Some people were today years old when they learned rapper Slick Rick has British roots. The legendary MC has apparently had the world fooled since the 1980s.

Rick, whose real name is Richard Martin Lloyd Walters, was born on January 14, 1965, in the southwest London district of Mitcham. In 1976, he and his family came to the United States and settled in the Bronx.

Rick fell in love with music in high school and began performing around the city. In 1984, he entered a talent show and met Doug E. Fresh. Fresh took Rick under his wing and made him a member of his Get Fresh Crew. Fresh’s beatbox and Rick’s flow turned the songs “The Show” and “La Di Da Di” into international anthems, essentially flipping rap music on its head and becoming the launching pad for “hip-hop’s greatest storyteller.”

As great of a storyteller as he is, some fans feel he left out an important part of his life: Where did that British accent come from?

Slick Rick

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