The Ruler's Back

The Ruler's Back
Studio album by Slick Rick
Released	July 2, 1991
Genre	Golden age hip hop
Length	45:55
Label	Def Jam, Columbia CK 47372 (North America)
Producer	Russell Simmons (exec.), Vance Wright, Slick Rick, Mr. Lee
Slick Rick chronology
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988) The Ruler's Back (1991) Behind Bars (1994)
Singles from The Ruler's Back
"I Shouldn't Have Done It" Released: November 6, 1990 "Mistakes of a Woman in Love with Other Men" Released: 1991 "It's a Boy" Released: November 21, 1991

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Robert Christgau	A- link
Entertainment Weekly	B link
Los Angeles Times	link
Rolling Stone	link

The Ruler's Back is the second studio album by British-American rapper Slick Rick, released July 2, 1991, on Def Jam Recordings. It features production from Vance Wright, Slick Rick and Mr. Lee. The album and its music videos were quickly recorded and filmed before Slick Rick was sentenced to a 5-year prison term.

Upon its release, The Ruler's Back achieved notable chart success, peaking at number 29 on the Billboard 200, and number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album features the hit single "I Shouldn't Have Done It", which peaked at number 2 on the Hot Rap Singles.

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer	Length
1.	"King"	Vance Wright, Slick Rick	3:42
2.	"I Shouldn't Have Done It"	Vance Wright	4:05
3.	"Bond"	Vance Wright	2:53
4.	"Moses"	Vance Wright, Slick Rick	4:04
5.	"Tonto"	Vance Wright, Slick Rick	3:17
6.	"Mistakes of a Woman in Love With Other Men"	Vance Wright, Slick Rick	4:08
7.	"Venus"	Vance Wright	3:45
8.	"Ship"	Vance Wright, Slick Rick	3:05
9.	"It's a Boy"	Vance Wright	3:29
10.	"Top Cat"	Vance Wright, Slick Rick	3:23
11.	"Runaway"	Slick Rick, Vance Wright	3:49
12.	"Slick Rick - The Ruler"	Mr. Lee	6:06

Samples

• "I Shouldn't Have Done It"
  • "The New Rap Language" by Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three
  • "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick
  • "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
• "It's a Boy"
  • "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
  • "Mister Magic" by Grover Washington Jr.
• "King"
  • "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick
  • "The Ruler's Back" by Slick Rick
  • "King Of Rock" by Run DMC
• "Mistakes of a Woman in Love With Other Men"
  • "Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansel Collins
  • "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
  • "I'm Broken Hearted" by James Brown
• "Moses"
  • "Sunday Coming" by Alton Ellis
  • "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
  • "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
• "Runaway"
  • "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
  • "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick and The Get Fresh Crew
• "Ship"
  • "Change the Beat (Female Version)" by Fab 5 Freddy feat. Beeside
  • "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick
• "Slick Rick - the Ruler"
  • "La Di Da Di" by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick
• "Top Cat"
  • "Funky President" by James Brown
  • "Rock Steady" by Aretha Franklin
• "Venus" (1991) sampled
  • "Venus" by Frankie Avalon
  • "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss

Personnel

• Slick Rick - performer, producer, executive producer
• Vance Wright - producer, executive producer
• Mr. Lee - producer
• Russell Simmons - executive producer
• Francesca Spero - executive producer
• Darroll Gustamachio - engineer, mixing
• Thom Leinbach - Gabriel moreno - engineer, mixing
• Everett Ramos - engineer, mixing
• Rory Young - programming, engineer
• Cey Adams - design
• Jules T. Allen- Alvaro Almagro - photography

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[1]	29
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[2]	18

References

1. "Slick Rick – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Slick Rick.
2. "Slick Rick – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Slick Rick.

External links

• The Ruler's Back at Discogs
• View the album's lyrics
• Listen to the album on YouTube