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lively funk music
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Rick James' "Mary Jane"
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Come here, baby
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Mary, I love you
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Do it, girl
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Mary Jane
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Mary Jane
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I'm in love with Mary Jane
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She's my main thing
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She makes me
feel all right
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She makes my heart sing
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And when I'm feeling low
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She comes as no surprise
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Turns me on with her love
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Takes me to paradise
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[vocalizing]
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Do you love me Mary Jane?
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Yeah
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Whoa-oh-oh
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Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?
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Now do you think
you love me Mary Jane?
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Don't you play no games
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Ooh
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Mary Jane...
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-[Ty] Patrick!
-[Patrick] Hi. How are you?
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[Ty] Good.
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-Been a while.
-[Ty] I know.
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It's been at least 12 years
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since I've seen anything
that we put away in storage.
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But they are all
personal artifacts
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from my dad's whole life.
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low bass music
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Oh, wow.
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Hey, Daddy.
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Most of these things
were in Buffalo, New York.
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And then a lot of stuff
was also in the house
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we had in Woodland Hills.
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Oh, my God.
Look how beautiful this is.
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This was hanging in the house
in Woodland Hills.
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Oh.
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[Patrick]
Is that Catherine Bach
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from, uh, Dukes of Hazzard?
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Probably so.
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I mean...
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Daddy had his share
of women, that's for sure.
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Oh, my gosh.
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This is OJ and his wife.
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You know my dad.
He speaks his mind.
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I don't know
if he had some insight,
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but he said,
"That motherfucker did it."
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I haven't been here
since my dad passed
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because I knew
it could be sort of emotional.
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This is his whole life.
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Oh, my gosh.
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Oh, man.
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We had some father/daughter
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chats right here.
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I love this piece.
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I miss you, Daddy.
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[news anchor] Sad news tonight
for Rick James fans.
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The funk singer best known
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for his hit song
"Super Freak" has died.
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[news anchor]
He was in fragile health
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after a stroke
and years of drug use.
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[news anchor]
It was in 1981 that James'
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million-seller album
Street Songs gave us
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the hits "Give It to Me Baby"
and "Super Freak."
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James earned a Grammy
nomination for that album.
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After that, though, James'
personal life was troubled.
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He was arrested several times
on drug charges, assault,
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and served time
in Folsom Prison.
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It didn't take his death for me
to start playing his music.
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It's been in my car.
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It's been in my house.
I'm--big fan.
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[Ty]
On behalf of the James family,
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we would like to thank
all of his fans.
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This is his moment of glory,
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and he would have loved to...
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know that he had
this much support,
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and we appreciate your prayers.
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Thank you.
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soft funk music
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[Rick] When I hit the stage,
I become Rick James.
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That character exemplifies
everything that it stands for:
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freedom, sex,
love, power, truth.
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I couldn't be the same person
off the stage.
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If I was that way off
the stage, I'd be nuts by now.
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Rick James' "Super Freak"
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Rick James was the ultimate
"be yourself" artist.
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upbeat funky music
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He was groundbreaking
and fearless.
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His music speaks for itself.
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It gets no more funkier
than Rick James.
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[Big Daddy Kane]
And he was just so raw.
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He became one of the guys
that a lot of men wanted to be
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and women wanted to be with.
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[Nile] He had a certain magic
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in his style of production.
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His musical legacy
is undeniable.
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[Dr. Boyd] Rick's powerful
music really anchored itself
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to the evolution
of Black history in America.
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Rick put it to music,
and he put words to it.
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[Tanya]
From the bottom to the top,
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from the top to the bottom,
he could relate to everybody
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because he had been
in every shoe.
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Musically, there weren't many
that could touch him.
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He was a real motherfucker.
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She's a super freak,
super freak
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She's super freaky, yow!
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[engine revving]
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Everybody sing
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Super freak,
super freak...
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Never mind who you thought
I was.
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I'm Rick James, bitch.
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[cheers and applause]
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I used to have these dreams.
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I just knew that it was gonna
happen, you know,
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and I used to see it,
and my mother,
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consequently, would take me
to a psychiatrist,
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and the psychiatrist
would tell her,
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"Hey, he's real normal.
He's above normal.
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He has a super high
intelligence,
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but the boy just...
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wants to be a star.
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And that is that."
[both laugh]
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[narrator] This is Buffalo,
the second-largest city
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in New York state.
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Strategically located at
the eastern end of Lake Erie,
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it early was given the title
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of the Queen City
of the Lakes.
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Buffalo is
a bustling community,
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and serves as the hub
of the Niagara frontier.
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Its dynamic development
results
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from an unusual diversity
of industry.
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classical music playing
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[news reporter]
What's Buffalo like to you?
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What is Buffalo?
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It's basically a small town.
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It's a good place for music,
you know,
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'cause we have a lot
of music there.
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Nice hills and ghetto.
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[laughter]
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[speaking language]
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Rats this big.
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mellow music
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[Conway] Buffalo, to me,
is one of the most
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racially-segregated cities
in the country.
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Now we posted up
at the Chinese store
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Hopin' somebody
would buy us a cigar
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Then we evolved
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To breakin' in houses
and stealin' cars...
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It's split up in sections,
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you know what I'm saying?
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Like, this the east side,
that's your ghetto.
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You see the school.
You see how this shit look?
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It's more Black kids and shit,
you know what I'm saying?
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And Black families
trying to figure it out.
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The bottom, I call it.
You got the west side.
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It's more, like,
you know, Hispanic--
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like, Latinos and shit,
you know what I mean?
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Your Puerto Ricans and
Dominicans and shit like that,
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but it's also still
more cultural, too,
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because you got
your Middle Easterns
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and, you know,
you got some people--you know,
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you got people from all over,
really, on the west side,
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you know what I'm saying?
Then you got South Buffalo.
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That's, like,
your poor whites.
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And then North Buffalo,
they're--you know,
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it's nice houses,
it's nice schools.
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You know, everybody is doing
well-well-off,
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so to speak, over there.
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Me, personally,
I stay on the east,
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where I belong,
you know what I mean?
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lively soul music
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[producer] What's the local
legend of Rick James?
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[Conway] OG Jimbo once had
our nigga Rick James
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to come through,
you know what I mean?
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Caught him.
Caught him getting right, man.
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Pulling up in the limo
with furs and shit on, though.
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Bitches and shit with him.
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Two, three cars deep and shit,
making a spot hot.
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Like, "Damn, nigga,
you gonna--
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you gonna make my spot hot."
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[laughs]
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He was just one of them dudes
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that you didn't want
to fuck with,
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you didn't want to mess with,
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who was known for definitely
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everything you hear
in his music,
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you know what I'm saying?
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Songs like "Ghetto Life"
and all that shit, like,
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that's Rick James,
man, in a nutshell.
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Like, you know what I'm saying?
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Coming from we from,
we all like that.
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lively funk music
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[David]
He was born in 1948.
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So his growing up period
in Buffalo
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were really the 1950s.
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- Here today
- Here today
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00:09:06,337 --> 00:09:08,464
To make you dance
the ghetto way
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00:09:08,506 --> 00:09:10,007
You telling me?
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00:09:10,049 --> 00:09:12,385
And we're gonna sing
a little song...
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[Carmen]
His first name is James.
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00:09:14,178 --> 00:09:16,389
His second name is Ambrose
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00:09:16,430 --> 00:09:17,557
'cause that's
his father's name,
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00:09:17,598 --> 00:09:20,226
so he was
James Ambrose Johnson.
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00:09:20,268 --> 00:09:21,769
And I do remember
when he was born.
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00:09:21,811 --> 00:09:24,647
He was a little light,
bright dude, almost white.
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00:09:24,689 --> 00:09:26,315
[Ty]
My dad was one of eight
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00:09:26,357 --> 00:09:29,443
in a household
where his mom struggled.
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00:09:29,485 --> 00:09:32,572
He watch his dad abuse his mom.
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00:09:32,613 --> 00:09:34,699
His mother was
very protective of him.
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00:09:34,740 --> 00:09:36,993
I feel like
he was the favorite.
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00:09:37,034 --> 00:09:39,745
She was a hustler,
and she did what she had to do
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00:09:39,787 --> 00:09:41,414
to raise her eight children.
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00:09:41,455 --> 00:09:43,916
[Rick] My mother was
a very strong disciplinarian.
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00:09:43,958 --> 00:09:46,377
We got a lot of what
they call whoopings
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00:09:46,419 --> 00:09:48,963
with ironing cords--
what they call now child abuse.
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00:09:49,005 --> 00:09:50,298
So I guess you might say,
in a kind of a way,
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00:09:50,339 --> 00:09:53,718
I was an abused child.
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00:09:53,759 --> 00:09:55,428
But I had a lot of love
in my family.
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00:09:55,469 --> 00:09:57,972
somber music
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My first sexual encounter,
I had when I was, like,
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00:10:00,182 --> 00:10:01,642
eight or nine years old.
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00:10:01,684 --> 00:10:03,102
And it was kind of
a strange thing,
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00:10:03,144 --> 00:10:04,979
because, you know,
most men like to claim, like,
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00:10:05,021 --> 00:10:07,481
the first time they make love,
they know exactly what to do,
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00:10:07,523 --> 00:10:09,775
and, well,
that's a complete fallacy,
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00:10:09,817 --> 00:10:11,444
a complete lie, you know.
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00:10:11,485 --> 00:10:13,821
But when I was around 13,
there was this older woman,
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00:10:13,863 --> 00:10:15,948
a friend of my mother's
babysat me.
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00:10:15,990 --> 00:10:17,658
And I remember laying on
the bed, and this older woman,
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00:10:17,700 --> 00:10:19,118
she started touching me
and doing these things,
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00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:20,328
and it felt good to me.
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00:10:20,369 --> 00:10:21,454
I'm not gonna
sit here and lie.
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00:10:21,495 --> 00:10:22,830
It didn't go very far...
[laughs]
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00:10:22,872 --> 00:10:24,957
because my mother
came home early,
250
00:10:24,999 --> 00:10:27,501
and my mother snatched her
out of those covers.
251
00:10:27,543 --> 00:10:29,378
It's the first time I've ever
seen my mother fight.
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00:10:29,420 --> 00:10:31,005
My mother just punched her,
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00:10:31,047 --> 00:10:32,840
and, you know, and, "How could
you do this to my son?"
