice4389]

Thank you for this old school trip down memory lane. I was in Lincoln Projects Park when the original copy of la di da di was made.

[@cmdeeqtee7057]

I always loved Slick Rick's music. The Ruler's Back album is criminally underrated.. even by Slick Rick himself. I LOVE The Ruler's Back album. I listened to it for about 12 years before I gave it a little break.. I still go back and listen to it to this day. I still have the cassette that I umm borrowed from my good friend Mike B.. for about 11 years... Then he let me borrow it again.. a few weeks later. I still have it to this day. Purchased the CD and digitally. I made 2 killer remix/mixes for Mistakes Of A Woman In Love With Other Men a few weeks ago. My 16year old son loves it. Needed the vocals clearer so just received the 12" single to digitize for better vocals on the 2 remixes I did.

[@sherrythompson9338]

The guy with the most charismatic flow ever is the Brotha Lynch Hung, if you over look his content his voice is simply mesmerising.

[@johnniemorgan8653]

Ty to the amazing brother who's voice is behind this gem best kept secret story this has been a delightfull to watch n hear in my late 40'z life ty God he found mercy for me to have seen these Golden era times to come from tge best brave hearts to last thru t trying times n still be humble to God's grace n blessings to be here thru it all bless you brother that has made this documentary n bless all who shall read this may peace n joy come into your life n happiness over evil God is always the greatest🙏

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Respect and thank you

[@johndodson3565]

The Ruler's Back is my favourite Slick Rick LP, the final track 'Slick Rick - The Ruler' produced by Mr. Lee has to be one of the best dance remixes of a hip-hop track I have ever heard.

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thanks for looking!

[@djdedan]

Melle Mel was a sick story rapper as well... white lines and the message and even beat street breakdown... especially that whole hiroshima nagasaki part - madness!

[@stewarteasy72]

Anyway, the song Indian Girl with the hilarious funny ending part hits me every time I listen to it.

[@kentalks2818]

Behind Bars the single is amazing. You forgot about the original version of Sittin’ In My Car. That shit belongs in the Smithsonian

[@Smerzone]

Man. Why does these videos only have a few views?? Good stuff right here

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thats a good question. I guess I need to promote more. Thank you for looking!

[@germxv]

well you know the 85s aint coming here and the 10s are too busy plotting on them, so only 5% of us are going to show up here, god

[@depthsofmymind4492]

Love the production on the great adventures, but great job on the video!! I didn't think I'd watch the entire thing, but I did!!

[@hermanpattetson2585]

The 5th Element! Human Beat Box!

[@koolstup]

Awesome as ever Jay, but no mention of Dana Dane - an MC with a very similar style from the Kangol Crew (sad we never heard anything on wax from that crew)? Also shout out to Ricky's verse on Greyson & Jasun's "Get Bizzy" track

[@GLockStarlinerNumber1]

Thanks brother. This was another good one 💯👊🏿

[@matthewbermudez5105]

What an ear for melody! Even when he raps it’s always creatively ‘in tune’. The way he can slide into a singing verse (Venus) makes my brain melt. He has a beautiful singing voice too.

[@mr.sharkymr3587]

M.C. Ricky D! Sheer genius! So dope! There is none better. At all.

[@lordkrimson4]

Good stuff, love this "way back machine", you have created! A couple of names I' d like to see you touch on, Dana Dane and mantronix / mantronik.

[@mookeychase0907]

I first heard him in winter 1984 on WBLS the joint on Vintertainment. Lol mastered by Herb Powers at Frankford Wayne studios....I heard his beat boxing and was blown away too! Yo I always thought it was him on "The Pure" but it was some kid named Rich Nice...Woooord The Show rocked the whole Summer Break alway to September...

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

The Pure was dope

[@thomasjohnson2289]

This is GREAT ❤! Im going back to listen to all his joints!

[@lorenzoperry9558]

My favorite rapper slick Rick

[@DannyBoy-wq9ze]

Slick Rick the NYC ruler greatest hip hop story teller ever!. If it wasn't for prison back in the mid 1990's, he would have been the man!. Also need to do a full collaboration album with "Nas"! . Now that would be some real gangsta classic shit for real!. "Hey Young World" instrumental 1988, greatest hip hop beat ever period!. He produce, mix and turn a reggae beat into a hip hop beat!.

[@illreel5169]

Top Tier Of Everybodies Top 5 #Salute...👑✨👑

[@DeeM-fe3wr]

The Moment I Feared is so innocently gangster!!!! I was upset the engineer didn't make it louder during production.

[@quranali3093]

🎶🎛🎚RIGHT!?!*I Always Wanted That Joint To Bang LOUDER & CLEARER*Smh🎚🎛🎶

[@rbiznezz2]

perfection

[@nicktalerico8273]

I can listen to a Ricky D song and see that shit in my head like a movie

[@southjerseysfinest]

Thank u for this on the greatest story teller in hip hop history. I live for these masterpieces u put together.✌

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thanks for looking!

[@nashse7en]

thank you from a 26 yr old dude that quited his job to make music 24/7.

[@tochiRTA]

yo, you're doing the lord's work with these videos! It's always refreshing to hear the perspective of someone who was actually there AND, more importantly, critically thinks about this rap shit. Your thoughts confirm a lot of shit I've always thought about hip hop. I was born in '84

[@bizzybizzo1478]

Like-wise I found myself going done memory lane. But yea from 85 Kickin it Live Slick Rick' s lyrical style has never been duplicated

[@wotabottle]

My All-time favorite Emcee.

[@luiso.9103]

That Venus track 👌🏽one of my favorites.

[@zzinkk]

Dana Dane was very good with the storytelling as well. "Cindefella" and "Nightmares" captivated my imagination.

[@garywalters284]

Both them joints is fresh AF

[@stokesr08]

Please do Special Ed😃

[@neilgibbons2532]

S.ED wasn't ground breaking enough

[@jr.jamesfuller9282]

Great video thanks for sharing! Slick Rick is one of my all time favourite MC's!

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thanks for looking bro!

[@am2382]

Slick Rick makes me proud to have a London accent.

[@poncho520nyc9]

Russell Simons said was high on dust at the great adventures stage. So you can imagine having a nice recording budget and don't forget Rick produced alot of the tracks on Great adventures. Had a nice jazzy style with his use of Bass and a lil DC go go style the way he used the Shaker

[@shakuangreene2587]

Yo the moment i feared is still the joint

[@syrtyce]

Some words of commentary that will shed some light on "The Rules Back" (91) & "Behind Bars" (94). I consider myself too a hip hop historian but more from 2nd and 3rd wave (I'm 46 now) but personal embellishment aside,lo. The reason these albums are "uneven" and "incomplete" so to speak is Rick while on furlough in 1991 from his case (talk about art imitating reality. It was damn near like "The moment I feared") not only recorded all the songs for those albums but also shot around 4 to 5 videos to boot in 2 weeks. I haven't listened to "TRB" in it's entirety in years but I recall my friend (who was a budding producer at the time) remarking how "all the drums are the same damn near on every track". That said, there still were GEMS on that and thank you for highlighting "MOSES". By the time "Behind Bars" was coming out as mentioned, hip hop not only was going into phase 3,4 and maybe 5. But Def Jam was a mess (Groups/artist like "BWP", "The Don", "Downtown Science"-who i actually loved, "Afros", "YNV", "Flatlinerzs", etc) by then I think their DEF JAM WEST was putting out more hits (Domino??) but my point is this. The rhymes were older and when they went to re-do that album (Behind Bars) you had a lot of IMO bad mixes although again thank you for highlighting WARREN G's "Behind Bars" remix because I too liked that. Unfortunately Slick Rick HATED and thats shown in "THE SHOW" when Rick meets with Mr #MeTOO a dismissive "Hustle" Simmons,lol.

[@syrtyce]

I want to commend you not only on your spot on research but what you're doing period. You're able to infom, highlight the good and bad w/o being inflammatory You're arguably one of the best music historians I've seen. You don't rehash a lot of the what should be common themes at the sametime you're also cognizant that everyone may not be up to speed on certain things and you try to shed light. You need a Patreon or something because this stuff is that valuable.

[@mightyraccoon7155]

Slick Rick is my favorite rapper ever & one of the greatest of all time. His charisma & versatility with subject matter is astonishing. Only Slick Rick can do a comical story about ethnic stereotype date rape & then make a song right afterwards about the flaws that come with being in a relationship for the first time. Snoop & NaS list Slick Rick as their all time favorite, if that doesn’t make anybody consider Slick Rick one of the best then I don’t know what will.

[@kentalks2818]

Hey young world is the crown jewel

[@lordgodspeed1539]

as a hip-hop historian I definitely analyzed fair share of MCs I found us some of them had Inspirations that manifested in the style of the present into the world. like for instance Treach of Naughty by Nature, here's a great MC who's styles influenced by Slick Rick's lick the balls. especially if you listen to lick the balls and churches flow and OPP. I never seen anybody make a public note of it before.

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Good obsevation

[@OnALivingSpreeLLC]

Lord Godspeed yooo and I’m usually on top of similar things but I’m just realizing this with Treach & Rick

[@YakThaWiseman72]

Wow that's interesting, it was Slick Rick's voice that captured me. The way he fell into the Show "Well here's a little something that needs to be heard, Doug I was going Downtown, "Word Rick?", Word" had me from day one

[@rizzotto139]

Nice line up on all them albums!!

[@YakThaWiseman72]

The Ruler is The Greatest Story Teller indeed. His vocal tone is incredible

[@poncho520nyc9]

I never realized that on KIT what's the scoop Slick was Rhyming as The Car. Went completely over my head. Definitely need to record some new material. GOAT story teller

[@antoniomcmahon3499]

"Pleeease, no one can serve us"!!..Lick the Balls, niggas was original Swagster!

[@House71Music]

Damn... I love this Channel! I can watch these videos all day! They take me back to good times and I pick on stuff I didn't know and songs I wasn't up on at the time! Kudos for this work!

[@TheFoundationhiphop]

Thanks for looking!