By Paul Freeman [2002 Interview]

Rick James had a turbulent life and an extraordinarily dynamic music career. The singer-songwriter-producer spanned the spheres of funk, dance, rock and hip-hop.

He was born in Buffalo, New York in 1948. Joining the Navy, in 1965, he deserted and fled to Toronto. There he formed the rock band The Mynah Birds, which also featured future Buffalo Springfield members Neil Young and Bruce Palmer.

James was eventually arrested and served a year in prison. Upon release, he played in various rock and funk groups, primarily in California, into the early 70s. In 1978, he finally broke through on Motown's Gordy Records with "Come Get It!" That album spawned the hits "You & I" and "Mary Jane."

His biggest album was 1981's "Street Songs," which included the smashes "Give It to Me, Baby" and his signature number, "Super Freak." "Ghetto Life" was another powerful song. James proved he could be equally effective on ballads, such as "Fire and Desire," a duet with his protege, Teena Marie. 1985's "Glow" album was also successful.

But drug abuse sent him careening down dark paths. In 1994, James was sentenced to Folsom State prison for violent, drug-driven attacks on two women.

He returned to touring in 1997. The following year, a mild stroke hampered his performing. But his influence continued to be felt in numerous genres.

We spoke with James prior to the 2002 Funk Fest Reunion concert at Northern California's Concord Pavilion, just two years before he died of heart failure at age 56.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
We see so many artists being referred to as funk or funk-influenced these days...

RICK JAMES:
Well, I don't really like being called a funk artist, number one. I think it's demeaning in a way?

PCC:
Why?

JAMES:
Because I do more than just funk. I don't just do funk. The Ohio Players are funk. James Brown is like the quintessential funk artist. I think we do a lot of other things. We do Latin music. We do jazz. We do classical. We do funk. We do rhythm and blues. We do blues. We do rock 'n' roll. So I don't think it's fair to just call me a funk artist. That puts too many limitations on us.

PCC:
You were a pioneer in blending rock and funk. Do you hear a lot of artists now and feel like you paved the way for what they're doing musically?

JAMES:
I don't really look at it like that. I certainly remember the day when I would turn on the radio and we certainly sounded different. We certainly were cutting edge in terms of what we were doing -- using rock and stuff. I mean, George [Clinton] has always done that. But we just did it in another kind of way.

PCC:
"Street Songs" doesn't seem to have dated at all. Did you think it was going to be something timeless?

JAMES:
Yeah, I did. And it's something people have to have in their life. You know?

PCC:
Was it the honesty of the record that makes it still work?

JAMES:
I think it was realism. As soon as you play if for black people, most of us relate to the ghetto. And the 80s were a simpler time. So the people who managed to live through it and survive it treasure it. And the people who weren't there, they just want to know about it, because that's where all the good music came from. I mean, that's where all the young rappers are taking their beats and their musical rules.

PCC:
Because your own material was coming out of personal experience, when you listen back to the stuff from those days, do you reflect on your life? Does it seem like watching your life go by?

JAMES:
Well, they are truly personal. Either personal or spiritual. Or political. And I do watch my life go by, yes. Because when I'm writing, I do write from personal experiences. I mean, I can't write about sci-fi... because I don't really know or read or am able to expound on that particular subject. But I certainly do know about politics and sexuality and psychology.

PCC:
Since those days, I guess your lifestyle has changed pretty dramatically. I read that, at one point, you were actually speaking in anti-drug programs for kids.

JAMES:
Well, when I get a chance to, I try to do my little part, as far as letting kids know the pitfalls of drug abuse, because a lot of them, they don't know about drug addiction or alcoholism. Most of them are in denial. Or they don't have the knowledge. So, the expert that I am, I try to give them that knowledge.

PCC:
So where are you with all that now? Is it really no drugs or alcohol at all? Or is that still a struggle?

JAMES:
Well, it's always going to be a struggle, you know. Drug addiction is like that. It's an ongoing, lifetime achievement that you're awarded for messing around. It's a lifetime thing. That's what you're doing in rehab. Once an addict, always an addict. But, you now, my life is a lot easier without a freebase pipe sticking in my mouth. I definitely see that.

PCC:
Are you still able to hold onto some of the elements Super Freak persona?

