Tag Archives: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

50 Years of Hip Hop Album Review: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Critical Beatdown

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Last year was the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and in honor of this anniversary, the idea bloomed in my mind that I should review the top 50 albums of that 50 years. As I crunched together a list from various sources, 50 proved to be too restrictive- many of the classics were getting squeezed out. So, to make a little more room, I opted for 100 albums, two for each of hip hop’s 50 years.

For its formative years, hip hop was a live entertainment form, with the first recorded singles not emerging until 1979, and the first albums in 1980. So my review will cover 1980-2023, with 50 posts of two albums each. The only ground rule I made for myself (besides looking for 2×50, aka 100, albums that were widely well-regarded) was that I had to have at least one from each year. As you’ll see by and by, some years get multiple albums, but since we have 100 spots for 43 years, it tends to all work out.

*June 2024 addendum: Due to some medical situations, I took a three+ month hiatus from blogging. It’s unlikely I’ll finish this series this year. But I’m back at it, and I won’t mind extending into 2025 if you don’t!*

And with that, let’s embark on our next installment!

Slick Rick, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)– The influence of Slick Rick in general, and this particular album, are undeniable. Born in the U.K. and raised in the Bronx, Slick Rick rose to fame for his work with Doug E. Fresh before going solo as the third artist signed to Def Jam. He’s renowned for his story-telling chops, which are on display here, and for his unique voice (which carries the UK influence). Somewhere between these factors he’s been sampled well over a thousand times by other hip hop artists, and artists as diverse from each other as Busta Rhymes, Kool Moe Dee, and Nas have cited this album as a favorite. Listening to it, I can get on board with that- it is vintage hip hop in the Def Jam style of the era, and swings with the swagger and ego of the best MCs while also deflating the tropes of the scene with Slick Rick’s humor.

Ultramagnetic MCs, Critical Beatdown (1988)- You may have noticed that this album is our ninth entry in the series from 1988. That’s no accident, that was a peak year in innovation from hip hop’s golden age, and many of the albums issued that year have influenced everything that came after. Critical Beatdown is no exception. The production work of member Ced-Gee, already a great under-recognized contributor to the sounds of Boogie Down Productions and Eric B. & Rakim, included an unusual range of samples and innovative sampling re-arrangement techniques that immediately influenced Public Enemy and gangsta rap, and have continued to echo down since then. Beyond the sonic joy, the rapid flow of the vocals and sometimes surreal lyrics really caught my attention as well. I can see why this got on so many lists!

If you’re curious about the sources I used to compile my list, you can check them out here:

And if you want to catch up on the previous installments, here they are…

  1. Sugarhill Gang- Sugarhill Gang (1980)/Kurtis Blow- Kurtis Blow (1980)
  2. Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder (1981)/Grandmaster Flash- The Message (1982)
  3. Wild Style Original Soundtrack (1983)/Fat Boys- Fat Boys (1984)
  4. Kurtis Blow- Ego Trip (1984)/Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C. (1984)
  5. Whodini- Escape (1985)/The Treacherous Three- The Treacherous Three (1985)
  6. Run-D.M.C.- King of Rock (1985)/LL Cool J- Radio (1985)
  7. Beastie Boys- Licensed to Ill (1986)/Run-D.M.C.- Raising Hell (1986)
  8. Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded (1987)/Eric B. & Rakim- Paid in Full (1987)
  9. LL Cool J- Bigger and Deffer (1987)/Big Daddy Kane- Long Live the Kane (1988)
  10. Boogie Down Productions- By All Means Necessary (1988)/EPMD- Strictly Business (1988)
  11. Eric B. & Rakim- Follow the Leader (1988)/Jungle Brothers- Straight Out the Jungle (1988)
  12. N.W.A- Straight Outta Compton (1988)/Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back (1988)

Finally, if you’d like a playlist for the entire list, you can find that here. Listen to it sequentially for the historical development of the genre, or play on shuffle for maximum historical scramble!