Singer, junky, producer extraordinaire, multiple
felon, and all-around Super-Freak - Rick James is the stuff of legend today, but was one
of the most colorful personalities of the 70’s and 80’s. Part musical luminary, part cautionary tale,
this is the story of the one and only Rick James. "f--- strange!" Born James Ambrose Johnson Jr., Rick James
was the most troublesome of his mother Mabel's eight children. Rolling Stone reported that young James filled
the family bathtub with stray dogs, dumped itching powder down his baby sister's back,
and lodged a pearl in a brother's ear. By 13 he had a habit of stealing cars simply
for the thrill of it, or sometimes because he wanted to see, quote, "his women on the
other side of town." In addition to juvenile grand theft auto,
he spent his early teens doing heroin and committing burglary. Years later, doctors and courts found James
to be sane, but there were certainly circumstances that influenced his early behavior. James grew up in poverty, and his abusive
father abandoned the family when James was only seven. His mother, meanwhile, practiced religion
but broke the law. According to James, Mabel was an ardent Catholic
who also made most of her money facilitating illegal gambling for the Italian mob. James recalled, quote, "crying and carrying
numbers books in big shopping bags" for his mother during the winter. Rick James dreaded the idea of getting drafted
to fight in Vietnam. So around age 15 he lied his way into the
Naval Reserve. Before long James dodged the Reserves, too. He told Buffalo News that he couldn't take
the, quote, "regimentation and conformity." Instead, he spent much of his time drumming
for jazz groups and doing drugs. In 1964 he was placed on active duty, but
fled to Toronto, Canada. In Toronto, James met Joni Mitchell and Neil
Young, and formed a band called The Mynah Birds, which Young joined. The Mynah Birds got signed to Motown Records,
where James met Stevie Wonder and performed for him. Impressed, Wonder wanted to know his name. James gave the alias Ricky James Matthews,
and Wonder suggested that he shorten it to Rick James. Still a fugitive, James ended up serving a
year in a military prison for desertion, which effectively ended The Mynah Birds, but not
the career of Rick James. As detailed in Glow: The Autobiography of
Rick James, during his early days in Motown, James worked as a staff writer, penning songs
for The Miracles, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, and The Spinners. However, James still thought himself underpaid. Enter singer Jimmy Ruffin, the brother of
former Temptations lead vocalist David Ruffin. Jimmy proposed getting into the pimping business
and using their respective girlfriends as employees. Someone with a normal moral compass would
have rejected that suggestion outright. But James opted in and returned to Canada,
where he and Ruffin embarked on their shady endeavor. According to James's self-serving account,
he didn't have the heart to be good at the job, or rather, he had too much of a heart. He didn't force women to work when they were
tired. He loaned them money and beat up violent johns. Even so, despite quitting when his music career
advanced, James never exactly renounced the attitudes that led him into the flesh trade,
instead using his stint as a pimp to build his legend later on. After a couple of singles on A&M, Rick James
headed back to Buffalo to sign with Motown subsidiary Gordy Records. It was here that he dropped his 1978 debut
record, Come Get It!, which went double-platinum on the strength of singles like "You and I." The label relationship was beneficial for
both James and Motown, as the record label had seen sales drop precipitously as the 70's
drew to a close. Over the next decades, James would release
10 records with Gordy. His creative streak hit its peak in 1981 with
the release of Street Songs, a concept record with hit singles "Give it to Me Baby," "Fire
and Desire," "Ghetto Life," and (of course) "Super Freak." The record sold 3 million units in America
alone, and was noted for its seamless blending of diverse genres like rock, new wave, pop,
and Parliament-style funk. James himself referred to his eclectic style
as "punk funk." James had subsequent hits, but never repeated
the runaway success of Street Songs. As the 80’s wore on, the exaggerated sexuality
and explicit references to drug use, both on his records and music videos, and on the
stage, did their part to prevent James from being an A-list superstar like his protege/rival
Prince. As far as the public was concerned, James
was an edgy party animal known for drug-fueled antics, much like those parodied on Chappelle's
Show years later. In addition to being a magnificent musician,
James was an accomplished songwriter and producer. He wrote, produced, and performed on The Temptations'
1982 hit, "Standing on the Top." He also co-wrote, produced, and performed
on Eddie Murphy's biggest hit, "Party All The Time". James nearly collaborated with the legendary
Diana Ross, too, but a phenomenal up-and-comer named Teena Marie caught his attention instead
and captured his heart. As James recalled, while walking around Motown's
headquarters, "I heard this girl singing her ass off. I walked in...I said, 'Wow you're really great." James would later say, "Never in my life had I heard such a range
with so much passion." Even so, Marie didn't taste commercial success
until she teamed up with James, who produced her first album. They would go on to sing a series of duets,
including the immensely popular "Fire and Desire." Marie and James became lovers, but their romance
didn't last. They were just too different, Marie explained,
citing James' ongoing outrageous personality and behavior. Even so, they remained close, and James bonded
with Marie's daughter. In 2004, during his final musical performance
before passing away that year, Rick James performed "Fire and Desire" with Teena. It's hard to believe that there was a time
when Prince opened for Rick James, but that’s exactly what happened in 1980. In one apocryphal incident, James grabbed
