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DESPITE being one of the hip-hop pioneers who helped develop a lyrical tradition of cautionary tales in the genre, Slick Rick ironically ended up incarcerated on an attempted murder charge shortly after his debut album catapulted him to fame.

Preceding his emergence on stage, the staggering tale of Rick’s fall and subsequent redemption was played out for the packed house by way of projected newspaper clippings.

Appearing in a dazzling white blazer and Panama hat, Rick made for a quasi-saintly figure.

“This is a show with morals and values,” he proclaimed. “Try and stay in faithful relationships.”

His tracks Children’s Tale and La Di Da Di proved crowd favourites, helped along by the omnipresent DJ Kaos. A one-man hype machine, Kaos provided rib-rattling backing tracks and incessantly punctuated drops by firing an air horn.

Encapsulating the overall reflective mood of the show, Rick departed the stage to a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s I Did It My Way, accompanied by an emotive slideshow of personal photos.

We hope to see Rick back on UK shores soon.

Charles Cook