NEW YORK – After serving federal detention under threat of deportation, hip hop legend Ricky “Slick Rick” Martin Lloyd Walters became an American citizen in New York on Friday.

The English-born rapper with an eye patch took the oath during a ceremony and said he was “relieved to finally put this long chapter behind me.” After his family moved to the Bronx, he got his start rapping with Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew.