Customer Reviews

Behind Bars

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When one considers that Rick recorded this while on a brief furlough from prison in a rushed amount of time, this is not bad, especially his reunification w/ Dougie Fresh in "Sittin In My Car" (based on Billy Stewart/GQ's "Sitting In the Park.")

When I was 11 Slick Rick dropped "Great Adventures." Growing up in New York City in the 80's I was exposed to hip hop, and did like hip hop, but it wasn't until 94's "Behind Bars" that I TRULY got into Rick. When your 11, at least back then, hip hop wasn't as all pervasive as it is now. Remember, it wasn't really until 1986 with RUN DMC gettin down with Steven Tyler and crew that "rap" was even shown on MTV with any regularity! Well, needless to say I loved "Behind Bars" when it came out. I thought Rick's wordplay was fierce and it was THIS album that brought me back to his classic 88 debut. He recorded this on a work release furlough and although it's not his BEST album it still smokes. People were straight hatin on the Ruler and called this album trash. Everyone expected Rick to do a "Children Story 2" and that wasn't how he was living. Truth was that Rick was a convicted felon and went from on top to bottom of the barrel in a few short years. 1994 was an epic year for hip hop, so compared to Illmatic, Hard to Earn, TICAL, Street Level( don't you DARE sleep on the Beatnuts!!) of course it doesnt sound all of that, but it is still Slick Rick and i like the down and out Rick. I give it 3 and half stars but to this day i appreciate this album for turning me on to the best storyteller hi hop has ever, and will ever know.

Slick Rick the Ruler pressed forward with the release entitled Behind Bars. Most of the tracks on here have been remixed before we could even judge the original ones. Rick doesn't stray from his storytelling, imaginative nature of rhymes. The heartfelt and reality striken "All Alone (No One To Be With)" gives a tale of life without love. He goes to back to his so called singing on "Sittin' In My Car" and "A Love That's True (Part I)". On "A Love That's True (Part II)" he comes with a reggae, freestyle flow. The never ending bounce and bass lick production by Greg Nice on "Let's All Get Down" has the Ruler flowing between the energetic Nice & Smooth. To end the lp on a high note "Behind Bars (Dum Ditty Dum Mix)" features Warren G and was also produced by him as well. This is definately the highlight Behind Bars! I gave this four stars and this is the weakest release by Slick Rick and that says everything.

THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE ALBUM..MUCH SLEPT ON BY CRITICS AND FANS..SEEMS LIKE MOST SLICK RICK FANS DISAPPEARED AFTER GREAT ADVENTURES..WHAT A MISTAKE..THIS IS REAL UNDISPUTED HIP HOP..RICK RECORDED THIS WHILE LOCKED UP..ITS STILL BETTER THAN ALMOST ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT TODAY..I'LL TAKE RICK AT 75% OVER JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE AT 100%..NOONE CAN TELL STORIES AND CHANGE CHARACTERS LIKE RICK..AND HIS STORIES ARE NEVER WACK..GET THIS ALBUM IF YOU LIKE RICK..FORGET ABOUT GREAT ADVENTURES WHEN YOU LISTEN..PLAY THE WHOLE THING THROUGH AND RELAX TO IT..THERES ONLY LIKE 10 TRACKS..NOT AS UPTEMPO AS THE CLASSIC 2ND RELEASE THE RULERS BACK BUT STILL VERY NICE..HOLD ON TO ALL OF RICKS WORKS BECAUSE THEY WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE A COLLECTORS ITEM..RICK IS THE ONLY RAPPER LEFT WHO DOESNT HAVE TO BE HARDCORE THAT STILL GETS RESPECT FROM EVERYWHERE..LONG LIVE THE RULER..CAN'T WAIT FOR HIS NEXT JOINT

You see, it doesn't matter if this album is short, and has a couple of filler/remix tracks, this is one of hip hop's best artists on what is considered his worst album. Even though some people consider this a low standard for Slick Rick, it is still better than most of the junk that is out there, no matter what year it was made.

THIS IS ONE OF HIS BEST ALBUMS. THE BEATS ARE DOPE AND HIS FLOW IS LIKE NO OTHER. I RECOMMEND PICKING THIS UP.

Slick Rick comes back in 1994 with another album amid judicial woes, the appropriately titled Behind Bars. I am not an expert on Slick Rick, for this is the only album I own by him, but he is entertaining. With production by Paul Huston, Vance Wright, Easy Mo Bee, himself, and some remixing by Warren G and Pete Rock, the beats are bass heavy and funky and will rock ya system. Ricky has a dope flow and adapts it well to the beats. He can definitely tell a story, and by listening to Warren G and Snoop Doggy Dogg on their albums, it is easy to see where the influence came from. Behind Bars (title joint) is phat and jazzy boom-bap, and the way he uses his voice and flow, it is almost like there is two of him rapping trading verses! His story is funny. The remix is a Warren G G-Funk beat with Warren G giving a west coast perspective of the county jail. "Sittin' In My Car" is funny too; I love the way he analyzes his relationships with women. Doug E. Fresh adds his slick beat box over a jazzy, soulful background, and his singin' in the hook had a dude rollin on the floor bustin' up! "A Love That's True" is another funny way Rick goes over his relationships with the ladies and wants a good relationship instead of the bad ones he goes through. The beat is lovably odd ball: bumpy, bouncy, with earth shattering bass and intermittent whistles. His relationship with women is a huge theme in this album. "I'm Captive" is mad energetic, and he seems to be stuck in wierd relationships. To really understand this album, you need to really pay attention to his oddball stories because if you miss a word, it will be hard to keep up. If you want an album full of funk and fun, this one is for you.

While it isn't on the same level as "The Great Adventures..." or "The Art of Storytelling", Rick still manages to drop some great tracks on this LP. "Behind Bars" (both the original and Dum Ditty Dum remix f/Warren G), "Sittin' In My Car", and "A Love That's True (Part One)" are some of Rick's best songs, combining all the traits that make him great: story telling, humor, nice beats (especially "Sittin' In My Car", which also features beatboxing by Doug E. Fresh), and an underlying message. The main weakness of this CD is that it only has eleven tracks, a couple of which are just filler. Still, the album is definetly worth buying if you are a fan of Slick Rick's music.