Children’s Story

Children’s Story

Slick Rick

“Children’s Story,” the second single released from The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, is the peak of Slick Rick’s storytelling in the form of a classic cautionary tale for children. He tells the story of two kids who decide to start robbing people. One of the kids becomes addicted and can’t stop. One day he robs an undercover detective. After a long chase with the cops, he is shot dead.

In Check the Technique, Slick Rick talked about “Children’s Story”:

We tried to make it a visual picture, especially with the ending. The ‘Knock 'em out the box, Rick,’ was like the climax, the big party part. We did the overlapping vocals because we wanted to keep the effect that was on [Doug E. Fresh’s] “The Show.” I saw that scene in real life, so I just put it on paper and added a little fiction to make it more interesting. I didn’t see the people get shot, but I saw the people go to jail and ruin their whole life.

“Children’s Story” peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. The song’s concept has been covered by several artists and a number of lines have been sampled, mainly “Once upon a time not long ago” and “Knock ‘em out the box.” “Children’s Story” ranked at #61 on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs.