Bleep

25 years on from Slick Rick’s debut release, this critically-lauded album sounds as fresh and unsettling as ever, and Universal Music Series’ repress of the record should be received with open arms. Slick Rick’s style pushes the more surreal elements of contemporaries like Ice Cube to a goofy yet persuasive extremes anticipating the harrowing and madcap lyrics of the likes of MF Doom and Tyler the Creator. ‘The Ruler’s Back’ is an extraordinary mix of plodding military brass, swung piano licks and abrasive scratches, all propped up by a vintage hip-hop beat, while the female caricatures which pop up on ‘Indian Girl (An Adult Story)’ recall Frank Zappa in their zany yet disturbing tone and subject matter.

This sense of wilful transgression, told with real wit, rears its head again on ‘Treat Her Like a Prostitute’, where brass stabs and crushed beats support Slick Rick’s irreverent but slightly terrifying flow. On ‘Let’s Get Crazy’ the production channels a classic funk and disco template, complete with chorus shout-outs, adding a further element to the record’s unbridled eccentricity. The album remains a salient example of combining experimental ambition with an infectious groove, making the listening experience hard to pin down, and alluringly complex.