Witnessing recently pardoned ex-con Slick Rick perform the hip-hop anthem "La Di Da Di" (originally recorded with human beat box Doug E. Fresh in '85) live and in person is worth the price of admission. The eye-patch-wearing British rapper's harmonious flow and pimp 'tude highly influenced Snoop Dogg and others. Interestingly, "La Di Da Di" never climbed the pop charts but has been sampled numerous times. Snoop recorded it virtually verbatim as "Lodi Dodi" on his landmark 1993 album, Doggystyle. The vocal hook to Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 smash "Hyptonize" also quotes "La Di." Slick Rick's biggest hit came in 1989 via "Children's Story," a fairytale sendup culled from his classic album, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. In 1990, the rapper born Ricky Walters shot his cousin/bodyguard and served five years on Rikers Island in New York. After performing on a cruise ship in 2002, Walters was busted by the INS and landed in nearby Manatee County Jail. He was incarcerated for 17 months while the U.S. government attempted to deport him. In May, New York Governor David Paterson pardoned Slick Rick, clearing him of the attempted murder charges, thus enabling him to remain in the States, at least for now.
Slick Rick w/D25/AWOL, 7 p.m. Sat., July 19 (doors), State Theatre. $20/$25.
