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Slick Rick

Slick Rick predated 2 Pac as far as rappers releasing music while in jail, but this part of his career is often forgotten. Rick went to jail in 1990 after he shot an innocent bystander and his cousin/bodyguard who he says was extorting him and acting on threats to take his life. Russell Simmons bailed him out and Rick spent his brief time out rushing to record The Ruler’s Back that was released in 1991. Rick was eventually sent to prison to serve five years for attempted murder. In 1994 Def Jam released Rick’s third album Behind Bars while he was in jail. Rick got out jail in 1997 and spent the next year or so recording his 1999 comeback album The Art of Storytelling. Since then Rick has been making the rounds on the old-school Hip Hop concert festival.

Verdict: HURT. Slick Rick went into jail as a rising star. But with rap moving so fast, by the time he came out he was already considered “old school.”

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