254
00:10:32,882 --> 00:10:34,634
and beat her down the stairs,
because in those days,
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00:10:34,675 --> 00:10:36,177
it wasn't about,
you call this bureau,
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00:10:36,218 --> 00:10:39,680
you call this association
for sexually abused children.
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00:10:39,722 --> 00:10:41,015
If you caught something
like that going down
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00:10:41,057 --> 00:10:42,892
where I grew up, you beat
the person down.
259
00:10:42,933 --> 00:10:43,684
That was it.
260
00:10:43,726 --> 00:10:47,688
dramatic R&B music
261
00:10:47,730 --> 00:10:49,106
[Carmen] In Buffalo,
the street life was--
262
00:10:49,148 --> 00:10:50,775
it was lively, man.
263
00:10:50,816 --> 00:10:52,818
There were a lot
of Black businesses,
264
00:10:52,860 --> 00:10:56,489
but most of your bigger ones
were numbers-orientated.
265
00:10:56,530 --> 00:10:58,199
Numbers today,
it would be the lotto.
266
00:10:58,240 --> 00:10:59,700
My mother got into that.
267
00:10:59,742 --> 00:11:01,994
My mother wanted to be
a dancer and a singer.
268
00:11:02,036 --> 00:11:03,871
It didn't take her too long
to see that
269
00:11:03,913 --> 00:11:06,207
working scrubbing floors
and washing dishes
270
00:11:06,248 --> 00:11:07,208
was not gonna make it.
271
00:11:07,249 --> 00:11:08,668
And she ran numbers,
272
00:11:08,709 --> 00:11:10,544
and she was making
a very good living.
273
00:11:10,586 --> 00:11:12,380
[Stan] His mother,
she introduced Rick
274
00:11:12,421 --> 00:11:13,881
to the numbers racket.
275
00:11:13,923 --> 00:11:16,217
Rick's job
was to pick up the money.
276
00:11:16,258 --> 00:11:19,512
That's his first involvement
in breaking the law.
277
00:11:19,553 --> 00:11:21,055
[Levi] Rick and I went
to grammar school together
278
00:11:21,097 --> 00:11:23,432
from the third grade
through the eighth grade.
279
00:11:23,474 --> 00:11:25,059
As a child, he was, uh,
280
00:11:25,101 --> 00:11:27,019
rambunctious,
like we all were.
281
00:11:27,061 --> 00:11:29,897
Rick hated school.
He was bored, like I was.
282
00:11:29,939 --> 00:11:31,524
And Rick wanted
to be a musician,
283
00:11:31,565 --> 00:11:32,900
and I thought he was nuts.
284
00:11:32,942 --> 00:11:34,235
Yeah
285
00:11:34,276 --> 00:11:35,569
[playing lively rock and roll]
286
00:11:35,611 --> 00:11:38,406
Yeah
287
00:11:38,447 --> 00:11:40,574
[David]
What he really absorbed
288
00:11:40,616 --> 00:11:42,743
in that period
were two things:
289
00:11:42,785 --> 00:11:44,412
one was the music
290
00:11:44,453 --> 00:11:46,914
of Ray Charles and Bo Diddley
and Little Richard,
291
00:11:46,956 --> 00:11:48,916
but the other thing
he discovered in Buffalo--
292
00:11:48,958 --> 00:11:51,419
because there was a club there
called the Royal Arms
293
00:11:51,460 --> 00:11:52,837
that he went to--was jazz.
294
00:11:52,878 --> 00:11:55,047
Headed for the station
with a pack on my back
295
00:11:55,089 --> 00:11:57,174
[Carmen] He listened to music
all the time.
296
00:11:57,216 --> 00:11:59,719
My mother had
a huge jazz selection.
297
00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,764
We had everything.
I remember Louis Jordan.
298
00:12:03,806 --> 00:12:05,683
Take her right back
to the track, Jack
299
00:12:05,725 --> 00:12:07,435
[smooth jazz playing]
300
00:12:07,476 --> 00:12:09,770
[David] Rick was definitely
a musical prodigy,
301
00:12:09,812 --> 00:12:12,940
and he talked about hearing
Miles and Monk
302
00:12:12,982 --> 00:12:16,610
at a very, very early age,
in person,
303
00:12:16,652 --> 00:12:18,112
and getting it,
304
00:12:18,154 --> 00:12:21,073
understanding exactly
what these guys were doing.
305
00:12:21,115 --> 00:12:22,575
[Rick] I was playing drums
when I was, like,
306
00:12:22,616 --> 00:12:24,076
I don't know,
nine, ten years old.
307
00:12:24,118 --> 00:12:26,412
My mother would take me
to blues and jazz clubs,
308
00:12:26,454 --> 00:12:27,747
and I'd sit in,
309
00:12:27,788 --> 00:12:29,415
but I just was able
to keep a beat,
310
00:12:29,457 --> 00:12:31,250
and I kinda knew automatically
311
00:12:31,292 --> 00:12:33,335
what I was supposed
to be doing.
312
00:12:33,377 --> 00:12:35,504
He's hearing a lot of
funky R&B, gut bucket stuff,
313
00:12:35,546 --> 00:12:37,590
and, you know,
314
00:12:37,631 --> 00:12:39,467
begins to absorb
all these sounds
315
00:12:39,508 --> 00:12:40,968
that are coming at him.
316
00:12:41,010 --> 00:12:42,636
I don't know, growing up,
I guess I was
317
00:12:42,678 --> 00:12:43,971
sort of a ham, you know.
318
00:12:44,013 --> 00:12:46,474
I was, like,
always kind of crazy.
319
00:12:46,515 --> 00:12:48,851
And I always
liked entertainment,
320
00:12:48,893 --> 00:12:50,936
and I always liked singing,
and...
321
00:12:50,978 --> 00:12:53,272
just kind of joking around,
you know.
322
00:12:53,314 --> 00:12:56,650
My teacher either said
I was going to be...
323
00:12:56,692 --> 00:12:59,570
a hoodlum or a great
entertainer.
324
00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:01,447
ethereal music
325
00:13:01,489 --> 00:13:02,823
[Carmen] If you lived
in Buffalo, and you were
326
00:13:02,865 --> 00:13:04,950
from the projects,
there were gangs galore,
327
00:13:04,992 --> 00:13:06,660
so you were not
gonna walk around
328
00:13:06,702 --> 00:13:09,163
and be without confrontation.
329
00:13:09,205 --> 00:13:13,083
And he had his share.
Rick was not a choir boy.
330
00:13:13,125 --> 00:13:15,336
[Jason] There was a lot
of skirmishes with the law
331
00:13:15,377 --> 00:13:19,423
related to theft, burglary,
drug use, and so on,
332
00:13:19,465 --> 00:13:22,176
'cause he was introduced
to drugs pretty early.
333
00:13:22,802 --> 00:13:25,679
[narrator] The city of Buffalo
grew up as a port
334
00:13:25,721 --> 00:13:29,350
and became
a great industrial center.
335
00:13:29,391 --> 00:13:33,479
But in recent times,
Buffalo has been changing.
336
00:13:33,521 --> 00:13:37,191
Businesses gone, jobs gone,
337
00:13:37,233 --> 00:13:39,860
people gone.
338
00:13:39,902 --> 00:13:42,029
[JoJo]
In the '60s in Buffalo,
339
00:13:42,071 --> 00:13:44,990
people were just tired
of the segregation.
340
00:13:45,032 --> 00:13:47,409
It was basically schools,
341
00:13:47,451 --> 00:13:50,704
bussing, jobs,
342
00:13:50,746 --> 00:13:52,832
and the lack thereof.
343
00:13:54,792 --> 00:13:55,876
[Carmen] Buffalo is probably
one of the most
344
00:13:55,918 --> 00:13:57,711
racist cities in the world.
345
00:13:57,753 --> 00:13:59,380
I used to love
that little sign
346
00:13:59,421 --> 00:14:00,840
as you're coming in,
347
00:14:00,881 --> 00:14:02,716
where it says
the "All-American City."
348
00:14:02,758 --> 00:14:04,009
I used to laugh at that.
349
00:14:04,051 --> 00:14:06,011
It is the All-American city,
all right--
350
00:14:06,053 --> 00:14:07,888
racist right down
to the bone, you know?
351
00:14:07,930 --> 00:14:10,641
At that time, it was
the whole Black power thing.
352
00:14:10,683 --> 00:14:12,977
[playing percussive music]
353
00:14:13,018 --> 00:14:15,729
We were all into wearing
daishikis and stuff back then.
354
00:14:15,771 --> 00:14:17,481
[Rick]
I had just left high school
355
00:14:17,523 --> 00:14:21,026
because I wanted to play with
this African culture group.
356
00:14:21,068 --> 00:14:23,153
And I played conga drums.
357
00:14:23,195 --> 00:14:25,406
[Levi] Everybody that I knew
back then
358
00:14:25,447 --> 00:14:28,075
wanted to get the hell
out of town, out of Buffalo,
359
00:14:28,117 --> 00:14:30,244
but when we got of age,
there was a war.
360
00:14:30,286 --> 00:14:35,165
361
00:14:35,207 --> 00:14:36,917
And not trying to be funny,
but that got
362
00:14:36,959 --> 00:14:38,752
a lot of guys
out of the neighborhood.
363
00:14:38,794 --> 00:14:41,630
[President Johnson] Situation
in Vietnam is difficult,
364
00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:44,133
but there is
an old American saying
365
00:14:44,174 --> 00:14:46,760
that when the going
gets tough,
366
00:14:46,802 --> 00:14:49,138
the tough get going.
367
00:14:49,179 --> 00:14:51,599
[Levi] You had to go
to Fort Here and Fort There,
368
00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,475
and so that's how we learned
about the rest of the world.
369
00:14:53,517 --> 00:14:56,061
He had tried to go in the Navy,
and that didn't work.
370
00:14:56,103 --> 00:14:57,479
[Rick] I was getting ready
to get drafted.
371
00:14:57,521 --> 00:14:59,273
So they said, "You know,
if you join the reserves,
372
00:14:59,315 --> 00:15:01,025
you won't have to go
to Vietnam,"
373
00:15:01,066 --> 00:15:02,484
but they didn't tell me
if I didn't go to meetings,
374
00:15:02,526 --> 00:15:04,028
I'd go to active duty,
375
00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:05,487
So I stopped going
to the meetings,
376
00:15:05,529 --> 00:15:07,448
and of course, they sent me
on active duty.
