Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick reunited at Rough Trade Below in Manhattan on November 25 to celebrate 40 years of “La-Di-Da-Di.” The duo were on hand at the Midtown record store to take pictures and sign vinyl copies of the single, that were hand-numbered and limited to 1000 units.
The pair first released the landmark recording as a B-side to “The Show,” which appeared on Doug E. Fresh’s debut album “Oh My God!” The track cemented the duo’s respective places in hip-hop history, propelling the pair and the genre to new heights of popularity and influencing culture for generations to come –– the song has become one of the most sampled of all time and was famously reworked by Snoop Dogg under the title “Lodi Dodi.”
Fans lined up more than two hours early to meet the Barbados-born “Human Beatbox” and “The Ruler” from London, who met at a talent showcase in New York City in 1984. Advertisements leading up to the event stated that limited edition shirts depicting the same picture on the cover of the record were to be given to the first 100 attendees, causing some commotion among attendees when Rockefeller Center security attempted to re-route the line, resulting in some disorderliness, argumentative shouting, and a few cutters who were able to sneak by staff.
Nonetheless, it was all cheers and smiles as Doug E. Fresh entered the store around 6 p.m., passing by the long line gathering outside –– Rick, fashionably late, followed about 20 minutes later, and the signing commenced. Rick and Doug took their time with fans who expressed their gratitude to the duo for their contributions to music and culture. Few copies of the “La-Di-Da-Di” 40th Anniversary single remains; you can score one at fatbeats.com.
Slick Rick performing “La-Di-Da-Di” at NJPAC on November 20. (Video credit:
Johnny Knollwood)
WOW, already 40 years passed
WOW, already 40 years passed, time flies