Prince by the hair and poured cognac down his throat, during an on-tour celebration
of James' birthday. Laughing at the reaction from the famously
light-drinking Prince, James was later dismayed when the younger artist stole the show night
after night during the "Fire it Up" tour. James accused Prince of stealing much more
than his thunder, though, saying: "Prince was emulating my mic moves like a
motherf---er. He was calling out my funk chants and even
flashing my funk sign." James allegedly got revenge while opening
for Prince. He supposedly stole Prince's synthesizers,
used them on the 1981 album Street Songs, and then returned the synthesizers with a
"thank you" note. As Rick James’ chart positions sank lower
and lower through the 80’s, he helped maintain his profile with epic intoxication tales co-starring
rock's biggest stars, including coke binges and rehab sessions with Aerosmith's Steven
Tyler. Whether with famous company or in solo hotel
room sessions, James’ constant companion was cocaine, along with a varied pharmacopeia of other uppers and downers. His reputation for drug use led to regular
conflicts with law enforcement during tour stops, and James found himself without a label
in 1990 due to poor sales and myriad legal battles. Fortunately for Rick James, MC Hammer's "U
Can't Touch This" was one of the biggest songs of 1990, which featured a prominent sample
from James' 1981 hit "Super Freak." Turns out, Hammer used the sample to great
effect, but without permission from James. Billboard lauded the strategy as a stroke
of genius, noting that, quote, "piggybacking on a well-known hit" helped grab people's
attention. Rick James saw it differently, saying: "I wasn't impressed with that s---." He also wasn't impressed with the practice
of sampling...at first. James' lawyers were quick to sue, and MC Hammer
was forced to give James and his "Super Freak" co-writers an ongoing cut of the "U Can’t
Touch This" royalties. These earnings continue to pay out to the
Rick James estate to this day! As James explained: "'U Can't Touch This' made me a s---load of
money [and] did wonders for my appreciation of sampling." Nonetheless, he claimed he would have never
allowed Hammer to sample "Super Freak" if the rapper had asked beforehand. Despite this major victory, the early 90's
saw Rick James flush with cash, but with little public interest in his new music. By this time, James had been freebasing cocaine
for several years, and one anecdote illustrates the depth of his addiction, hinting at major
problems yet to come. The incident occurred shortly after an MC
Hammer concert. James had recently ended his beef with Hammer
and, rather than rip the rapper, joined him onstage to perform "U Can't Touch This." As was his wont, James reached for his crack
pipe after leaving the stage. As described by his drug supplier Rayce Newman,
things went awry when James set a plate ablaze in an attempt to burn smokable crack pipe
residues. While walking with the flaming plate he dropped
it and his robe caught on fire. The flames raced up his robe, spreading to
his sleeves. Newman extinguished them with a bedspread
and James, "...still smoldering, picked up the plate
as if nothing had happened and took it into his room." After 11 solo albums, multiple awards, and
seemingly endless songwriting and production credits, James’ life and career hit the
skids. James wrote that, in 1991, after the death
of his mother: "...there was nothing to keep me from descending
into the lowest level of hell." In 1991, James and his then-girlfriend, Tanya
Hijazi, whom he later married, were arrested for tying up a female guest at their home,
burning her roughly 20 times with a crack pipe and a heated butcher knife, and forcing
her to take drugs and perform acts against her will. Then, while out on bail in 1992, James and
Hijazi reportedly imprisoned music exec Mary Sauger, who had known James for six years. Sauger said the couple slapped and choked
her repeatedly over the course of 20 hours. James and Hijazi stood trial for both crimes
in 1993. In court, the singer described spiraling into
a deep depression and trying to numb the heartache with narcotics. But he also insisted, quote, "I abuse drugs,
not women." Hijazi pleaded guilty to assault and served
15 months. James was narrowly acquitted in the first
case, but convicted of imprisoning and assaulting Mary Sauger, as well as selling drugs. He received a five-year sentence. Rick James only spent a little over two years
behind bars, during which he wrote more than 300 songs. He was then released early, not because of
good behavior, but because of misconduct on the part of an investigator in his case, who
bribed a witness with drugs and money to testify against James. James was released from prison in 1996, after
paying Sauger more than $1 million in damages from a lost civil suit. Despite this, James released a somewhat successful
comeback album, Urban Rapsody, in 1997, and continued to make musical and acting appearances
intermittently until his brief career revival following his appearance on Chappelle's Show
in early 2004. "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." Rick James died on August 6, 2004. His body was discovered in his home by an
assistant. He was 56. James had been working on a new album and
a memoir at the time of his death. The memoir, The Confessions of Rick James:
Memoirs of a Super Freak, was released in 2007. James passed away from pulmonary and cardiac
failure, driven by a combination of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and the effects
of chronic drug abuse. His autopsy revealed 9 drugs in his system
at the time of his death, including cocaine, methamphetamine, hydrocodone, various anti-anxiety
drugs, and prescription meds for allergies and heart issues. Even so, James’ death was not found to be
due to the presence of any drug in particular, but from their influence on his health over
many decades. If you or someone you know is struggling with
addiction, please call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration's 24/7 National
Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. That's 1-800-662-4357.
