Twintigste sterfdag Rick James
6 Augustus jl. was de 20e sterfdag van zanger James Ambrose Johnson Jr., beter bekend als Rick James. In de jaren tachtig had hij zijn grote hits. Superfreak:
Glow:
Omstreden was Loosey's rap, een van zijn vele, seksueel expliciete songs:
I know this chick, her name is Loosey
She's a freaky thang, yeah
Her legs are long, her lips are juicy
You ought to hear what friends have to say about
Gave rijm, goed en cool gezongen. Hij maakte de plaat samen met rapper Roxanne Shante. De clip mocht niet op MTV, destijds DE internationale muziekzender.
'SO WHAT', aldus James in een interview:
Rick James was lange tijd verslaafd aan drugs en zat in de gevangenis wegens kidnapping en marteling van vrouwen. ‘The Guardian’ schreef over hem:
James’s expressed attitudes put him in frequent conflict with others, including his record company and other stars who he saw as threats. He bitterly resented Prince’s rise in the 80s, believing he stole his act, and he initially detested MC Hammer’s song U Can’t Touch This, which fed off the riff from Super Freak. (His attitude changed dramatically when huge royalty checks started pouring in.) When James’s own albums stopped selling well by the late 80s, he blamed the record company rather than his own waning creativity, caused by drug use. An incident in which he threatened a Motown executive led the label to redirect its promotional dollars to Lionel Ritchie rather than James. (...)
Rick James werd 56 jaar; op 6 augustus 2004 overleed hij aan een hartaanval.