1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: slick Rick hip hop icon are insane. He endured a 3 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: drug induced nervous breakdown, was harassed constantly by a family member, kidnapped, beaten, abused, 4 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,520 Speaker 1: and when he defended himself against this tormentor, he served 5 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: hard time for attempted murder and an eventual second stint 6 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: in prison for illegal immigration. But slick Rick was an original. 7 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: His flow is now iconic, but his hustle is legend. 8 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: It was slick Rick's hustle that kept him rolling, delivered 9 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: him from backing Dougie Fresh toffronting his thing, and inspiring 10 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: countless mcs who came up in his wake. Because slick 11 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: Rick made great music. That music I played you at 12 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: the top of the show that wasn't great music. That 13 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: was a preset loop from my melotron called Kittie Ride 14 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: Mellow BK one. I played you that loop because I 15 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: can't afford the rights to Step by Step by New 16 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: Kids on the Block. And why would I play you 17 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: that specific slice of Donnie Joey Jordan Danny Jonathan Cheese. 18 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: Could I afford it? Because that was the number one 19 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: song in America on July third, nineteen ninety, and that 20 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: was the day slick Rick shot his cousin, kicking off 21 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: a battle with US authorities that would last decades. On 22 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: this episode, Hustle Flow, New Kid, Cheese and slick Rick. 23 00:01:38,800 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan. In this This Disgrace Land, slick Rick 24 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: was hungover, partied out, and thankful he had nothing to 25 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: do that day. He yawned and stretched out across the 26 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: luxurious state room mattress. This was the life. The huge 27 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: plush bed rocked gently with the motion of the ocean. 28 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: As the late morning light crept in through the cruise 29 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: ship porthole, Rick wrapped one arm around his beautiful wife Mandy. 30 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: She was curled up against him like a cat. Last 31 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: night's show was a rager. What started out as a 32 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: fundraiser raising scholarship money to support black college students turned 33 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: into an all timer. After Rick the Ruler performed his 34 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: set Latti Dotty, it of course turned into a party, 35 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: and damn right it did. Rick thought that's what cruise 36 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: ships are for, and that's what slick Rick was for. 37 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: The party had always come natural to Rick, and so 38 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: did the hustle. But he took particular pride in his 39 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: latest business arrangement. It was a perfect setup. A few 40 00:02:57,600 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: times a year he and Mandy got a free trip 41 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: down to Flower. They'd visit his family down south, say 42 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: they're helloes, then get on a big ass boat with 43 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: the best rooms. Royal Caribbean had to offer a reserved 44 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: in their name, and Rick would perform the classics for 45 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: a ballroom of wealthy drunks, then get blitzed on the 46 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: open seas. For a born hustler like Rick, this was 47 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: the life. The violent knock the door echoed through the 48 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: dark hardwood of the cabin, the wet bar rattled, a 49 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: glass shattered. The quiet of their love nest was gone. 50 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: And that banging at the door clearly wasn't some eager 51 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: to please concierge wrapping his knuckles obsequiously. It sounded quite 52 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: the opposite, like the meaty fist of some boot liquor, 53 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: eager to take the damned door down. If he couldn't. 54 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: Mandy leapt out of bed in an instant. She was naked. 55 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: Rick just craned his head up, still grocky even in 56 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: the confusion. Her lithe body turned him on. More bangs 57 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 1: at the door. What the fuck. Wrapping a silk robe 58 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: around her. With quick grace, Mandy steeled herself and heanked 59 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: open the stateroom door. G men loomed, staring her down, 60 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: looking alien behind reflective shades. The acronym on the sleeves 61 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: of their standard issue G Men windbreakers read I NS 62 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: Richard Martin Lloyd Walters, one of them said, stonefaced. Now 63 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: it was Rick's turned to bolt up from bed. Who's asking, 64 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,039 Speaker 1: he asked, in his famous sing song notes, mister Walters, 65 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 1: you are a non citizen and a convicted Felon last night, 66 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: this ship crossed into international waters. You deported yourself. So now, 67 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: as of this morning, you have attempted to illegally enter 68 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: the United States of America. We're here to take you 69 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: into custody. On behalf of the Department of Homeland Security. 70 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: Hip hop's greatest storyteller was stunned into silence, fear, confusion, 71 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: handcuffs up on deck. A ship full of hungover partiers 72 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 1: was expected to disembark and scatterback into Miami, but the 73 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: mysterious delay in the sudden appearance of government mark ships 74 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: sent hushed rumors through the crowd. Suddenly, the G Men 75 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: came elbowing their way through the mall. Scandalized gas rose 76 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: up from the revelers. Slick Rick, the guest of honor, 77 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: the man they'd all come to see, who they cheered 78 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: for after every famous rhyme the night before, was being 79 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: purp walked across the shuffleboard court, shouting this is bullshit, 80 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: as the faceless officers struggled to grip his arms and 81 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: haul m towards the gangway, and they shoved the handcuff 82 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: wrapper in front of them, using his body as a 83 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: makeshift battering ram. A wise ass in the crowd yelled gangway. 