The trademarks are the same: the free-flowing rhymes, the British-by-way-of-the-Bronx voice, the linear narratives and wild characters of his songs.

But Slick Rick -- the 15-year rap veteran and former convict who releases his new album, The Art of Storytelling, this week -- said he has changed.

"I'm telling stories from a new level of maturity," Slick Rick, 34, said, speaking from his three-bedroom apartment in the Bronx, N.Y. "I guess when I was younger I didn't appreciate things. Now I appreciate the inside of your house. I appreciate good friends, judging character. You start seeing the value of life."

The Art of Storytelling is the first album from Slick Rick (born Ricky Waters) since his release from a New York state prison in 1996 after serving six years for attempted murder. He recorded 1994's Behind Bars while in prison.

The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, his 1988 debut, and the hastily assembled Ruler's Back from 1991 were his previous solo albums as a free man.

With tracks such as the raunchy 1989 R&B hit "Children's Story" and the

underground smash "Treat Her Like a Prostitute," the artist never has

projected a pristine image. But Slick Rick said his time in prison was not an issue as he recorded The Art of Storytelling in an upstate New York studio.

"As long as I'm carrying my weight, everything should be OK," he said.

The new album finds Slick Rick continuing to craft lyrical fables, including "2 Way Street" (RealAudio excerpt) -- a humorous but pointed story of a hillbilly faced with the prospect of cheating on his wife. The character decides to remain faithful, which, Slick Rick said, represents his feelings on commitment.

Slick Rick also is using The Art of Storytelling as an opportunity to look back on his career -- he and former Get Fresh Crew partner Doug E. Fresh reunite on three tracks -- and look forward.

Current hip-hop luminaries, including Nas, Jermaine Dupri, OutKast and

Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, collaborate with Slick Rick on specific

tracks. On "Me and Nas Bring It to Your Hardest," Slick Rick and the 25-year-old Nas trade boisterous verses. "Street Talkin' " (RealAudio excerpt) finds Andre and Big Boi of OutKast joining Slick Rick to execute a party song with lyrics about staying humble. "We're not trying to claim anything we haven't earned," they recite in one lyric.

The production and supporting cast might be tailored to a younger audience, but Slick Rick said he is rapping primarily for people his age, many of whom are parents and reflect on their youth and future with equal fervor.

Slick Rick is married with two children. He even suggested a new genre: "mature" hip-hop.

"I'm not going to sit around write about anal sex or some crazy talk like that," he said. "I want to try and represent my own age group."

Heavy D -- the 31-year-old rapper and actor -- established his career in 1984 at the same time as Slick Rick, LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C. and other stars of the genre. He said that he, too, could see where themes of marriage and facing responsibility would make their way into the music.

"[Slick Rick's] right," Heavy D (born Dwight Meyers) said. "What happens is people grow up. Our fans are growing up. People think hip-hop is going to go somewhere, but it's not. There are doctors, lawyers and grandmothers at this point who are hip-hop fans. There's only a certain type of music they want to listen to."

Slick Rick's work with Doug E. Fresh results from a reunion set at the

House of Blues in Los Angeles in early April. Live versions of "The Show"

and "La Di Da Di" -- two songs the pair turned into beat-box standards

in 1984 -- and "We Turn It On," a new studio track that samples "The Show," close The Art of Storytelling.

"I owe my big break to Doug E.," said Slick Rick, who added that Doug E.

Fresh first approached him after watching him win an amateur rap contest

in New York.

Slick Rick began rapping in the late 1970s, soon after his family moved

to the Bronx from England. He called making music in those days an activity

that he "enjoyed the sh-- out of" and that "moved the soul as a whole."

That spirit, he said, is returning to hip-hop. "The new guys are trying to push it in a positive direction," he said. "And I'm bringing the sunshine, I guess."