A few Things to Ponder About Slick Rick the Ruler by Davey D Slick Rick is considered by many to be one of Hip Hop’s most colorful characters and the genre’s greatest storyteller. He’s also considered one of Hip Hop’s better performers. One thing is for certain, he lived up to those glowing adjectives this past weekend when he rolled through the Bay Area to do a special show. Unlike most so called old school acts, Slick Rick did not need to show up and be apart of an ‘old school rap package that featured 10 other groups. He and he alone packed out the Mezzanine Night club in San Francisco with both a capacity crowd as well as a who’s who in local Bay Area celebrities. The make up of the crowd covered damn near all the generations within Hip Hop. You saw over the over 30 and 40 crowd rolling deep in one corner. You saw the twenty-somethings in another corner. You saw some sporting fancy fur coats and big ole dookey chains from ‘back in the days’, while others were rocking the latest Sean jean and Roc-A-Wear. The dance floor was packed with people who gathered around b-boy and b-girl circles to watch folks pop, strut and spin on their backs. In another part of the club you saw folks doing the latest Hyphy dances. But no matter whop they were and what they were doing, they all of them came to see Slick Rick the Ruler who did not disappoint. I had spoken with Rick the day before his show and he emphatically talked about two things that he seemed determined to address with his performance. First, he seemed annoyed that the record industry gatekeepers continue to erase and put to the back anybody who is older. Rick who is now 40 talked about how the industry has created a climate where folks feel comfortable in disrespecting Hip Hop’s history and its icons. He said this sort of attitude has resulted in a lot of older cats walking around pretending they are real young just to fit into the industry. Rick also pointed out the while its important to create space and allow the newer generation to have their time in the sun, it’s been disconcerting to see that so many have not built upon past lessons and approaches to Hip Hop. He was specifically referring to showmanship. He spoke about how there has always been a premium on artists being able to do good shows. He says it was and continues to be critical. One was expected to put forth an effort to adorn a costume or style of dress, have a well crafted image and be able to rock the crowd. He cited Big daddy Kane’s recent performance on VH1 Hip Hop Honors as an example of what Hip Hop should be striving for. However, with many of today’s artists that skill set has been lost… Rick would like to see that change. When Slick Rick hit the stage this past Saturday night he showed everyone including veteran performers how it should be done. He broke out wearing his traditional fly outfit and adorned with mounds of trunk jewelry. The crowd went nuts when he hit the stage. They went even more nuts when he started rocking all his hit songs to the house band which was headed up by long time neo-soul-jazz artists Ricky Rick and Vernon Hall. As an added surprise Dwayne Wiggins of the group Tony Toni Tone jumped on stage with Rick to back him up and the rest they say his history. The place went crazy… Slick Rick hammered home his point about not sleeping on the old school when he asked his deejay DJ Kaos to spin a few records from the old school and match them up against today’s hits. Rick wanted the crowd to compare. Yes, the crowd went nuts to hit songs from artists like Young Jeezy and Mannie Fresh. But once you heard classic cuts from Eric B and Rakim or Big Daddy Kane, there was simply no comparison. The old school won out that night. As for our interview with Slick Rick, he remained as colorful as ever. As I mentioned he spoke about the importance of doing good shows and ran off a short list of entertainers that all newcomers should peep and learn from. Among those cited were the Beatles and Elvis Presley, Gladys Knight and James Brown. Rick cautioned folks not to get caught up in the racial thing because he expressed love for the Beatles and Elvis. He stressed that they were good at their craft and they cannot be denied. He said that far too often we over generalize people and that everyone Black and white have good things to offer. Rick also spoke fondly of the Rat pack which featured Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis and Dean Martin. He said that one should not sleep on Dean and that his showmanship was and style was dope. During our interview we spoke with Rick about the legacy of his former crew the Kangol Crew which some may consider Hip Hop’s first ‘Rap Pack’. He talked about the good fortune that fell upon members like himself and Dana Dane. Slick Rick also spoke on the art of storytelling and how he goes about writing his rhymes. Anybody who is an emcee will wanna peep out some of Slick Rick’s techniques. For example, he says the best way to write a rap that tells a story is to write the second, third or forth line first… We ended our interview by speaking on politics. Rick offered up his insight about the Democrats and explained why he attended 2004 National Hip Hop Political Convention and told people not to vote for George Bush or John Kerry. He also broke down the things we need to be aware of regarding the nomination of Judge Alioto for the Supreme Court. He concluded by giving some choice words about England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair. Less