84 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: He was too perfect, and for Rick all the more humiliating. 85 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: Mandy came running out behind them, begging and pleading, tears 86 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,360 Speaker 1: streaming down her face, adding to the drama of the moment. 87 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 1: She ran in front of the authorities, turned around and 88 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: began backpedaling so she could meet eyes with her husband. 89 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: They kept forcing him forward, and she just kept walking backward, 90 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: holding his face, promising him she would fight this with 91 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: all her might. Rick was stunned and angry, but now 92 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: with his strong wife before him, swearing to him that 93 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: she'd solve this, figure it out, protect him and the 94 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: face of the strength. Rick fe resilient and blessed, because, 95 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: let's face it, there's no bigger turn on, nothing more 96 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: compelling or empowering than a wife who has her husband's back. 97 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: I love you, baby, all right? Enough of this bullshit. 98 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: Shut on one of the ions goons, just before pushing 99 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: Mandy aside and barrowing Rick down the gangway to a 100 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: waiting paddy wagon. On the ear into the back he went, 101 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: doors slam shut behind him. Rick thought of the black 102 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: marias back home, and from there things got worse. He 103 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: spent days he couldn't recall how many, in a Miami 104 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: holding cell. He was given a little clarity from authorities 105 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: on his situation as he scrambled frantically to contact his lawyers. 106 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: No luck, and what the hell was going on? Where 107 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:41,919 Speaker 1: was he being held or why was he being held? 108 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: He got the immigration thing, but the treatment since his 109 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: arrest seemed cruel, if not actually illegal. Then on a 110 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: day that ended and why and otherwise had no distinguishing characteristics, 111 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: slick rick cell door rolled open and he was fitted 112 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: for shackles at his wrists and ankles. He was then 113 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: frog marched into a bus with bar hard windows. The 114 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: bus at the road where too. He didn't know. A 115 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: couple old timers shackled in the seats behind and amused 116 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: about their situation. They'd heard of this before. The ride 117 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: an unofficial type of hazing or punishment where federal prisoners 118 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: are subjected to long, arduous bus rides under the guise 119 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: of transporting them between prisons. In reality, they're shackled and 120 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: forced to sit on hard benches upright for hours at 121 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: a time on endless daily road trips, sometimes for days 122 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: at a time, while their insides rattle, their bones ache, 123 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: and their resolves softens. All at sixty five miles per hour, 124 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: Rick rocked up and down for hours as the bus 125 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: made its way over bumpy flower to back roads. He 126 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: had no idea where they were taking him. He was spent, 127 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: but sharp enough to know that this was some sort 128 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: of dystopian parody of the gentle rocking of the cruise 129 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: ship he began this adventure on, and as the ride 130 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: was intended to be. It was enough to drive a 131 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: man crazy, but Rick, as was his normal dispass position, 132 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: kept his cool. He'd spent years in jail prior to 133 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: this for something he believed never should have ended with 134 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: his incarceration. But regardless that experience meant he could handle 135 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: whatever this fresh punit of ride was. He just thought 136 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: those days were behind him. He was getting too old 137 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: for this shit, and the bus finally brought him to 138 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: the Bradenton Detention Center in West Florida, a filthy, underfunded 139 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: prison reserved for immigration cases. It was the summer of 140 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and two, and this would be Rick's home 141 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: for the next year. As George W. Bush's shiny new bureaucracy, 142 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: the Department of Homeland Security built a fresh case against him. 143 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: Prison sucked. It was way worse than he remembered when 144 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: he was processed at Bradenton. The blue prison jumpsuit that 145 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: gave him had suspicious white stains on it that refused 146 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,199 Speaker 1: to come out over the months. His signature eye patch 147 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: that he had been wearing when he was arrested fell apart, 148 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: while his full collection languished back home in New York, 149 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: and that really pissed him off. And all around him 150 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: he was forced to bear the emotional shit show of 151 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: watching poor, seemingly helpless immigrants being kept away from their 152 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: weeping families. In this fresh hell, Rick had plenty of 153 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: time to think why him. Why now the quick version. 154 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: Though slick got an attempted murder charge on the person 155 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: who misled him, it should have been labeled self defense. 156 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: But he'd done his time. More than his time in 157 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: the long arm of the law toyed with him, tried 158 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: to make an example of him all through the nineties, 159 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: but he was too slick for that, or at least 160 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: he had enough money to hire the right lawyers to 161 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: navigate the tangled joke that was the American legal system 162 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: for him, and now apparently it was time to do 163 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: it again. Slick Rick was a man with powerful friends. 164 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: Sure he was an immigrant, but in New York City 165 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 1: that made you a native, and in the Bronx he 166 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: was an adopted hometown hero. He was one of the 167 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: very first artists signed to Deaf Jam Records and now 168 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: put a shine on his name that would never fade. 169 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: So when word got back to the Bronx that Rick 170 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,079 Speaker 1: was locked up for no good reason, the protests started. 171 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: Free slick Rick. Petitions began circulating, and celebrity fans and 172 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 1: friends began wielding their influence. Will Smith, Chris Rock, the 173 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: Reverend Jesse Jackson all rode to the courts and Ricks 174 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 1: defense and a thousand miles away in a New York 175 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: City penthouse, as coverage of ricks Desperate Circumstances played on 176 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: a wall mounted flat screen, Slick Ricks guardian Angel watched 177 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: and waited his options in zem like silence. Rick didn't 178 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 1: deserve this, he thought, straight up, this is some bullshit. 179 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: It's time to freeze slick Rick for real. So Russell Simmons, 180 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,959 Speaker 1: co founder of def Jam Recordings, looked away from his 181 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: television and picked up the telephone. What's the matter, Ricky? 182 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: You'd like coming to work? Dress like you're gonna fetch 183 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,439 Speaker 1: me a table at Nell's. Seriously, you allergic to money? 184 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: Did they even have money where you're from? Where you're 185 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: from anyway? Ricky? What the bronx? What will be the 186 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: north fucking polma? Right? You know what they say? If 187 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: it's across one hundred and tenth Street, it didn't fit 188 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,199 Speaker 1: the fuck or eat? What's the matter? Ricky? Can't got 189 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: your tongue, same cattle, got your eye? Well, you're gonna 190 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: cry that one ey ears, Hey, one of you Brooks 191 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 1: Brother's assholes. Get Ricky half a fucking kleenex. He's gonna 192 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: cry out of his one eye Ricky Walter is not 193 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:31,959 Speaker 1: yet names like Rick was hustling mail out of the 194 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: Lehman Brothers mail room and said nothing as he stoically 195 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: endured the latest round of abuse from the dipship brokers 196 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,440 Speaker 1: at Lehman Brothers. Whatever he could handle it. He'd been 197 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 1: in this country for nine years. He arrived when he 198 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: was eleven from Southwest London with his family, who were 199 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: originally from Jamaica, who then decided to try their luck 200 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: in America, the land of opportunity as immigrants twice over, 201 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,959 Speaker 1: and like most immigrants in their adopted Bronx neighborhood, they 202 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: struggled but worked hard. So Rick or Rick as he 203 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: was called, a good deal. It was nineteen eighty five 204 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 1: Manhattan and there was amount of money to make if 205 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: you were grown in with both hustle and flow, and 206 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: little Ricky Walters had both in spades. By day, he 207 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: worked in the mail room at Lehman, quietly observing mcglitz, 208 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: greed and Ghak of all the wannabe Gordon get goos 209 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 1: and American psychos, and he pushed his rinky dig mail 210 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: car through the offices of millionaire stockbrokers, tolerating their bullshit 211 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 1: while handing out obscene bonus checks to Coke Field confidence men. 212 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,960 Speaker 1: While he lived off of five hundred bucks a month, 213 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 1: two thirds of his pay covered his rent, and I 214 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: left about forty bucks a week for food, clothes and fun. 215 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: But every time he dropped the check on the desk 216 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,440 Speaker 1: of what are these so called masters of the universe? 217 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: Rick knew that deep down they were the unhappy working stiffs, 218 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: not him. They hid their misery behind the extra zeros 219 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 1: in those bonus lvehlopes, but they had no idea what 220 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: real joy and freedom were. Rick knew that one day, 221 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: his hustle, his art would outshine them all, because by night, 222 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:03,559 Speaker 1: Rick was a Bronx MC on the come up. Having 223 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: arrived in the Bronx from London in nineteen seventy six, 224 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: right around the exact time and in the exact place 225 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: that neighborhood of mcs and DJs were inventing hip hop, 226 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: Rick was indirectly groomed to be an MC, DJ, Cool 227 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: Herd Bambada Flash. Rick, as a young man, had a 228 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: front row seat to them all from his vantage point 229 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: in the Bronx, and a Rick Rappers seemed to have 230 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: it all, respect attention from the Bee Girls music was 231 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: pure joy, real freedom. There was a fire in his belly. 232 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: This was the future. When Rick was a little kid 233 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,280 Speaker 1: back in London, he was shy as an infant. A 234 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: splinter of glass in the floor of his family's tenement 235 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: apartment but in his right eye, scarring and blinding him. 236 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: His need for an eye patch made himself conscious, an 237 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: introvert by necessity. Instead of running around the neighborhood with 238 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: the other kids, he stayed in and read books, listened 239 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: to music, and grew naturally into a storyteller. But in 240 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,160 Speaker 1: the Bronx, the things that held him back as a 241 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: child had become his greatest strengths. Watching his parents' struggle 242 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: gave him drive and ambition. His soft English accent caught 243 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: the attention of the ladies, and he adopted a whole 244 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: new persona made of flashy costumes and bold fashion statements, 245 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,319 Speaker 1: and turned his eyepatch into his signature accessory. His years 246 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: of practicing poetry and storytelling set him up to rock 247 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: the mic effortlessly, with a different flow than anybody had 248 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: heard previous. In a word, it was slick. He had glitz, 249 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: ghak and hustle all his own. Now in a stage 250 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: named the match slick Rick one hundred and seventieth Street 251 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 1: in Jerome Avenue, fifteen hundred cash on the line, not 252 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,200 Speaker 1: to mention slick Rick's pride if he could vanquish all 253 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: covers in this street corner wrap battle. The original human 254 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: beat box Dougie Fresh was the judge. Rick commend him 255 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,680 Speaker 1: a couple months back, but failed to really make an impression. 