Slick Rick May Drop a New Album

2016 has been a big year for Slick Rick. After officially becoming a U.S. citizen in April following a 23-year protracted legal process and celebrating with a U.S. tour, the British-born rap trailblazer is now hinting that he has new music on the way.

In September, Rick visited the U.K. freely for the first time in 31 years. While there, Rick sat down with The Guardian for an interview. The "Children's Story" rapper touched on his past in prison—"you learn from your mistakes"—and, more importantly, gave an update on his creative future.

“I was thinking I’ll probably put something together now, put it on the Internet for my core audience to check out…Be good to just put [a new album] out there and show that you’re still a Picasso, a Rembrandt or Van Gogh in this game, you know what I mean?" said the Ruler.

As one of the most renowned MC's from hip-hop's golden age, Rick has released four complete albums and worked with the likes of The Beastie Boys, TLC, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and more. Rick pioneered the art of visual storytelling through rhyme, but he hasn't released an album since 1999's The Art of Storytelling.

Born Ricky Martin Lloyd Walters, the immigrant MC was convicted of attempted murder and weapons charges for shooting his cousin in 1991 and served five years in prison. The U.S. government tried to give Rick the boot many times for the felony, and in 2002, Ricky D was arrested on a docked Caribbean cruise ship and spent a year behind bars. Again in 2008, the Immigration and Naturalization Service tried to say his felony prevented him from living peacefully in the U.S. It took a pardon from New York Governor David Paterson in April 2016 to confirm that The Ruler could stay for good.

Along with the Guardian interview, the MC gifted fans with a curated eight-hour, 115-song Spotify playlist of classic hip-hop joints to hold hip-hop heads over until we get new music from Rick himself. Check that out below.

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