Slick Rick

Slick Rick raps at 60, Idris Elba directs, Nas and Giggs tag along for VICTORY

Twenty-six years since his last release, Slick Rick returns with VICTORY, a project wrapped in myth and metaphor, now paired with a short film directed by Meji Alabi. Framed as a visual companion, it features Nas, Giggs, and Idris Elba—who also serves as executive producer—with a visual aesthetic sculpted by Jonathan Mannion.

Shot across the U.S., U.K., and Africa, the film amplifies Rick’s fictional storytelling, while Young Guru’s mixing shapes the sonic backdrop. The album, recorded in London and France, navigates between boom bap and dance, resisting the passage of time at age 60.

Slick Rick drops first album in 20+ years—industry remembers him again, briefly

Slick Rick uncorks his first album in over two decades, sipping late breakfast in a Park Lane suite while reflecting on a journey that started in London before his family emigrated. He names the record Victory, a nod not just to longevity but to quiet endurance, unfazed by the turning wheels of an industry that forgot and remembered him in cycles.

Still the most-sampled rapper alive, Slick Rick sits at a curious intersection—revered by Eminem, lauded by Jay-Z, and mythologized by Questlove, yet allergic to self-promotion. He remains more interested in gleam than nostalgia, unfurling a diamond-drenched Virgin Mary pendant with the casual flair of someone who no longer needs to prove he invented the look.