377
00:15:07,489 --> 00:15:10,200
sustained guitar note
378
00:15:10,242 --> 00:15:11,785
[Levi]
We got in there, man.
379
00:15:11,827 --> 00:15:14,580
It was too rigid,
too disciplined.
380
00:15:14,622 --> 00:15:16,957
Ain't no place to be
if you're a free spirit.
381
00:15:16,999 --> 00:15:18,626
Tell you what time to get up,
what to put on,
382
00:15:18,667 --> 00:15:22,129
when to take a shower,
when to do everything.
383
00:15:22,171 --> 00:15:24,256
You know, quote,
"That makes you a man."
384
00:15:24,298 --> 00:15:26,634
No, it don't.
Makes you a goddamn robot.
385
00:15:26,675 --> 00:15:29,386
[speaker] I don't think
no Black man should really be,
386
00:15:29,428 --> 00:15:31,221
we'll just say,
drafted into the service.
387
00:15:31,263 --> 00:15:32,973
Actually, I think it really
should be
388
00:15:33,015 --> 00:15:35,601
a voluntary basis
for a Black man.
389
00:15:35,643 --> 00:15:38,729
Every Black man, send him off
to Vietnam, he go out there,
390
00:15:38,771 --> 00:15:41,565
fight, get shot up, yet still,
he come back to the States,
391
00:15:41,607 --> 00:15:44,151
and he can't buy a house,
and so what's the point?
392
00:15:44,193 --> 00:15:45,653
[Rick] You know, here I come
from the street,
393
00:15:45,694 --> 00:15:48,489
playing African music
and being real Afro-centric,
394
00:15:48,530 --> 00:15:50,449
all of a sudden
into this white society
395
00:15:50,491 --> 00:15:52,785
of a uniform
and white authority,
396
00:15:52,826 --> 00:15:54,662
and it was a terrible change.
397
00:15:54,703 --> 00:15:56,121
I mean, I wasn't ready for it.
398
00:15:56,163 --> 00:15:57,957
My mind was saying,
"Something is wrong here."
399
00:15:57,998 --> 00:15:59,750
That's when I decided
to go to Canada.
400
00:15:59,792 --> 00:16:02,461
upbeat rock music
401
00:16:02,503 --> 00:16:07,216
402
00:16:07,257 --> 00:16:11,428
[David] Rick went AWOL
and wound up in Canada
403
00:16:11,470 --> 00:16:14,431
and gravitated to Toronto,
404
00:16:14,473 --> 00:16:18,852
where there was a burgeoning
folk rock and roll scene.
405
00:16:18,894 --> 00:16:21,188
[narrator]
This is Yorkville Village,
406
00:16:21,230 --> 00:16:24,024
a phenomena in Toronto
in the mid-'60s--
407
00:16:24,066 --> 00:16:26,443
a colorful, quaint,
cacophonous community
408
00:16:26,485 --> 00:16:28,278
with a split personality.
409
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,990
When the sun goes down,
Yorkville becomes
410
00:16:31,031 --> 00:16:33,617
the no man's land
of the teenagers.
411
00:16:33,659 --> 00:16:36,829
[rock music playing]
412
00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:41,208
[David] It's interesting how
this whole Canadian entry
413
00:16:41,250 --> 00:16:44,628
begins with Rick
because he's in Toronto,
414
00:16:44,670 --> 00:16:47,548
he's walking down the street,
somebody calls him the N-word,
415
00:16:47,589 --> 00:16:50,384
looks like they're gonna
jump him, there's a scuffle.
416
00:16:50,426 --> 00:16:52,886
Yow! Trap door
417
00:16:52,928 --> 00:16:54,304
[Rick]
Well, what happened was,
418
00:16:54,346 --> 00:16:55,931
some white boys started
fighting with me.
419
00:16:55,973 --> 00:16:57,224
Now here I am,
thinking that white people
420
00:16:57,266 --> 00:16:59,143
are cool in Canada,
and I get in this fight.
421
00:16:59,184 --> 00:17:01,478
And some guys came
to my defense
422
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,522
and beat these guys up
'cause I was a little guy;
423
00:17:03,564 --> 00:17:04,773
I was a little skinny kid.
424
00:17:04,815 --> 00:17:06,692
But the guys
who beat these guys up
425
00:17:06,734 --> 00:17:09,445
were in a band
called The Hawks.
426
00:17:09,486 --> 00:17:12,072
Later, it turned out
they called themselves
427
00:17:12,114 --> 00:17:14,283
The Band--Robbie Robertson,
Levon Helm--
428
00:17:14,324 --> 00:17:15,576
and they played
behind Bob Dylan.
429
00:17:15,617 --> 00:17:17,327
And they kind of rescued me.
430
00:17:17,369 --> 00:17:19,496
And they kind of took me
under their wing.
431
00:17:19,538 --> 00:17:21,874
You know, the Toronto scene,
where he ends up,
432
00:17:21,915 --> 00:17:23,792
pretty much like what was
happening in Greenwich Village,
433
00:17:23,834 --> 00:17:25,377
in New York, at that time.
434
00:17:25,419 --> 00:17:28,338
The music scene
was extremely active.
435
00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:32,926
Yorkville Avenue
had door-to-door clubs
436
00:17:32,968 --> 00:17:35,262
and patios and bars,
437
00:17:35,304 --> 00:17:38,057
and every one of them
had a band.
438
00:17:38,098 --> 00:17:40,517
Rick found his people,
you know,
439
00:17:40,559 --> 00:17:42,686
found kind of a tribe
in the mid-'60s.
440
00:17:42,728 --> 00:17:44,730
[Rick] When I went to Canada,
I was really at a point
441
00:17:44,772 --> 00:17:46,607
in my life where I didn't like
white people
442
00:17:46,648 --> 00:17:48,442
because I was seeing
what they were doing.
443
00:17:48,484 --> 00:17:50,736
But it seemed like
the Canadian white people
444
00:17:50,778 --> 00:17:52,446
that I met were friendly,
445
00:17:52,488 --> 00:17:54,073
and they didn't have
this hatred
446
00:17:54,114 --> 00:17:56,492
and this animosity
towards Black people.
447
00:17:56,533 --> 00:18:01,080
The Canadian musicians on
Yorkville were very inventive,
448
00:18:01,121 --> 00:18:04,208
and Rick fit in
very well with them.
449
00:18:04,249 --> 00:18:06,043
He's meeting and hanging out
with Joni Mitchell,
450
00:18:06,085 --> 00:18:07,878
and he's hanging out
with Neil Young.
451
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,463
So he's in this stew pot
452
00:18:09,505 --> 00:18:13,008
of all this mid-'60s music
and flow,
453
00:18:13,050 --> 00:18:15,511
and he's 17, 18,
454
00:18:15,552 --> 00:18:19,264
living in that
and figuring that out.
455
00:18:19,306 --> 00:18:22,643
[David] Whatever this
new music was, he could do it.
456
00:18:22,684 --> 00:18:26,605
It didn't really matter that
he was a brother from Buffalo.
457
00:18:26,647 --> 00:18:27,981
He could adapt.
458
00:18:28,023 --> 00:18:29,983
He went
by many different names.
459
00:18:30,025 --> 00:18:31,443
He was always
changing his name
460
00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:32,736
because he didn't want
to get caught.
461
00:18:32,778 --> 00:18:34,446
[Rick] I was sitting
around a restaurant,
462
00:18:34,488 --> 00:18:35,656
and this friend of mine
was saying, he's saying,
463
00:18:35,697 --> 00:18:37,116
"You're running away
from the service,
464
00:18:37,157 --> 00:18:38,325
you gotta have another name."
465
00:18:38,367 --> 00:18:40,828
And this girl,
who was a singer in Canada--
466
00:18:40,869 --> 00:18:42,663
her name was Shirley Matthews--
467
00:18:42,704 --> 00:18:44,456
she says, "Well," she says,
468
00:18:44,498 --> 00:18:45,999
"I got a cousin
named Rickie Matthews.
469
00:18:46,041 --> 00:18:48,001
Why don't you call yourself
Rickie Matthews?"
470
00:18:48,043 --> 00:18:50,129
So, I said Rickie,
and I put my name--
471
00:18:50,170 --> 00:18:51,922
middle name James Matthews.
472
00:18:51,964 --> 00:18:53,465
So it was
Rickie James Matthews.
473
00:18:53,507 --> 00:18:55,217
And that's when I had the band
with Neil Young.
474
00:18:55,259 --> 00:18:56,760
-[singer] Hey, man?
-[Rickie] Yeah?
475
00:18:56,802 --> 00:18:58,387
[singer] What's that little
black thing in the corner
476
00:18:58,428 --> 00:19:00,681
-with the yellow beak?
-[Rickie] That's a mynah bird!
477
00:19:00,722 --> 00:19:01,974
[Rick] I joined this group,
and we called ourselves
478
00:19:02,015 --> 00:19:04,059
The Sailor Boys,
and then later on,
479
00:19:04,101 --> 00:19:05,477
we stopped
wearing my sailor suits
480
00:19:05,519 --> 00:19:07,104
and just wore whatever
we wanted to wear,
481
00:19:07,146 --> 00:19:08,814
and we called ourselves
the Mynah Birds.
482
00:19:08,856 --> 00:19:11,233
So this group
is Rickie Mathews,
483
00:19:11,275 --> 00:19:15,571
Neil Young on guitar,
and Bruce Palmer on bass.
484
00:19:15,612 --> 00:19:17,865
Those two guys
end up in Buffalo Springfield.
485
00:19:17,906 --> 00:19:21,702
lively rock music
486
00:19:21,743 --> 00:19:23,704
But, you know, we're getting
ahead of the story.
487
00:19:23,745 --> 00:19:26,248
There's John Taylor
488
00:19:26,290 --> 00:19:29,001
and Rickman Mason on drums.
489
00:19:29,042 --> 00:19:31,211
[Rickman]
We played rock, R&B.
490
00:19:31,253 --> 00:19:33,088
We didn't get
into any folky stuff.
491
00:19:33,130 --> 00:19:35,716
That's all we did.
That was our job.
492
00:19:35,757 --> 00:19:38,969
We lived in probably
10 or 15 different places.
493
00:19:39,011 --> 00:19:42,472
We got our own apartment,
and the next thing you know,
494
00:19:42,514 --> 00:19:44,975
there was 15 people
living in the apartment.