256 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: Now is his chance impressing Dougie Fresh meant your flow 257 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: is dope and that sale of approval was potentially worth 258 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: more than the fifteen hundred. The scene was bumping block 259 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: part his style. The nighttime summer air was sticky, sweat 260 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: was visible on the bare arms of the attendant be 261 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: girls and distracting Rick, who was trying to focus waiting 262 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: his turn to jump in. He got the call up, 263 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: bounced into the battle and smoothly dropped a verse that 264 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: would soon become famous, and slick Rick was off the crowd. 265 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: He had them, he could feel it, and they could 266 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: tell they were witnessing something special. Rix Rime had both 267 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 1: innocence and bite, and he was telling a story in 268 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: a way that was both familiar, like something that pulled 269 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: on their childhood memories, but also an indicator of where 270 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: this relatively new genre of music could go. Dougie Fresh 271 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,320 Speaker 1: was more than impressed. Needless to say, Slick Rick won 272 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: the battle that night, but more importantly, Dougie Fresh enlisted 273 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: Rick to join his Get Fresh crew and quickly cut 274 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: a record with Rick's lotty Dottie Rhyme featured over his 275 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: beat boxing. The song took off off DJ's played it live, 276 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: audiences demanded it, kids all over memorized it, promoters paid 277 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: top dollar for it, and soon as a tory member 278 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: of Douggie Pressures Get Fresh Crew, Slick Rick was on 279 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: the road in the States and in Europe with the 280 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: Star and the Rise, but he wasn't yet where he 281 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,440 Speaker 1: wanted to be. Douggie Fresh was pulling in six grand 282 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: a gig. Get Fresh crew members got a five percent 283 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: cut three hundred each and compared to the five bills 284 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: a month from Lehman Brothers. To Rick, this felt like 285 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: a raining paper. Rick told Leman to fuck off, but 286 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: this still wasn't exactly fuck you money. Rick got to 287 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 1: thinking it was his voice and his lyrics that starred 288 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: on Dougie Fresh's hits. Lottie Dottie in the show, so 289 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: I'll due respect, the three hundred wasn't going to cut it. 290 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: Rick knew what he had to do, hustle, strike out 291 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: on his own. But first there was a party to attend. 292 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 1: A type of party that only those whose stars in 293 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: a cent at, the type of party with bowls filled 294 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: with mystery pills and powders, the type of party where 295 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: the bottles never ran dry, the type of party where 296 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: the smoke made everyone look ten percent sex here, and 297 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: the type of party were sex just might break out 298 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: in the open any minute, wherever, on the dance floor, 299 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 1: the bathroom, in the back seat of the limo. Rick 300 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 1: indulge women, weed, champagne, angel dust, and the angel dust 301 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: was no joke. Rick told himself it was for special 302 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 1: occasions only, but inevitably he caught himself a bad batch 303 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 1: and snapped a psychotic break His brain chemistry scrambled his 304 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: head on fire for days on end, driving his thoughts 305 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: around in endless circles, manic itching, twitching for trouble, until 306 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,359 Speaker 1: it all suddenly crashed into a coma like low. The 307 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 1: only reality he knew was that he had lost all 308 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 1: concept of reality. So he checked into a local psychiatric 309 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: ward to recover from what he later came to terms 310 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 1: with as a drug induced nervous breakdown. There he was 311 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,239 Speaker 1: in the sterile hospital common room, all linoleum tile and 312 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: fluorescent lights, drooling and staring off into the middle distance 313 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 1: of his one eye. He did not look like slick. Rick. 314 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: Was this it? How could a burnout with a junkie 315 00:17:57,119 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: lean be all that was left of him? He rocked 316 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 1: gently back and forth and the music trapped to his 317 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: own fried out mind, and orderly approached him, Trailing behind 318 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 1: her two young men with the air of mobility, mister Walters, 319 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: Rick orderly asked, but no response. Rick. These men would 320 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: like to meet you, mister Simmons, mister Ruben me Rick. 321 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: In his sorry state, Rick assumed this was the coup 322 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: de grasse, sealing his deal in his worst nightmare. Standing 323 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: in front of him was the powerhouse behind the still 324 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,959 Speaker 1: brand new outfit def Jam Recordings, Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, 325 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:32,879 Speaker 