Slick Rick Set to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2023 Grammys

The Recording Academy will honor Slick Rick with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys this year.

Slick Rick will become the fifth hip-hop artist or group in history to receive a Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award.

According to a press release, the wildly influential 57-year-old rapper leads a stellar and diverse class of luminary musicians and bands to be honored by the Recording Academy, including Nirvana, Nile Rodgers, Bobby McFerrin, sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart, Ma Rainey, and The Supremes. Rick will join Public Enemy, Run D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, as the only hip-hop acts to be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Recording Academy.

Trophies will be presented to recipients at the Special Merit Award Ceremony on February 4th in Los Angeles, the night before the 65th annual Grammys celebration. The Special Merit Awards will also feature a number of other honorary accolades, including The Trustees Award (which will go to Stax Records founder Jim Stewart, jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, and music photographer Henry Diltz,) The Technical Grammy Award (which will be given to auto-tune creator Andy Hildebrand and the Audio Engineering Society,)

"Each creator on this list has made an impact on our industry — from technical to creative achievements — representing the breadth of music’s diverse community. We’re excited to celebrate this group of legends next month that continues to inspire and shape the music world," said Recording Academy CEO, Harvy Mason Jr., in a statement.

Though the Special Merit Award Ceremony will not be televised (along with the vast majority of this year's Grammys festivities,) you can watch some of the big awards get doled out live and direct on Sunday, February 5th, on CBS.