495
00:19:45,017 --> 00:19:47,019
[Rick] We had a very big
following around Toronto.
496
00:19:47,060 --> 00:19:48,395
It was us
playing around the village,
497
00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:49,980
and we were all
just starving musicians
498
00:19:50,022 --> 00:19:51,398
who just loved music.
499
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,400
[Rickman]
Rick--very talented musician.
500
00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:56,904
He knew what he wanted to do,
and that got done that way.
501
00:19:56,945 --> 00:19:59,573
Actually, we basically followed
his lead through tunes.
502
00:19:59,615 --> 00:20:01,074
[Rick] Me and Neil
wrote a lot of stuff.
503
00:20:01,116 --> 00:20:03,869
Neil was very fluent
on acoustic,
504
00:20:03,911 --> 00:20:05,913
and he taught me a lot
of chords and different stuff.
505
00:20:05,954 --> 00:20:07,164
Some people say
it's hard to imagine
506
00:20:07,206 --> 00:20:08,415
Neil Young
and Rick James together,
507
00:20:08,457 --> 00:20:10,000
but really, when you think
about it, it's not
508
00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:11,418
'cause I was singing
in those days,
509
00:20:11,460 --> 00:20:13,086
and I really wasn't
playing guitar or anything.
510
00:20:13,128 --> 00:20:14,296
I was kind of playing
a little harmonica.
511
00:20:14,338 --> 00:20:18,050
Neil was into
very melodic chords,
512
00:20:18,091 --> 00:20:19,718
real pretty kind of chords,
you know,
513
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,555
and I would write kind of
R&B lyrics over these chords.
514
00:20:23,597 --> 00:20:25,432
So really, it was
a very interesting combination.
515
00:20:25,474 --> 00:20:27,100
We had this manager,
and he thought,
516
00:20:27,142 --> 00:20:28,769
you know, we were great,
and, you know, he used to come
517
00:20:28,810 --> 00:20:29,978
to our shows all the time.
518
00:20:30,020 --> 00:20:31,772
And he ended up
going to Motown
519
00:20:31,813 --> 00:20:34,107
and telling Motown about us,
and they flew us down.
520
00:20:34,149 --> 00:20:37,319
[Harry] The Mynah Birds
do an audition at Motown,
521
00:20:37,361 --> 00:20:40,739
They get signed, and they go
and they cut four songs.
522
00:20:40,781 --> 00:20:44,743
So, this is a copy of
the actual multitrack session.
523
00:20:44,785 --> 00:20:47,454
Motown had master tape--
master reels.
524
00:20:47,496 --> 00:20:50,123
Here it is. "It's My Time."
Take 21, people.
525
00:20:50,165 --> 00:20:53,961
[upbeat rock music playing]
526
00:20:54,002 --> 00:20:55,545
I mean, I can't play,
but, you know.
527
00:20:55,587 --> 00:20:58,090
528
00:20:58,131 --> 00:21:00,467
I really love you, darling
529
00:21:00,509 --> 00:21:04,638
A love that's so strong
and so fine...
530
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,473
[Rickman] Being signed
to Motown, it was fabulous,
531
00:21:06,515 --> 00:21:08,141
especially white people too.
532
00:21:08,183 --> 00:21:11,144
They just accepted us
like whammo,
533
00:21:11,186 --> 00:21:12,437
and we were in there
and recording,
534
00:21:12,479 --> 00:21:15,816
And it was a whirlwind,
actually,
535
00:21:15,857 --> 00:21:18,986
'cause all's I remember
is 24/7 being in the studio.
536
00:21:19,027 --> 00:21:21,488
Actually, Rick disappeared
out of the studio somewhere
537
00:21:21,530 --> 00:21:22,531
and passed out on the steps,
538
00:21:22,572 --> 00:21:23,782
and they found him
an hour later.
539
00:21:23,824 --> 00:21:25,367
Love you anyway
540
00:21:25,409 --> 00:21:26,368
[Harry]
Cue Neil Young.
541
00:21:26,410 --> 00:21:28,954
542
00:21:28,996 --> 00:21:30,622
[Rickman] We had the Supremes
come in and back us up,
543
00:21:30,664 --> 00:21:32,207
and Stevie Wonder
would jump in
544
00:21:32,249 --> 00:21:33,333
and play a little keyboard.
545
00:21:33,375 --> 00:21:35,669
It was a great time.
546
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:37,004
It's my time
547
00:21:37,045 --> 00:21:38,297
It feels like it's my time
548
00:21:38,338 --> 00:21:40,549
I'm gonna love you anyway
549
00:21:40,590 --> 00:21:41,550
[song ends]
550
00:21:41,591 --> 00:21:43,844
I mean, you know,
I feel like a kid
551
00:21:43,885 --> 00:21:45,887
playing my favorite singles
when I hear that,
552
00:21:45,929 --> 00:21:48,640
and, you know--
553
00:21:48,682 --> 00:21:50,726
but Rick is trying to sound
like Mick Jagger.
554
00:21:50,767 --> 00:21:53,603
I can't get no
555
00:21:53,645 --> 00:21:56,189
Satisfaction
556
00:21:56,231 --> 00:21:58,442
He used Mick Jagger's
actions too.
557
00:21:58,483 --> 00:22:00,819
I think he really liked
the way Mick moved.
558
00:22:00,861 --> 00:22:02,362
He was interested
in being a rock star,
559
00:22:02,404 --> 00:22:03,989
and it's not surprising.
560
00:22:04,031 --> 00:22:08,035
I mean, a lot of Black artists
of the 1960s were inspired
561
00:22:08,076 --> 00:22:12,873
by the rock movement as much as
or more than R&B music.
562
00:22:12,914 --> 00:22:17,127
[singer vocalizing]
563
00:22:17,169 --> 00:22:19,129
soft rock music
564
00:22:19,171 --> 00:22:21,381
In love
565
00:22:21,423 --> 00:22:23,300
If a pain in...
566
00:22:23,342 --> 00:22:24,384
[Harry] When you hear
the Mynah Birds,
567
00:22:24,426 --> 00:22:25,719
there's a moment
where your brain
568
00:22:25,761 --> 00:22:27,554
can't quite accept
that it's Rick James.
569
00:22:27,596 --> 00:22:29,222
You tell people,
"You know that's Rick James,"
570
00:22:29,264 --> 00:22:32,267
and they go,
"Oh, right. Right."
571
00:22:32,309 --> 00:22:35,562
Kind of lean in
and listen to go, "Oh,"
572
00:22:35,604 --> 00:22:37,230
'cause there's a quality
to his voice that's unique.
573
00:22:37,272 --> 00:22:39,733
And it didn't last
574
00:22:39,775 --> 00:22:43,195
Like you thought it would
575
00:22:43,236 --> 00:22:45,072
[Harry]
I think there's a somewhat
576
00:22:45,113 --> 00:22:47,783
of a vulnerability there
that I hadn't heard before.
577
00:22:47,824 --> 00:22:48,909
Hadn't heard since.
578
00:22:48,950 --> 00:22:51,036
He's 18 and trying
to figure something out.
579
00:22:51,078 --> 00:22:52,454
sentimental piano chords
580
00:22:52,496 --> 00:22:54,915
Rick is thinking,
"Okay, we're on Motown.
581
00:22:54,956 --> 00:22:56,458
We're gonna be popular.
582
00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:59,586
We've got a built-in
promotional machine.
583
00:22:59,628 --> 00:23:00,337
We're going."
584
00:23:00,379 --> 00:23:01,546
But the Mynah Birds,
585
00:23:01,588 --> 00:23:03,423
they had fired their manager.
586
00:23:03,465 --> 00:23:05,717
[Rickman] Our manager,
Morley Shelman, got upset,
587
00:23:05,759 --> 00:23:08,428
and somehow Morley
knew Rick was a draft dodger
588
00:23:08,470 --> 00:23:10,263
and squealed on him.
589
00:23:10,305 --> 00:23:12,557
Rickie gets snatched back
by the Navy,
590
00:23:12,599 --> 00:23:14,768
has to go in the brig
'cause he's been AWOL.
591
00:23:14,810 --> 00:23:18,188
We had no idea
that he was a draft dodger.
592
00:23:18,230 --> 00:23:19,940
None at all.
593
00:23:19,981 --> 00:23:22,442
We had no Rick, so we had
to find another singer.
594
00:23:22,484 --> 00:23:24,611
We had a couple
of jobs to play.
595
00:23:24,653 --> 00:23:26,279
There was really not much
to talk about, I guess.
596
00:23:26,321 --> 00:23:28,782
It just was bam. Over.
597
00:23:30,409 --> 00:23:32,786
mellow music
598
00:23:32,828 --> 00:23:34,413
[Rick] Well, after I got out
of the brig,
599
00:23:34,454 --> 00:23:35,914
I went back home for a while,
600
00:23:35,956 --> 00:23:37,791
and I had to decide what
I wanted to do with my life.
601
00:23:37,833 --> 00:23:39,084
I mean, you gotta understand,
it was like three years,
602
00:23:39,126 --> 00:23:41,920
four years of my life
now have passed by.
603
00:23:41,962 --> 00:23:43,964
You know, so I had to get used
to my family all over again,
604
00:23:44,005 --> 00:23:45,924
and, you know,
and just--you know,
605
00:23:45,966 --> 00:23:47,426
I had to get used to me again,
you know,
606
00:23:47,467 --> 00:23:48,927
find out what I wanted to do.
607
00:23:48,969 --> 00:23:51,430
And the outcome was the same--
music, music, music.
608
00:23:51,471 --> 00:23:52,973
I wanted to make music.
609
00:23:53,014 --> 00:23:55,183
[Stan] The Mynah Birds
don't have the kind of success
610
00:23:55,225 --> 00:23:57,602
that Rick James
was hoping for.
611
00:23:57,644 --> 00:24:00,856
But he ends up
doing more work for Motown
612
00:24:00,897 --> 00:24:03,358
as a session songwriter
613
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,903
and arranger,
among other things.
614
00:24:06,945 --> 00:24:09,739
[narrator] From Michigan's
Motor Town, a new export
615
00:24:09,781 --> 00:24:13,910
was added to cars--
the Detroit sound.
616
00:24:13,952 --> 00:24:18,081
My world is empty
without you, babe
617
00:24:18,123 --> 00:24:20,584
It's not a one-man organization
or a two-man organization,
618
00:24:20,625 --> 00:24:23,587
but it is an organization
of teamwork.