1: the two men behind some of Rapp's most exciting to 326 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,640 Speaker 1: that point influential records, Telor Rock and Jazzy Jays. It's 327 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: yours ll cool Jays. I need a beat and it's 328 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: the beat by the Hollis Crew from Olbern Queen's Plus 329 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: Russell was the older brother of the Hollis Crew's Run, 330 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: who was the unofficial son of Curtis Blow who is 331 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,439 Speaker 1: the shit and Run, of course, would go on to 332 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,359 Speaker 1: become one of the iconic members of Run DMC. And 333 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: these dudes were connected here. He was slick Rick, the 334 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: wordless zombie. The fucking one he dreamt of was an 335 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,439 Speaker 1: arms reach and he couldn't even make eye contact with 336 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: the men who could get it forward one but Russell 337 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,359 Speaker 1: Simmons knew the scar and you would have slick Ricks back, 338 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: just like he would so many more times over the years. 339 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: And they shared a culture, lives in the same streets. 340 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,679 Speaker 1: Russell had seen plenty of folks in the condition they 341 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: called dusty. He knew Rick would snap out of it 342 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: in a few days. Slick Rick, the velvet voice storyteller 343 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: would return bigger and better than ever. Russell Simmons knew it, 344 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: and he'd make sure of it. He leaned down and 345 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,880 Speaker 1: whispered into his ear, Rick, I know you're in there, 346 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: but we're going to see on the outside. Def Jam 347 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 1: wants you. We'll be right back after this word word 348 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: word the butt of the pistol whipped Rick across the temple. 349 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,600 Speaker 1: Where's the money, motherfucker? We wants the money, Ricky. Rick 350 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: waited for the stars and the blurriness to fade. Who 351 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: the fuck was this guy whipping him with the butt 352 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: end of his nine millimeters anyway, had to have been 353 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: one of Mark's ca just when things were evening out 354 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: for Rick. That's what he had settled into, the lifestyle 355 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: afforded him from a successful recording career with def Jam. 356 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: But man, what the hell is this? Typical? Rick thought? 357 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: It was like, no matter how many of his dreams 358 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:16,199 Speaker 1: came true, he always had some new hassle trying to 359 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: tear him back down. Here. It was nineteen eighty nine. 360 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: He was at the top of the rap game, and 361 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: somehow he was tied to a chair in his own home, 362 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 1: knuckling through one of an endless series of shakedowns. Fucked 363 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,199 Speaker 1: this shit, and fuck the music business too. If this 364 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: was going to be the way it was, shakedowns and beatdowns. 365 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: Too much hustle for too much hassle. The signature in 366 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: Rick's new contract with deaf Jam was barely dry before 367 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,120 Speaker 1: his hard work began paying off. He was a star now. 368 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,920 Speaker 1: But soon enough he learned the same thing everyone learns 369 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,879 Speaker 1: when they get famous. Enough, when you finally made it, 370 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,440 Speaker 1: you get to run faster and faster just to stay 371 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: in the same place. He saw it in the recording 372 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: studio right away. This wasn't the simple joy of a 373 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: freestyle block party anymore. This was a This was work. 374 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 1: His debut album took a year and a half to 375 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,440 Speaker 1: record as a rotating cast of producer struggled to vibe 376 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 1: with Rick's flow, and after a year had gone by, 377 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:14,199 Speaker 1: only one track met his personal standards, the Ruler. But 378 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: once things clicked, they clicked, and the finished album, The 379 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,640 Speaker 1: Great Adventures of Slick Rick, topped the Billboard Hip Hop 380 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: charts for five weeks and received a five Mike score 381 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:29,120 Speaker 1: from the Source. But success changed things. Rick couldn't bop 382 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 1: around the bronx anymore, not like the old days. His 383 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,639 Speaker 1: name was too big. He never knew which young blood 384 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: was going to step to him, just to make their bones. 385 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,679 Speaker 1: His jeweled eye patches, his carefully layered chains, the chunky 386 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,200 Speaker 1: rings he wore as a tribute to Sammy Davis Junior. 387 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: They were meant to be proof positive that his hustle 388 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,239 Speaker 1: had been rewarded, but now all they did was make 389 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: him an obvious target. But fuck it, Why hustle so 390 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: hard if he can't enjoy it? So Rick stepped up. 391 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,160 Speaker 1: He filled out his collection of jewelry cars in real 392 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,919 Speaker 1: estate with a small armory, pissed those semi automatic shotguns, 393 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:03,959 Speaker 1: you name it. He carried a piece on him at 394 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: all times, but he knew more than anyone that he 395 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: only had one eye, So what he really needed was 396 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:13,400 Speaker 1: muscle bodyguards, an expense he'd happily cover, and as luck 397 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: would have it, Rick had a cousin who had just 398 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: arrived in the city from Jamaica fresh off the boat, 399 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: Mark Plumber. Rick didn't really know the guy, but keeping 400 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: things in the family seemed like a good idea, so 401 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: Mark got the gig guarding slick Rick. What Rick didn't 402 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: know couldn't know about Mark, is that he was a 403 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: stone cold psycho. By nineteen ninety two, Mark would be dead, 404 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: gunned down during a home invasion by the father of 405 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:38,400 Speaker 1: a young boy he was attempting to rape. But here 406 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:41,359 Speaker 1: in eighty nine, when Rick hired him, Mark Plummer hadn't 407 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: yet ruined his life, but he was threatening to ruin 408 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: slick Ricks, at least for the foreseeable future. It didn't 409 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:51,120 Speaker 1: take long after Mark's hiring for weird shit to start happening. 410 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: I attempted to be at ease on ricks properties, home invasions, 411 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,360 Speaker 1: extortion attempts. At first, it seemed to prove rix paranoia 412 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,159 Speaker 1: right there really were out to get him. His fame 413 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: was a curse. But all the threatening activity was easily 414 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 1: traced back to Mark, who, as Rick's body man, was 415 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 1: proving to lots of inside info he could then hand 416 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: off to friends to try and set Rick up, score 417 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 1: money from him, drugs or blame as if they were 418 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:19,399 Speaker 1: random burglars. The robberies were happening with too much frequency, 419 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: and Rick might have been paranoid, but he was no dummy. 420 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: Soon it became obvious that he had a bad seat 421 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,159 Speaker 1: in his crew and Mark family or not was an 422 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: unknown quantity. The betrayal, the inside job of it all, 423 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 1: and that it was the same man he had hired 424 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: for protection who was in fact the biggest threat to him. 425 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: Ratcheted Rix paranoid at a new heights. He self medicated 426 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: with champagne and weed. Neither helped. Both made the situation worse, 427 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 1: Rick was at a loss for it to do, and 428 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: with Mark, he couldn't just outright firehim, and who knew 429 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: what the stug would do, And so Rick tried paying 430 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,359 Speaker 1: him off, letting him go with a severance of several 431 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:56,920 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in a van, but it was too late. 432 00:23:57,359 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: Once Mark realized Rick had found him out, knew what 433 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: he was up to, menacing bastard that he was decided 434 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: to go full psycho on Rick. There was nothing to hide, 435 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: So fuck slick Rick, take the greedy rap star for 436 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 1: all he was worth. Mark was in the land of opportunity, 437 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,159 Speaker 1: and here was the opportunity his rich ass cousin, with 438 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: all the cash, drugs and blank taken for oli was 439 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: worth because who knew when another score would present itself. 440 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: So now Rick was tied to a chair, bleeding from 441 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: his forehead, getting pistol whipped by a random lackie, a 442 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: stooge for his psycho cousin Mark. When the rest of 443 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 1: Rick's crew was heard coming up the hall, the shakedown ended. 444 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: The stooge threatened with the pistol butt one more time, 445 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 1: give Mark what he's owed, or we're coming back on you. 446 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: You hear, and then he ducked out the window down 447 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,679 Speaker 1: the fire escape when Rick's boys entered, Oh that anyone 448 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,640 Speaker 1: could do was untie him. But it wasn't over. Rick 449 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 1: knew there'd be more attacks. Mark Plumber was a fucking 450 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 1: menace and he was all up in slick Rick shit. 451 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: He threatened to kill Rick and his mother. One day, 452 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: Rick came home to a fresh round of bullet holes 453 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,119 Speaker 1: in his front door. This game of intimidating cat and 454 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,879 Speaker 1: mouse with Mark dragged on for months. There was no 455 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:11,879 Speaker 1: end in sight. Rick continued to self medicate. The paranoia 456 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 1: inducing weed made it all especially tough to handle. His 457 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,400 Speaker 1: twitchiness had become background noise, an unavoidable fact of life. 458 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: He kept his one eye on the door at all times, 459 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:23,879 Speaker 1: and the rest of his life at the moment was 460 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: one big blind spot. But the hell with it. A 461 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: man needed to let loose every once in a while. 462 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 1: So one warm night in April nineteen ninety where he 463 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,719 Speaker 1: put on his finest eye patch, best chains and hit 464 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: the club in full slick Rick regalia, it was about 465 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: damn time to let us some steam, and it didn't 466 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: take long for him to attract a gag little girls 467 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,720 Speaker 1: to his private table have his pick of who would 468 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 1: be his queen for the night. For a moment, he 469 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,200 Speaker 1: forgot his troubles and enjoyed being who he was Slick Rick, 470 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,439 Speaker 1: the ruler. At three am. Rick and a woman he 471 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,360 Speaker 1: met earlier that night stumbled outside the club and beelined 472 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,359 Speaker 1: for Rick's as Rick was a gentleman and saw his 473 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,879 Speaker 1: girl into the passenger's seat, but when he rounded the 474 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: car to get into the driver's side, he found himself 475 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,120 Speaker 1: confronted with a gang of roughnecks who looked vaguely familiar 476 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: Mark Plumber's posse. What do you want now, motherfucker, Rick said. 477 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: He instinctively patted his waistband for his gun, but realized 478 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: it was in his glove box. Shit we want you, 479 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,640 Speaker 1: said one of mark S thucks. Two of them pulled 480 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:33,120 Speaker 1: the glocks and in an instant shots fired. A hail 481 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: of bullets rained out all over the club parking lot. 482 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,640 Speaker 1: Rick dove for cover, but not fast enough. Three bullets 483 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 1: pierced his skin. He felt a lead burn in his arm, 484 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 1: and his shoulder and his leg. It was hard to 485 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,159 Speaker 1: tell where all the pain was coming from, and the 486 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 1: heat of the moment the pain fuelled in the fight 487 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: for his life. Rick's club Queen caught astray in the 488 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,200 Speaker 1: passenger's seat, and the parking lot suddenly sank a gunpowder 489 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: and blood. Club Queen screamed, the gunman screwed out of there. 