JAMES:
All of it. I'm a nasty boy [chuckles]. I don't call it nasty. I call it "nicesty." And I'll always be very sexual and very loud and very clear about how I feel. I haven't changed.

PCC:
What about your health situation? How are you feeling these days?

JAMES:
Well, since my stroke three years ago, I'm not altogether 100 percent, but through the grace of God, I do get out there and I do the best that I can. And the crowd appreciates that.

PCC:
Does't it get grueling on stage?

JAMES:
Sometimes it can be. But the crowd manages to take away the pain. No, I know I'll never be 100 percent at this point. But I struggle for that. And I pray that one day I will be.

PCC:
Are you married now?

JAMES:
I'm just going through a divorce.

PCC:
And you have a son?

JAMES:
I have a nine-year-old boy named Tazman. He's fantastic. And I have a daughter, Ty James, who has a rap album coming out this year. It's great.

PCC:
Are you involved with the album?

JAMES:
Not really. She did it herself. All by herself. Her and three young producers.

PCC:
You must be proud.

JAMES:
I am.

PCC:
I guess the talent is in the genes.

JAMES:
I don't where she got that from, man. I never heard any musical really in her. She doesn't sing that well. I never knew she had the ability to spit rhyme in the way she spits it. But she does and she does very well. I'm very proud of her.

PCC:
What projects are you planning for the near future?

JAMES:
Well, there's a 20-year-old girl that I'm producing -- Rain. She dances, sings and raps. She's a white girl. I want to get rid of Britney Spears, so we created her. I'm just tired of all these fake, fabricated, false little white girls out there. This girl dances her ass off, sings and raps. So she's going to do well. I think she fills that window, that void of what's going on there. And I'm doing the Mary Jane Girls 2000 with Mary J. Blige. I'm also working on a play, a musical called "Alice in Ghettoland," It's my baby. And I have a book coming out, "Confessions of a Super Freak."

PCC:
That's the autobiography?

JAMES:
Yes, the autobiography. We just solidified a movie deal with Suzanne de Passe for it to be made into a movie.

PCC:
Who would you like to be cast in the title role?

JAMES:
I don't know. That's a difficult one. Movies isn't really my forte. I mean, I did an Eddie Murphy movie, "Life," and stuff, had that experience and it was interesting, but I don't know. I'm not helping the casting. But when it comes to playing me, I hardly know me [laughs], so somebody else trying to find out about me, that should be interesting.

PCC:
You must have learned a lot more about yourself from the process of writing the book.

JAMES:
Well, I did. It was very therapeutic. I wrote it while I was in prison. So I had time on my hands. So I had a lot of time to go introspectively and look at myself. And it was very therapeutic. It helped me out in a lot of ways.

PCC:
Did anything surprise you, in looking back at your life?

JAMES:
Yeah -- that I'm a hell of nice guy [laughs]. That Rick James was a character. He was somebody I created. But he is part of me. An alter ego. But he's not a bad person, you know. And as long as he leaves that freebasing alone and shit, he's all right.

PCC:
So when you look back, do you have any regrets?

JAMES:
The regret's I could have had four yachts and 10 Lear jets. I smoked that up. Yeah, I regret that.

PCC:
But everything else...

JAMES:
Everything else was fine.

PCC:
You've talked about retirement.

JAMES:
This tour was going to be a retirement tour, but then I changed my mind. I'm just going to go out and give a lot of love and stuff, you know, a lot of love and hope. But yeah, I do plan on retiring soon.

PCC:
You don't think you'll miss the stage too badly?

JAMES:
Well, yeah, but hey, I gotta think about my son and family. And there's these islands around Tahiti that I want to go check out and live.

PCC:
Will you be going more into producing in the future?

JAMES:
Well, yeah. By then my acoustic album will be out. And it's the kind of album that will change a lot of things in my life.

PCC:
How so?

JAMES:
Well, I won't have to run around with horns and all the electrified and all this stuff. I can just sit down and sing my songs and show people what's really going on in my heart.

PCC:
Someday down the road, when you do retire, how do you hope people will remember Rick James?

JAMES:
Oh, just as a guy who lived his life on a roller coaster, but who made great dance music ... and who helped take black music to another level... who was wild and crazy, but bottom line of it was, he's a good dude. That's all.

For more information on this artist, visit www.rickjames.com