Slick Rick

Photo by John Anderson

Slick Rick

Rocking his signature eye patch and a gold medallion the size of a dinner plate, Slick Rick performed every track from 1988's The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, although not in the order they appear on the album. "The Ruler's Back" served as a fitting introduction, but here's guessing rap's greatest storyteller didn't want to open with "Treat Her Like a Prostitute" and close with "Lick My Balls" (he apologized to the ladies after performing the former), two songs the now 45-year-old hip-hop veteran wrote more than two decades ago. With a loping, singsong flow that begot Snoop Dogg and fellow FFFF performer Devin the Dude, Slick Rick's never been known for over-the-top dynamism, but this performance bordered on lethargic. Left hand firmly stuffed in his jeans pocket, the Ruler mostly sleep-walked through his Great Adventures and coasted on classic material like "Hey Young World," "Teenage Love," and "Mona Lisa." Most fans seemed pleased simply to be in the presence of rap royalty and helped Rick rhyme every word of the oft-covered closing cautionary tale, "Children's Story." Knock 'em out the box, Rick, or lull them to sleep.