Slick Rick - Behind Bars (Official Music Video)

This shit aged well, both sonically and visually.

I love when music sounds so dreamy that it doesn’t seem like it’s real

It didn't occur to me until now how vulnerable and cool it is that Slick Rick chose to share about a rape attempt on him while he was in prison. There are a lot of jokes about sexual assault in prisons, often tied up with emasculating black and latino men. Behind Bars is very honest, Slick Rick is always a storyteller but this feels like a diary entry in many ways. Even though he ultimately underscores his survival and he sometimes acts brutally in the song, the aesthetic of the song doesn't glamorize it at all. It's so low key, smooth but with a hint of bitterness, sadness, and even boredom (the monotony of being locked up that long). "Had to stab a *** in the eye with a pencil" isn't an assertion of dominance, by saying "had to" you get a sense of him feel trapped, not wanting to but not seeing a way out. There's something passive about it all, that feeling of waiting. Similarly with "they hit the cell, rape attempted / luckily it failed", saying "luckily" implies that he doesn't feel like it failed because no one could get the jump on him as this alpha dog Chad gangster or what have you. He could have told the story that way if he wanted to, he stabs someone in the eye and this attempted rape failed, those could be framed like fought his way through and proved himself or something. That's not the vibe he's going for though, because his jail time was not glamorous. The inner truth that Slick Rick is sharing through. He's exhaudted. His life wasted away like the lives of so many people we put behind bars today. It didn't prevent violence, it subjected him to it. It didn't bring any ultimate justice, it exposed him to injustice. This song for me as the tone of one long sigh as he remembers his time behind bars. That vibe really sets it apart and hits home a solid message and such. I wish him many many more good years, thanks for the dope track <3

we keepin' it slick in 2024 fr. This is legendary.

If this was in your recommendations you're my kind of people.

the softness of the mic and his voice make it feel like a dream

sometimes, things don't need to be remastered. the former beat was perfectly fine EDIT: the beat has been reverted to its original

this song literally changed. i’m not kidding. this video used to sound different

Rick always had a chill voice. It's one of the things that set him apart from the others for me

I have a strong feeling the “The Story of O.J.” Was inspired by this.

Slick Rick was the OG for talk rapping. He was a fuckin minstrel. Just rhyming on the beat and telling a story that drew the listener in. It wasn't until 5 lines in you realized that this wasn't just bragging on a rhythm, it was a full story that rhymed and had cadence throughout.

I love how they changed the beat to a worse version for no fucking reason.

The idea of the prison scenes being in near-total darkness, with the animation moving so fast you can barely keep up, paints a darkly disorienting picture of prison existence.

Such a mysterious flow.

Am I trippin or this song has some how changed ?

YES!!! ITS BACK! THE OLD BEAT IS BACK!

The animation looks like a weird combination of adult swim cartoons and red bull commercials

I can't imagine how long it took to animate this. There just aren't words for how much I love and appreciate this kind of rough, hand drawn animation.

They changed the beat😭😭😭😭😭

WHAT DID YOU DO??!?!?