490 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,639 Speaker 1: Slick Rick slid over into the driver's seat. He checked 491 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: his wounds, checked Queen's nothing fatal, fucking amateurs. He put 492 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: the keys in the ignition and started the suv. As 493 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,440 Speaker 1: he drove to the nearest hospital, his raid shifted into overdrive, 494 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: and he had had enough. When this punk senses boys 495 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 1: to kill me. He doesn't even show his own face. 496 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: And what kind of lola, cowardly piece of shit? He 497 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: swore to himself. Never again, No more leaving the gun 498 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: in the car, no more catching him off guard. Next 499 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: time he lay his eye on menacing Mark Plumber, he'd 500 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: be looking at him over the barrel of his gun. 501 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:53,159 Speaker 1: Slick Rick was gonna kill his cousin. The voices on 502 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,479 Speaker 1: the New York City streets formed a hum that was 503 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: familiar to Rick. He'd grown up here and growing to 504 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,640 Speaker 1: expect the enveloping sound of the city. But the constant 505 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: street chorus had warped itself into a menacing mi lounge 506 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,360 Speaker 1: of paranoia. At any given moment, Rick didn't know who 507 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,119 Speaker 1: or what he was listening to. Was it the street 508 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,440 Speaker 1: or was it the psycho Mark Plumber haunting him? Fucking 509 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: with him? Rick dug in steeled himself for what he 510 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,480 Speaker 1: knew was a coming confrontation with his cousin. He turned 511 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: his new car into a weapons locker on wheels. Handguns 512 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:27,159 Speaker 1: under his seat, stashed in the door, sawed off in 513 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 1: the back, brown paper bags of AMMO at his feet, 514 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: loose bullets rolling around the floor, and of course, an 515 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: automatic pistol tucked into his waistband on his person always 516 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: it was needed. He was tweaking, fully paranoid in his condition, 517 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: He picked up his girlfriend Lisa for a day of 518 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: Chinese food and shopping. Lisa was in a condition of 519 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 1: her own, soon to be Rick's baby mama. She was 520 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: seven months pregnant, and their plan for this beautiful Tuesday 521 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:55,479 Speaker 1: in July was to buy a crib in newborn clothes. 522 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 1: Don't worry about that shotgun in the back seat and 523 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: ignoring the live rounds clicking against you. Shit, just some 524 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: normal precautions in the life of Slick Rick. But ignore 525 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 1: that noise. Today's all about us, and their day could 526 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: have been all about them if they hadn't seen that 527 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: psycho predator, Mark Plumber, walking out of a storefront on 528 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: two hundred and forty first Street like he didn't have 529 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: a care in the world. What dun luck shopping for 530 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: baby gear would have to wait? Rick sprang into action. 531 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: He slammed the brakes and with the gun out from 532 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 1: his pants, two shots out of the gate, no warning. 533 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,479 Speaker 1: They whizzed by Mark, barely missing him. One of them 534 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 1: caught the foot of an innocent bystander on the corner. 535 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,680 Speaker 1: He went down, screaming in pain. Unlucky bastard. Mark had 536 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: no idea what was happening. Rick had no time. Mark 537 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 1: saw him. Now they locked eyes, both knowing the score 538 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: even tied up, but today winner take off three more shots. 539 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: Rick cut them off before Mark could do anything besides 540 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,720 Speaker 1: stare with that stupid fucking grin of his. This time, 541 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: Rick shots connected, two in Mark's leg, one in his arm, 542 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: but no kill shot, just spray and pray. The adrenaline 543 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: kicked in. Mark gripped his wounds to them the bleeding 544 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: and dove inside the nearest storefront to escape. For a moment, 545 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: there was an eerie calm, a scene out of some 546 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: imagined cinematic city trench warfare movie. Rick aiming from his car, 547 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: Mark peering back from a bodega window. The hard top 548 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: of the Bronx stretched out between them like a no 549 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: man's lamb, screaming pedestrians, a wounded civilian writhing in pain. 550 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: Rick had to make a split second decision. Chase marked 551 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: down to finish the job or get the fuck out 552 00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 1: of there before the NYPD descended on the scene. Let's go, 553 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: let's go, let's go, Lisa demanded. She pounded on the 554 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: dash and ended the quiet of the standoff. Rick knew 555 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,720 Speaker 1: she was right. He sent the message. The more he 556 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 1: stuck around, the worst things would get. By the second 557 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:47,480 Speaker 1: Rick through the ride in the gear and peeled out 558 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: from the scene. He hooked a turn at the corner 559 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: and aimed for the Bronx River Parkway fastest exit row 560 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 1: and fuck consequences and Rick's mind, this is all self defense. 