619
00:24:23,628 --> 00:24:25,005
[David] Rick would go
to Motown.
620
00:24:25,046 --> 00:24:26,339
He would write.
621
00:24:26,381 --> 00:24:27,632
There would be
Holland-Dozier-Holland
622
00:24:27,674 --> 00:24:29,634
and Norman Whitfield
and Bobby Taylor,
623
00:24:29,676 --> 00:24:32,012
and a whole bunch of people
hanging around,
624
00:24:32,053 --> 00:24:34,806
and was part of the machine.
625
00:24:34,848 --> 00:24:36,641
[Rick] It was very hard for me
to get into the studio
626
00:24:36,683 --> 00:24:38,185
because, I mean,
there was so much
627
00:24:38,226 --> 00:24:40,020
competition of great people.
628
00:24:40,061 --> 00:24:41,855
So I just really spent
a couple years
629
00:24:41,897 --> 00:24:43,565
just learning my craft.
630
00:24:43,607 --> 00:24:47,027
[David] Rick doesn't do well
with authority,
631
00:24:47,068 --> 00:24:51,406
and Motown was a highly
authoritarian climate.
632
00:24:51,448 --> 00:24:53,116
He didn't have any hits,
633
00:24:53,158 --> 00:24:56,828
and he was
an impatient young man.
634
00:24:56,870 --> 00:24:59,372
And when it didn't happen
in a hurry,
635
00:24:59,414 --> 00:25:00,874
he got out of dodge.
636
00:25:00,916 --> 00:25:04,753
637
00:25:04,794 --> 00:25:06,421
[Rick] I just felt
I was going nowhere.
638
00:25:06,463 --> 00:25:08,006
What I wanted to do
was rock and roll,
639
00:25:08,048 --> 00:25:10,926
and what I wanted to do,
Motown was not doing,
640
00:25:10,967 --> 00:25:12,886
and I wanted to take
what they were doing
641
00:25:12,928 --> 00:25:15,722
a step farther,
and I couldn't do it there.
642
00:25:15,764 --> 00:25:18,391
So me and a bass player
named Gregory,
643
00:25:18,433 --> 00:25:20,352
we headed out to California,
644
00:25:20,393 --> 00:25:24,648
and a whole
nother thing happened.
645
00:25:24,689 --> 00:25:27,400
[David]
It's in California
646
00:25:27,442 --> 00:25:29,319
where Rick James
becomes Rick James.
647
00:25:29,361 --> 00:25:32,239
With some stumbles
along the way.
648
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,033
They audition for bass
for Crosby, Stills, and Nash,
649
00:25:35,075 --> 00:25:37,410
and Reeves got the gig.
Rick didn't.
650
00:25:37,452 --> 00:25:42,415
He had designs of continuing
what he had begun in Canada,
651
00:25:42,457 --> 00:25:45,252
which was to be part
of this kind of
652
00:25:45,293 --> 00:25:47,921
burgeoning folk rock culture.
653
00:25:47,963 --> 00:25:52,384
He watched these people
who he had first met in Canada
654
00:25:52,425 --> 00:25:55,011
begin to really get over big,
655
00:25:55,053 --> 00:25:58,431
and whether as a bass player,
whether as a vocalist,
656
00:25:58,473 --> 00:26:00,433
he wanted in.
657
00:26:00,475 --> 00:26:01,768
And it didn't happen.
658
00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:03,144
[Rick] You know,
they got these houses,
659
00:26:03,186 --> 00:26:04,729
and, you know, all these
gold albums and stuff,
660
00:26:04,771 --> 00:26:06,356
and Buffalo Springfield
are doing well,
661
00:26:06,398 --> 00:26:07,607
and here I am,
feeling like shit.
662
00:26:07,649 --> 00:26:08,525
You know, I'm saying,
like, you know,
663
00:26:08,567 --> 00:26:09,693
"Why don't I have any of this?
664
00:26:09,734 --> 00:26:11,194
You know,
what's wrong with me?"
665
00:26:11,236 --> 00:26:12,654
[Harry] He gets in this band
called Salt 'N' Pepper.
666
00:26:12,696 --> 00:26:14,406
Interracial band, right?
Salt 'N' Pepper.
667
00:26:14,447 --> 00:26:15,323
They get their big break.
668
00:26:15,365 --> 00:26:16,533
They open for Jethro Tull
669
00:26:16,575 --> 00:26:17,993
at the Fillmore West,
670
00:26:18,034 --> 00:26:20,120
and then they break up.
Doesn't happen.
671
00:26:20,161 --> 00:26:21,288
When I met Rick,
672
00:26:21,329 --> 00:26:23,790
he was in and out
of several bands.
673
00:26:23,832 --> 00:26:27,085
He was in a band, and then
it would be short-lived,
674
00:26:27,127 --> 00:26:29,212
for one reason or another.
675
00:26:29,254 --> 00:26:33,091
And then my job was to get him
out of all those contracts.
676
00:26:33,133 --> 00:26:35,969
Take him down
a country road...
677
00:26:36,011 --> 00:26:37,721
[Harry] Then there's a band
out of Toronto
678
00:26:37,762 --> 00:26:39,222
called Heaven and Earth.
679
00:26:39,264 --> 00:26:41,933
And this is a band where
they're incorporating horns.
680
00:26:41,975 --> 00:26:45,437
Heaven and Earth
was like a blues band.
681
00:26:45,478 --> 00:26:48,398
Rick wrote
some amazing love songs.
682
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,443
That band mutates
into White Cane.
683
00:26:51,484 --> 00:26:53,653
twangy folk music
684
00:26:53,695 --> 00:26:57,157
He worked that band hard,
and that was a leap up.
685
00:26:57,198 --> 00:27:01,119
The music was hard-driving.
It was just spectacular music.
686
00:27:01,161 --> 00:27:04,414
We heard about this group
called White Cane
687
00:27:04,456 --> 00:27:05,540
at the Whiskey.
688
00:27:05,582 --> 00:27:06,791
Gotta see it.
689
00:27:06,833 --> 00:27:09,878
We were gonna see,
you know, this guy.
690
00:27:09,919 --> 00:27:12,172
And he played the guitar
and wore a hat
691
00:27:12,213 --> 00:27:14,049
almost just like this.
692
00:27:14,090 --> 00:27:17,469
Rick was very electric,
you know.
693
00:27:17,510 --> 00:27:20,096
We all whispered, like,
"Wow," you know,
694
00:27:20,138 --> 00:27:21,973
"He's gonna do something."
695
00:27:22,015 --> 00:27:24,100
[Stan] Rick, in the middle
of the tour,
696
00:27:24,142 --> 00:27:26,144
gets into arguments
with the band
697
00:27:26,186 --> 00:27:29,522
about Rick stopping the music
and addressing the audience,
698
00:27:29,564 --> 00:27:32,817
getting them to clap
or say things in unison.
699
00:27:32,859 --> 00:27:36,529
And the tour fell apart.
Rick left the band.
700
00:27:36,571 --> 00:27:40,116
I've never seen anybody with
so much drive and ambition
701
00:27:40,158 --> 00:27:43,787
to make it, and frustration
because he wasn't making it.
702
00:27:43,828 --> 00:27:47,540
funky bass music
703
00:27:47,582 --> 00:27:49,542
[Rick]
I met my first true love
704
00:27:49,584 --> 00:27:50,669
when I came out to California.
705
00:27:50,710 --> 00:27:52,045
Her name was Syville.
706
00:27:52,087 --> 00:27:54,881
We met at, like, this crazy
Halloween party.
707
00:27:54,923 --> 00:27:57,050
Drugs, sex everywhere.
It was decadent.
708
00:27:57,092 --> 00:27:59,886
It was like Dionysius
or something going on.
709
00:27:59,928 --> 00:28:01,346
[producer] Your daughter
just informed me
710
00:28:01,388 --> 00:28:03,306
that the party you were at
was actually an orgy.
711
00:28:03,348 --> 00:28:06,184
[laughs]
It was a party and an orgy.
712
00:28:06,226 --> 00:28:10,021
You know, but it was civilized,
you know.
713
00:28:10,063 --> 00:28:11,773
It wasn't just crazy.
714
00:28:11,815 --> 00:28:16,444
I saw Rick sitting in the seat
right by the kitchen area.
715
00:28:16,486 --> 00:28:17,946
He was, you know,
716
00:28:17,987 --> 00:28:20,115
a very nice-looking man,
very intelligent.
717
00:28:20,156 --> 00:28:23,368
There was a lot about him,
you know, that I liked.
718
00:28:23,410 --> 00:28:26,371
Eventually, he came over
to where I was sitting.
719
00:28:26,413 --> 00:28:29,541
He said, "Syville,
do you wanna go with me?"
720
00:28:29,582 --> 00:28:31,751
And I said, "Well, yeah."
721
00:28:33,128 --> 00:28:34,337
[Rick] I ended up
going over to her place,
722
00:28:34,379 --> 00:28:36,214
and a few years later,
I was still there.
723
00:28:36,256 --> 00:28:38,591
We had two children:
my daughter Ty,
724
00:28:38,633 --> 00:28:40,552
and a son named Rickie.
725
00:28:40,593 --> 00:28:44,431
He was absent.
He was pursuing his career.
726
00:28:44,472 --> 00:28:46,349
He was chasing his dreams.
727
00:28:46,391 --> 00:28:47,934
I'm sure him and my mom
728
00:28:47,976 --> 00:28:51,771
had their reasons
for whatever took place.
729
00:28:51,813 --> 00:28:56,192
That's how life was,
and you have to go with that.
730
00:28:56,234 --> 00:28:59,529
When he got to LA,
he got right smack dab
731
00:28:59,571 --> 00:29:01,114
in the middle
of hippie culture,
732
00:29:01,156 --> 00:29:02,741
and he met Jay Sebring,
733
00:29:02,782 --> 00:29:04,242
who was
a well-known hairdresser,
734
00:29:04,284 --> 00:29:06,453
who knew Sharon Tate.
735
00:29:06,494 --> 00:29:10,123
And he was invited to a party,
and that turned out
736
00:29:10,165 --> 00:29:13,168
to be the party
of the Manson murders.
737
00:29:13,209 --> 00:29:14,919
[news anchor]
An employee came to work
738
00:29:14,961 --> 00:29:17,172
and found several bodies
in the house.
739
00:29:17,213 --> 00:29:19,924
The tentative identification
of the persons are as follows:
740
00:29:19,966 --> 00:29:24,137
Sharon Polanski, Jay Sebring.
741
00:29:24,179 --> 00:29:26,598
[Syville] We was supposed
to go to a party,
742
00:29:26,639 --> 00:29:28,475
and I wanted to go.
743
00:29:28,516 --> 00:29:30,185
And he said he was tired,
744
00:29:30,226 --> 00:29:31,728
and, you know,
he didn't want to go.
745
00:29:31,770 --> 00:29:34,105
He said, "We'll do something
else another day."
746
00:29:34,147 --> 00:29:36,107
[reporter]
Do you believe that
747
00:29:36,149 --> 00:29:37,984
there should be
a death penalty?
748
00:29:38,026 --> 00:29:42,280
[Charles] A death penalty?
Aren't we all born to die?
749
00:29:42,322 --> 00:29:44,991
[Rick] After Jay died,
I was really distraught.
750
00:29:45,033 --> 00:29:47,952
[interviewer] What were
you doing during the '70s?
751
00:29:47,994 --> 00:29:51,790
Tripping around. Going nuts.
Writing music.
752
00:29:51,831 --> 00:29:53,333
Getting turned down
by record companies.
753
00:29:53,374 --> 00:29:56,836
I think hustle is just part
of the American DNA.
754
00:29:56,878 --> 00:29:58,338
And Rick
was definitely a hustler.
755
00:29:58,379 --> 00:30:01,841
And I mean that in a good way
because he did survive.
756
00:30:01,883 --> 00:30:04,511
When the California
hippie thing didn't work out,
757
00:30:04,552 --> 00:30:07,013
he'd go home, he'd deal drugs,
758
00:30:07,055 --> 00:30:09,516
he'd have big shipments
coming in from God knows where.
759
00:30:09,557 --> 00:30:12,268
He did all kinds of crazy shit.
760
00:30:12,310 --> 00:30:14,562
[Rick] I went to Canada
for a brief moment,
761
00:30:14,604 --> 00:30:17,315
and I met a friend up there,
and, uh...[laughs]
762
00:30:17,357 --> 00:30:19,651
we went to Colombia,
South America.
763
00:30:19,692 --> 00:30:22,070
I really don't even know if I
should get into it, you know?
764
00:30:22,111 --> 00:30:24,864
Anyway, went to South America,
and we did this deal,
765
00:30:24,906 --> 00:30:26,324
and we made a bunch of money.
766
00:30:26,366 --> 00:30:29,202
I took that money,
and I went to Buffalo.
767
00:30:29,244 --> 00:30:31,496
When you really get confused,
you go home to your mother.
768
00:30:31,538 --> 00:30:33,414
I says, "Mom, I'm tired.
I've been away from home,
769
00:30:33,456 --> 00:30:35,542
like, eight or nine years.
Nothing's happening."
770
00:30:35,583 --> 00:30:37,836
So I start getting
into being at home with her,
771
00:30:37,877 --> 00:30:40,046
and listening to the music
going around,
772
00:30:40,088 --> 00:30:41,673
and it was in the ghetto,
773
00:30:41,714 --> 00:30:43,383
so I listened
to a lot of Black music.
774
00:30:43,424 --> 00:30:45,385
And I was hearing
the Parliament-Funkadelics
775
00:30:45,426 --> 00:30:47,470
and Bootsy
and all that kind of stuff.
776
00:30:47,512 --> 00:30:49,389
And I start saying,
"Well, this is kind of
777
00:30:49,430 --> 00:30:54,018
like my concept--rock and funk.
But not the way I would do it."
778
00:30:54,060 --> 00:30:55,979
I wanted to be nasty,
and I wanted to be raw,
779
00:30:56,020 --> 00:30:59,065
and I if I hit a bad chord
or a bad note in my record,
780
00:30:59,107 --> 00:31:00,692
and it made sense, I'd keep it.
781
00:31:00,733 --> 00:31:02,068
Or if I hit
a bad note, vocally,
782
00:31:02,110 --> 00:31:03,903
and if it had the magic,
I'd keep it.
783
00:31:03,945 --> 00:31:06,531
[singer trilling]
784
00:31:06,573 --> 00:31:07,740
[singer vocalizing]
785
00:31:07,782 --> 00:31:09,701
upbeat funk music
786
00:31:09,742 --> 00:31:12,078
You and I
787
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,582
We fit together
like a glove on hand
788
00:31:15,623 --> 00:31:17,667
That's right
789
00:31:17,709 --> 00:31:20,086
Don't you know
790
00:31:20,128 --> 00:31:23,464
That I would gladly
take you anywhere
791
00:31:23,506 --> 00:31:25,300
You wanted to go...
792
00:31:25,341 --> 00:31:27,093
I had written these songs
when I was staying
793
00:31:27,135 --> 00:31:28,761
with my mother
at home in Buffalo.
794
00:31:28,803 --> 00:31:31,639
I got some neighborhood
musicians, and we recorded.
795
00:31:31,681 --> 00:31:33,558
Wouldn't you agree?
796
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,769
And if by chance...
797
00:31:36,811 --> 00:31:38,605
I took the tape,
and I came out
798
00:31:38,646 --> 00:31:39,814
to Los Angeles to make a deal.
799
00:31:39,856 --> 00:31:41,816
The end of me
800
00:31:41,858 --> 00:31:43,276
I had no visions
of being with Motown
801
00:31:43,318 --> 00:31:45,153
when I came out
with this music.
802
00:31:45,194 --> 00:31:46,988
Matter of fact, Motown was
the last company in the world
803
00:31:47,030 --> 00:31:49,282
that I wanted to be with.
804
00:31:49,324 --> 00:31:51,993
I was riding in the elevator,
and I ran into Jeffrey Bowen,
805
00:31:52,035 --> 00:31:53,453
and he was producing stuff
at Motown,
806
00:31:53,494 --> 00:31:55,038
and he said,
"What are you doing here?"
807
00:31:55,079 --> 00:31:56,122
I said, "Well, I got an album
I just finished.
808
00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:57,290
I'm trying to shop a deal."
809
00:31:57,332 --> 00:31:58,917
He said,
"Well, let me hear it."
810
00:31:58,958 --> 00:32:00,793
You know, rest was history.
I ended up signing with them.
811
00:32:00,835 --> 00:32:02,962
My first album
was called Come Get It!
812
00:32:03,004 --> 00:32:05,089
I always come
813
00:32:05,131 --> 00:32:07,133
It's so much fun, yeah...
814
00:32:07,175 --> 00:32:09,636
He'd been toiling
throughout the 1970s
815
00:32:09,677 --> 00:32:11,095
as a kind of musical
journeyman.
816
00:32:11,137 --> 00:32:14,140
It finally clicked in 1978
with Come Get It!
817
00:32:14,182 --> 00:32:16,100
[Kerry]
My father thought that
818
00:32:16,142 --> 00:32:19,896
Rick was a great producer.
819
00:32:19,938 --> 00:32:23,399
And he was just like,
"Man, he's got a sound
820
00:32:23,441 --> 00:32:25,234
that we don't have here."
821
00:32:25,276 --> 00:32:28,947
Motown as a label was trying
to make the transition
822
00:32:28,988 --> 00:32:31,783
from being a conveyor belt
kind of a label,
823
00:32:31,824 --> 00:32:36,162
where they produced and wrote
everything for their artists,
824
00:32:36,204 --> 00:32:38,831
and trying to catch up
with the times.
825
00:32:38,873 --> 00:32:42,335
By '77, people were operating
as artists.
826
00:32:42,377 --> 00:32:44,462
They were writing
their own music.
827
00:32:44,504 --> 00:32:46,673
They were expressing
themselves from the heart,
828
00:32:46,714 --> 00:32:49,175
as opposed to having
songwriters do it for them.
829
00:32:49,217 --> 00:32:52,303
[Jason] Rick James basically
helps Motown by providing it
830
00:32:52,345 --> 00:32:55,306
with a new economic model
of self-sufficiency.
831
00:32:55,348 --> 00:32:58,476
And that becomes
the Motown model in the 1970s,
832
00:32:58,518 --> 00:33:01,479
and it's one that actually
helps save Motown in an era
833
00:33:01,521 --> 00:33:04,023
of dwindling financial returns
for the company.
834
00:33:04,065 --> 00:33:05,817
"You and I" combines
a lot of different sounds.
835
00:33:05,858 --> 00:33:09,195
I mean, it builds to an intro,
and then there's another intro.
836
00:33:09,237 --> 00:33:10,655
There's--these female vocals
come in.
837
00:33:10,697 --> 00:33:12,031
There's, like, these steps.
838
00:33:12,073 --> 00:33:14,367
[lively funk music playing]
839
00:33:14,409 --> 00:33:15,994
Rick loved guitar riffs.
840
00:33:16,035 --> 00:33:20,623
841
00:33:20,665 --> 00:33:22,208
Step three.
842
00:33:22,250 --> 00:33:23,459
Step two.
843
00:33:23,501 --> 00:33:26,170
[singers vocalizing]
844
00:33:26,212 --> 00:33:31,384
845
00:33:33,970 --> 00:33:36,431
Another one.
That's another one.
846
00:33:37,432 --> 00:33:38,891
There's three intros.
847
00:33:42,395 --> 00:33:44,272
You know, he's adlibbing,
feeling free.
848
00:33:44,313 --> 00:33:45,773
He's not trying to fit
in the formula.
849
00:33:45,815 --> 00:33:49,235
He's giving you some odd sounds
right off the bat.
850
00:33:49,277 --> 00:33:51,571
[producer] It's like
disco and funk eloped.
851
00:33:51,612 --> 00:33:53,948
This three-part harmony
852
00:33:53,990 --> 00:33:56,701
Wouldn't you agree?
853
00:33:56,743 --> 00:33:59,454
[Norwood] "You and I"
was one of my favorite songs.
854
00:33:59,495 --> 00:34:00,997
It was my jam.
855
00:34:01,039 --> 00:34:03,875
I liked the lyrics, the melody,
856
00:34:03,916 --> 00:34:06,586
the bassline, the beat.
857
00:34:06,627 --> 00:34:09,589
I still remember just jumping
up and down,
858
00:34:09,630 --> 00:34:12,425
dancing and singing that--
the hook to that song.
