"Children's Story" is a song by British-American rapper Slick Rick, released on April 4, 1989 by Def Jam and Columbia as the second single from his debut album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1989). The song, written by Rick, tells a cautionary tale warning about the dangers of a life of crime.
The most successful single of The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, "Children's Story" was a top-five hit on both the BillboardHot Black Singles and Hot Rap Singles charts, staying on the former chart for nineteen weeks and the latter for eleven. The song was also critically acclaimed, with reviewers praising its storytelling and musical tone. Since its release, it has become one of the most sampled rap songs of all time.
Composition, production, and release
"Children's Story" uses a piano interpolation of the bassline of Bob James' 1974 instrumental "Nautilus".[1][2] In an 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, Rick stated that he chose to interpolate the song due to its "gritty city edge", stating: "it was big in urban communities before rap records, right? When they used to have street concerts, picnics, barbecues, whatever when they play outside and stuff like that — like the Cold Crush Brothers, like Flash and them before they made records." After developing the beat, Rick began working on the lyrics.[1] Originally, the song was about a fairytale, but later in the album's development, Rick changed the subject matter into a cautionary story about criminal behavior.[3]
Although Rick wanted "Children's Story" to be the first single of The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Def Jam chose to release "Teenage Love" first.[4] As a result, "Children's Story" was released as the second single from the album on April 4, 1989,[5][6] although the original demo of the song was already in rotation on rap/R&B radio stations and MTV prior to its release.[3]
Critical reception
Henry Adaso of LiveAbout ranked it #44 on his list of the 100 greatest rap songs, stating that it was a "masterfully woven narrative ... by hip-hop's greatest storyteller."[7] Jesse Ducker, writing for Albumism, stated that the song was "on many a shortlist for greatest hip-hop songs of all time", noting how it was a "classic tale of the perils of getting caught up in the street life", whose musical tone "manages to be both dark and upbeat, making it a timeless club staple".[5] Christopher Weingarten of Rolling Stone called it "the epic yarn that defines storytelling rap," stating that it was "a casually spit tale of cops and robbers, rise and fall, hubris and dread."[1] The Los Angeles Times called it "a violent, clever bedtime tale."[8]
Montell Jordan sampled it for his 1995 song "This Is How We Do It".[10] Additionally, he utilized altered lyrics of "Children's Story" to more overtly reference the song's origins.[11]
Nas sampled it for his 2019 song "Cops Shot the Kid", which also featured a cameo from Slick Rick himself.[12]
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Joel Whitburn Presents Top R&B Singles, 1942-1999. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.233. ISBN978-0898201369.
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