561 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: That monster kept robbing him, threatening his family. This is 562 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: the righteous kind of drive by, and he had no 563 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: intention of having to explain it to a judge. But 564 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: it was too late. He and Lisa were only a 565 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 1: couple of blocks in the parkway. When multiple blue and 566 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: white Crown Vics sirens blaring and whipped around the same corner, 567 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: he just fled and began drafting in his wake. No 568 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: way the ruler was going out like this. Rick put 569 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,280 Speaker 1: the pedal to the floor, closed the last couple of blocks, 570 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,720 Speaker 1: and hit the on ramp. There was only one move here. 571 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: Gained some distance on the squad cars, stunt the sharpest 572 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:27,960 Speaker 1: turn he could at the next ramp to surprise them 573 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 1: and lose the cops behind it in a few lanes 574 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: of traffic. He gunned it as hard as he could 575 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: up the parkway. Lisa parayed in the seat next to him, 576 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 1: guns to God, and under six seconds Rick made a 577 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:40,800 Speaker 1: hard yank with the steering wheel and skid it in 578 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: a wide arc from the far left lane towards the 579 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,640 Speaker 1: far right ramp. Knowing that the move without a make 580 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 1: or break is escape. This is it his getaway. He 581 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:51,240 Speaker 1: thought that right up until he lost control of the 582 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: car and the turn, sliding out of the angle he 583 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: was aiming for and slamming full force into a tree 584 00:31:56,200 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: along the parkway in bankment. Crashed after a moment in 585 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: a concussive shock. Rick came too. Looked around the front 586 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: end of the car was a smoking, crumpled heap. The 587 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: dashboard had intruded on the cabin from the impact. Lisa 588 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,200 Speaker 1: was frozen in shock and for a second Rick feared 589 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: she was dead, but no. He could see her breathing 590 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 1: and her belly and her baby were unharmed, but her 591 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: legs were clearly broken, pinned by the collapsed front end 592 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: of the car. The platoon of police Crown Vis pulled 593 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,000 Speaker 1: up and surrounded the crash site. An officer gun drawn 594 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: approached the driver door. Don't move, Shipbird, you're under arrest, 595 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,600 Speaker 1: and the disasters drive by and car chase landed Rick 596 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: in prison for five years on attempted murder charges. It 597 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,760 Speaker 1: stunted his recording career, but def Jam recording stuck by 598 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 1: him and allowed Rick to produce an album from behind 599 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: Barros titled Behind Bars. Lisa had the baby and Rick 600 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,520 Speaker 1: started a correspondence with another beautiful woman named Mandy, his 601 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:59,840 Speaker 1: future wife, and it wasn't all bad. And after humiliating 602 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,520 Speaker 1: Rick on that cruise ship in Miami, when i Ands 603 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,240 Speaker 1: began their decade long attempt to make an example of 604 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 1: Rick and having deported judges based out of New York, 605 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 1: and in the score, the Feds were just playing red 606 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: tape games while fishing for headlines with a hip hop 607 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: star on the hook, hoping to keep Rick locked up 608 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,080 Speaker 1: long enough so they could boot him out of the States. 609 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: It wasn't on the level. Back in New York, Russell 610 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: Simmons and ricks fans famous and otherwise had his back. 611 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: The Free Slick Rick movement launched, and it worked. He 612 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: was freed, got a full pardon from New York Governor 613 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 1: and longtime Slick Rick fan David Patterson. In the City 614 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: of the Blind, the One Eyed Man is King, or 615 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:40,520 Speaker 1: at least the ruler, and after it all died down, 616 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: Rick became a full US citizen and was eventually inducted 617 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: into the Bronx Walk with fame. Finally, Slick Rick understood 618 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,959 Speaker 1: the real power of hustle, and the payoff wasn't the 619 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: money of the women, or the drugs or any of 620 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: the bullshit the billionaire boys club back at Lehman were pedaling. 621 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 1: This was the payoff community empowerment. Years of grinding on 622 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: the block, on stage and on record, creating music true 623 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 1: art had inspired legions of fans who when his back 624 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: was up against the wall, had his back and all 625 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: the sentimentality aside. Isn't that what America is really about? 626 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,839 Speaker 1: Being there for your neighbor and their time of need? 627 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 1: Or is it just about rewarding hard work or more 628 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 1: specifically and cynically, rewarding the hustle, no matter the disgrace. 629 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:43,760 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created 630 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,920 Speaker 1: by Yours Truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. 631 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 1: Credits for this episode can be found on the show 632 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,279 Speaker 1: notes page at disgracelamdpod dot com. If you're listening as 633 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. 634 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,439 Speaker 1: We really appreciate it, and if not, you can become 635 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:02,880 Speaker 1: a member right now by going to disgracelampod dot com 636 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: slash Membership. Members can listen to every episode of disgracelam 637 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:11,240 Speaker 1: ad free, Plus you'll get one brand new exclusive episode 638 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:15,520 Speaker 1: every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and 639 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:20,440 Speaker 1: early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com 640 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,640 Speaker 1: slash membership for details, rate and review the show, and 641 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 1: follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook at disgrace 642 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:32,480 Speaker 1: lampod and on YouTube at YouTube dot com slash at disgracelampod, 643 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:37,319 Speaker 1: rock a roll up. He then man