859
00:34:12,467 --> 00:34:15,386
[Kerry] Rick understood
the demographic
860
00:34:15,428 --> 00:34:17,180
and the psychographic
of the audience
861
00:34:17,221 --> 00:34:19,348
that he was focusing on.
862
00:34:19,390 --> 00:34:20,600
When he says,
863
00:34:20,641 --> 00:34:21,934
Some people must say
864
00:34:21,976 --> 00:34:24,270
I'm infatuated with you
865
00:34:24,312 --> 00:34:27,440
I don't care, 'cause they
really don't know
866
00:34:27,482 --> 00:34:30,943
They never hear
or see the things I do
867
00:34:30,985 --> 00:34:35,865
So far as I'm concerned,
they all can go to hell
868
00:34:35,907 --> 00:34:38,367
[holding note]
869
00:34:38,409 --> 00:34:42,455
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, oh-oh-oh
870
00:34:42,497 --> 00:34:45,083
When he says that,
871
00:34:45,124 --> 00:34:48,294
we're like,
"What? He said 'go to hell?'"
872
00:34:48,336 --> 00:34:50,630
And it worked.
873
00:34:50,671 --> 00:34:52,340
Sing it, sugar
874
00:34:52,381 --> 00:34:56,135
[Kerry]
It also gave him a vibe
875
00:34:56,177 --> 00:34:59,013
that no other
Motown artist had.
876
00:34:59,055 --> 00:35:00,181
[Rick]
To me, my attitude about it,
877
00:35:00,223 --> 00:35:01,474
it was long incoming.
878
00:35:01,516 --> 00:35:03,476
I was a superstar
in my head already.
879
00:35:03,518 --> 00:35:05,103
I mean, although I wasn't
financially,
880
00:35:05,144 --> 00:35:06,437
my ego at the time was like,
881
00:35:06,479 --> 00:35:08,397
"Yeah, it's about time
for this."
882
00:35:08,439 --> 00:35:11,567
Think about a kid, maybe,
like, 13 or 14 years old,
883
00:35:11,609 --> 00:35:14,654
and we only hit
when we're 30 years old.
884
00:35:14,695 --> 00:35:16,989
It took a whole lot of years
for him to get there.
885
00:35:17,031 --> 00:35:18,658
It was not what you call
an overnight
886
00:35:18,699 --> 00:35:20,159
sensation shit with us.
887
00:35:20,201 --> 00:35:21,744
We had been looking
for a break,
888
00:35:21,786 --> 00:35:23,996
and finally got one in life,
and we took advantage of it.
889
00:35:24,038 --> 00:35:26,916
[Kerry] That Come and Get It
album had "You and I" on it,
890
00:35:26,958 --> 00:35:28,793
and it had "Mary Jane" on it.
891
00:35:28,835 --> 00:35:31,254
Now, let's welcome an extremely
gifted young man
892
00:35:31,295 --> 00:35:33,840
who, in less than a year's
time, has a platinum album
893
00:35:33,881 --> 00:35:35,967
and two gold singles
to his credit
894
00:35:36,008 --> 00:35:37,593
on Motown, of course,
895
00:35:37,635 --> 00:35:40,012
and as he joins us to do
one of those smash singles,
896
00:35:40,054 --> 00:35:41,848
how about it, gang,
for Rick James
897
00:35:41,889 --> 00:35:43,683
and the Stone City Band.
898
00:35:43,724 --> 00:35:46,102
I'm in love with Mary Jane
899
00:35:46,144 --> 00:35:48,563
She's my main thing
900
00:35:48,604 --> 00:35:51,357
She makes me
feel all right
901
00:35:51,399 --> 00:35:54,068
She makes my heart sing
902
00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:55,611
[Ice Cube] I remember hearing
Rick James.
903
00:35:55,653 --> 00:35:58,948
First song I ever heard,
I believe, was "Mary Jane."
904
00:35:58,990 --> 00:36:01,909
My friend Ronnie
and his brother Robert--
905
00:36:01,951 --> 00:36:03,161
we called him Ace--
906
00:36:03,202 --> 00:36:05,246
I knew when Ace
had to watch us,
907
00:36:05,288 --> 00:36:09,208
we was gonna see
some titty magazines,
908
00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:12,044
we was gonna learn
some dirty words,
909
00:36:12,086 --> 00:36:14,589
we was gonna see him
roll a joint,
910
00:36:14,630 --> 00:36:17,425
and we was gonna hear him
play some Rick James.
911
00:36:17,466 --> 00:36:20,344
I'm in love with Mary Jane
912
00:36:20,386 --> 00:36:22,388
I'm not the only one
913
00:36:22,430 --> 00:36:25,516
And Mary wanna play around
914
00:36:25,558 --> 00:36:28,519
I let her have her fun...
915
00:36:28,561 --> 00:36:30,313
[Ice Cube] When I was young,
I thought it was a song
916
00:36:30,354 --> 00:36:33,900
talking about a pretty girl
that he loved.
917
00:36:33,941 --> 00:36:36,152
Ace taught me, "No.
918
00:36:36,194 --> 00:36:38,362
He talking about weed."
919
00:36:38,404 --> 00:36:41,032
And I'm like, "I be damned.
920
00:36:41,073 --> 00:36:42,867
This man is a genius."
921
00:36:42,909 --> 00:36:46,329
Oh, do ya? Do ya? Do ya?
922
00:36:46,370 --> 00:36:50,875
Now do you think
you love me Mary Jane?
923
00:36:50,917 --> 00:36:52,585
Don't you play no games...
924
00:36:52,627 --> 00:36:54,837
[Dr. Boyd] People were trying
to go beyond the boundaries.
925
00:36:54,879 --> 00:36:56,964
They were trying to go
against convention.
926
00:36:57,006 --> 00:37:01,427
It kind of linked up perfectly
with the music he was making.
927
00:37:01,469 --> 00:37:04,597
I mean, this wasn't
Nat King Cole singing ballads.
928
00:37:04,639 --> 00:37:08,059
This was a guy making a song
about smoking weed,
929
00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:09,977
which, back in the late '70s,
was radical.
930
00:37:10,019 --> 00:37:12,438
[Steven] No one had ever
really heard that before.
931
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,274
And at the time--you know,
it's almost laughable now--
932
00:37:15,316 --> 00:37:18,945
this was just
a very controversial record.
933
00:37:18,986 --> 00:37:22,198
[Kerry] You have this album
from a new artist
934
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:26,786
who has a totally new
and different persona.
935
00:37:26,827 --> 00:37:28,704
There was a guy
by the name of Skip Miller.
936
00:37:28,746 --> 00:37:30,039
He said, "You know what,
937
00:37:30,081 --> 00:37:32,625
this is one of the first times
that I can say
938
00:37:32,667 --> 00:37:34,585
I think we have
a Benji record here."
939
00:37:34,627 --> 00:37:36,212
I said,
"What's a Benji record?"
940
00:37:36,254 --> 00:37:38,130
He said, "You know,
remember the dog Benji?"
941
00:37:38,172 --> 00:37:40,299
He said,
"This record is so good
942
00:37:40,341 --> 00:37:41,717
that Benji could have
took the record
943
00:37:41,759 --> 00:37:44,804
into the radio station
and got it played."
944
00:37:44,845 --> 00:37:48,266
The main influence I hear in
Rick's music is George Clinton.
945
00:37:48,307 --> 00:37:50,977
[crowd singing indistinctly]
946
00:37:51,018 --> 00:37:52,311
Say it like you mean it
947
00:37:52,353 --> 00:37:56,315
948
00:37:56,357 --> 00:37:58,442
Parliament-Funkadelic
had a focus on creating
949
00:37:58,484 --> 00:38:02,071
these really tight,
funky grooves.
950
00:38:02,113 --> 00:38:03,948
I also hear
Sly and the Family Stone
951
00:38:03,990 --> 00:38:05,241
as a clear influence
in Rick's work.
952
00:38:05,283 --> 00:38:08,244
I want to thank you
953
00:38:08,286 --> 00:38:12,498
For lettin' me
be myself again
954
00:38:12,540 --> 00:38:15,751
Funk was a bad word
until we made it famous.
955
00:38:15,793 --> 00:38:19,046
Funk is, like,
just the way you feeling.
956
00:38:19,088 --> 00:38:21,924
I mean,
whatever you feeling is funk.
957
00:38:21,966 --> 00:38:26,929
We came out of the A-hole
in between the P-hole.
958
00:38:26,971 --> 00:38:29,640
So if you come from that,
then you funky anyway.
959
00:38:29,682 --> 00:38:34,520
Funk is the modern
interpretation
960
00:38:34,562 --> 00:38:39,025
of our ancestors
screaming through us,
961
00:38:39,066 --> 00:38:43,696
from Africa, through the pain
of slavery, through Jim Crow.
962
00:38:43,738 --> 00:38:46,157
It's Black excellence,
and it's nigga shit.
963
00:38:46,198 --> 00:38:48,200
The worst made beautiful.
964
00:38:48,242 --> 00:38:52,621
The lowest given
the opportunity to express.
965
00:38:52,663 --> 00:38:54,707
Shit, Rick James is
966
00:38:54,749 --> 00:38:57,877
an amazing expression
of all of that.
967
00:38:57,918 --> 00:38:59,712
Tonight, Rock Concert
presents
968
00:38:59,754 --> 00:39:01,297
the Pied Piper of funk fun--
969
00:39:01,339 --> 00:39:02,798
oh, "punk funk," I'm sorry.
970
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:04,050
[crewmember] 204. Take two.
971
00:39:04,091 --> 00:39:05,384
Tonight, Rock Concert
presents
972
00:39:05,426 --> 00:39:08,637
the Pied Piper
of punk funk, Rick James.
973
00:39:08,679 --> 00:39:12,391
We're bustin' out
of this L-Seven square
974
00:39:12,433 --> 00:39:14,477
Freaks like you and I
975
00:39:14,518 --> 00:39:17,396
Could never
funk from there
976
00:39:17,438 --> 00:39:19,148
[Big Daddy Kane] I remember
listening to Rick James'
977
00:39:19,190 --> 00:39:20,733
music when I was a kid.
978
00:39:20,775 --> 00:39:23,944
Bustin' Out was probably
one of my favorites.
979
00:39:23,986 --> 00:39:26,405
Heavy bassline-driven grooves,
980
00:39:26,447 --> 00:39:28,991
and Rick was just
wilding on the songs.
981
00:39:29,033 --> 00:39:31,160
Just spitting it raw.
982
00:39:31,202 --> 00:39:33,287
Put your hands in the air
983
00:39:33,329 --> 00:39:35,581
And sing along with me
984
00:39:35,623 --> 00:39:36,916
Bustin' out!
985
00:39:36,957 --> 00:39:38,834
[Big Daddy Kane]
Rick James' style of funk
986
00:39:38,876 --> 00:39:41,921
wasn't like the GAP Band,
987
00:39:41,962 --> 00:39:44,924
Con Funk Shun, Ohio Players.
988
00:39:44,965 --> 00:39:47,093
His style was just hard.
989
00:39:47,134 --> 00:39:49,762
[Jason] He was creating
a really rhythmic, aggressive,
990
00:39:49,804 --> 00:39:51,931
hard-driving
Black dance music.
991
00:39:51,972 --> 00:39:55,768
Rick James' grooves
were groovier than most.
992
00:39:55,810 --> 00:39:58,854
The way that they hit
on the one,
993
00:39:58,896 --> 00:40:02,066
meaning on the first beat
of every measure,
994
00:40:02,108 --> 00:40:05,277
meant that they caused
a kind of energetic response.
995
00:40:05,319 --> 00:40:07,446
Every time you come
to that first melody--uh.
996
00:40:07,488 --> 00:40:09,448
[playing funky rhythm]
997
00:40:09,490 --> 00:40:10,282
Uh.
998
00:40:10,324 --> 00:40:12,451
The Rick James sound
999
00:40:12,493 --> 00:40:14,745
was basically
like a funk grenade.
1000
00:40:14,787 --> 00:40:16,247
[Levi]
He named it punk funk.
1001
00:40:16,288 --> 00:40:17,581
Rick wanted to me a rocker,
1002
00:40:17,623 --> 00:40:19,125
and then he came from Buffalo,
1003
00:40:19,166 --> 00:40:21,127
and, you know, we have
a different kind of style,
1004
00:40:21,168 --> 00:40:22,628
you know, our genre is funk,
1005
00:40:22,670 --> 00:40:24,255
but it's a different
kind of funk.
1006
00:40:24,296 --> 00:40:25,631
You're doing jazz.
1007
00:40:25,673 --> 00:40:28,801
You're doing hard rock
with guitars.
1008
00:40:28,843 --> 00:40:30,970
You're doing big band music,
with the horns.
1009
00:40:31,011 --> 00:40:33,681
The punk part was punk from,
like, Europe.
1010
00:40:33,722 --> 00:40:36,100
He was equating the poor kids
over in England
1011
00:40:36,142 --> 00:40:38,310
with the poor kids here in
the neighborhoods in Buffalo.
1012
00:40:38,352 --> 00:40:39,812
Punk funk was the attitude.
1013
00:40:39,854 --> 00:40:41,439
"We're gonna do what the hell
we want to do."
1014
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:43,149
It gave me a vehicle
to write about anything
1015
00:40:43,190 --> 00:40:44,608
I wanted to write about.
1016
00:40:44,650 --> 00:40:46,026
You know, I smoke marijuana,
I can write about it.
1017
00:40:46,068 --> 00:40:48,070
If I don't like Richard Nixon,
I can call him an asshole.
1018
00:40:48,112 --> 00:40:51,574
To be able to finally have
Blacks write about whatever,
1019
00:40:51,615 --> 00:40:54,493
and be able to wear whatever--
1020
00:40:54,535 --> 00:40:57,163
because for so long,
Blacks have been stigmatized
1021
00:40:57,204 --> 00:41:00,124
into this choreographed--
1022
00:41:00,166 --> 00:41:01,959
Doo wop, doo wah
1023
00:41:02,001 --> 00:41:03,335
I love you
1024
00:41:03,377 --> 00:41:06,922
Ooh, do, do, do, do
You know, eh.
1025
00:41:06,964 --> 00:41:10,176
And I remember asking Rick,
"Man, what are you gonna do
1026
00:41:10,217 --> 00:41:13,137
if this thing is a success?
What are you going to--
1027
00:41:13,179 --> 00:41:15,473
what are you gonna do
with your money, for instance?"
1028
00:41:15,514 --> 00:41:17,475
"Oh, Steve, ain't nothing
gonna change, man.
1029
00:41:17,516 --> 00:41:19,602
I'm just gonna buy some more
clothes or something."
1030
00:41:19,643 --> 00:41:23,397
But things did change,
and they changed rapidly.
1031
00:41:23,439 --> 00:41:25,649
The hustling energy
is an energy.
1032
00:41:25,691 --> 00:41:29,028
And that energy--
once you get through
1033
00:41:29,069 --> 00:41:31,530
with your non-musical hustle,
whatever it is,
1034
00:41:31,572 --> 00:41:34,033
that energy
is still there in the music.
1035
00:41:34,074 --> 00:41:37,870
You can feel that intensity
in his music.
1036
00:41:37,912 --> 00:41:39,038
It's aspirational.
1037
00:41:39,079 --> 00:41:42,833
He aspires to get over.
It's America.
1038
00:41:42,875 --> 00:41:45,002
[Rick] I had a double platinum
album on my hands,
1039
00:41:45,044 --> 00:41:46,921
and then I needed a group,
so I went home,
1040
00:41:46,962 --> 00:41:49,882
and I put together my favorite
musicians in that town,
1041
00:41:49,924 --> 00:41:52,259
who became my family for
years--the Stone City Band.
1042
00:41:52,301 --> 00:41:53,719
[news reporter] Do you want
to present everybody to us?
1043
00:41:53,761 --> 00:41:54,845
Sure.
1044
00:41:54,887 --> 00:41:55,888
'Cause you know them
better than I do.
1045
00:41:55,930 --> 00:41:57,806
[Rick]
This light-skinned fellow.
1046
00:41:57,848 --> 00:41:59,892
This is Tom McDermott,
guitar player.
1047
00:41:59,934 --> 00:42:01,185
-[reporter, indistinct]
-[Rick] That's Hughes.
1048
00:42:01,227 --> 00:42:02,311
-Drummer.
-How you doing?
1049
00:42:02,353 --> 00:42:03,646
[Rick]
This is Joanne McDuffie.
1050
00:42:03,687 --> 00:42:05,564
We call her JoJo for short.
1051
00:42:05,606 --> 00:42:06,732
One of the girl singers.
1052
00:42:06,774 --> 00:42:07,858
-This is Levi Ruffin.
-How you doing?
1053
00:42:07,900 --> 00:42:09,693
[Rick]
We're the Stone City Band.
1054
00:42:09,735 --> 00:42:12,321
This is Lisa Sarna,
one of the girl singers.
1055
00:42:12,363 --> 00:42:15,074
That's Oscar Alston,
Alexander Monday.
1056
00:42:15,115 --> 00:42:16,909
[laughter]
1057
00:42:16,951 --> 00:42:18,577
That's our bass player.
1058
00:42:18,619 --> 00:42:20,704
Rick came up and asked me,
"Man, who's jamming now?"
1059
00:42:20,746 --> 00:42:22,373
and I said, "As far as, like,
the groove's concerned,
1060
00:42:22,414 --> 00:42:24,542
it's still George Clinton
and Bootsy."
1061
00:42:24,583 --> 00:42:25,751
And he told me, man, I quote,
1062
00:42:25,793 --> 00:42:27,127
"Man, we can do
better than that."
1063
00:42:27,169 --> 00:42:29,129
I said, "Shit. Sign me up."
1064
00:42:29,171 --> 00:42:32,091
[Lanise] We did our first
rehearsals at Rick house.
1065
00:42:32,132 --> 00:42:34,218
He had some songs
that he wanted to do.
1066
00:42:34,260 --> 00:42:38,305
So we went to the studio.
We recorded the demos.
1067
00:42:38,347 --> 00:42:40,558
Rick took them back to Motown.
1068
00:42:40,599 --> 00:42:42,768
Berry Gordy told Rick--he said,
1069
00:42:42,810 --> 00:42:46,105
"Whoever those musicians are,
that's your band."
1070
00:42:46,146 --> 00:42:47,439
[Oscar]
Rick could write.
1071
00:42:47,481 --> 00:42:49,567
He wasn't
a great pianist or bass,
1072
00:42:49,608 --> 00:42:51,443
but he knew what he liked
1073
00:42:51,485 --> 00:42:54,655
and what would work
and fit together.
1074
00:42:54,697 --> 00:42:56,657
So when he had
all of us around,
1075
00:42:56,699 --> 00:43:00,244
that's like having
all of the notes on the piano,
1076
00:43:00,286 --> 00:43:02,079
all of the notes on the bass.
1077
00:43:02,121 --> 00:43:04,039
[Levi] Chemistry was like new,
because none of us
1078
00:43:04,081 --> 00:43:05,749
really had played
together in the studio.
1079
00:43:05,791 --> 00:43:07,585
I knew what we was supposed
to sound like.
1080
00:43:07,626 --> 00:43:08,877
I just didn't know
how to make it.
1081
00:43:08,919 --> 00:43:10,921
Rick showed us how to make it.
1082
00:43:10,963 --> 00:43:12,631
He wanted us to see
everything he was doing.
1083
00:43:12,673 --> 00:43:14,049
I guess he was figuring,
you know,
1084
00:43:14,091 --> 00:43:15,884
"One day I might not be here.
Maybe I can't do it.
1085
00:43:15,926 --> 00:43:17,469
Y'all can still carry on
with the shit."
1086
00:43:17,511 --> 00:43:19,388
[announcer]
All-points bulletin:
1087
00:43:19,430 --> 00:43:21,599
be on the lookout
for Rick James.
1088
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:23,976
Rick James
and the Stone City Band.
1089
00:43:24,018 --> 00:43:25,311
They're bustin' out.
1090
00:43:25,352 --> 00:43:27,646
funky R&B music
1091
00:43:27,688 --> 00:43:29,148
[Oscar]
I was staying with my mom.
1092
00:43:29,189 --> 00:43:31,817
Rick said, "We're all gonna
have to get braids."
1093
00:43:31,859 --> 00:43:35,029
"Braids? Are you kidding.
My mama's gonna kill me."
1094
00:43:35,070 --> 00:43:37,531
He said, "If you want to be
a part of this band,
1095
00:43:37,573 --> 00:43:39,825
you have to get your braids."
1096
00:43:39,867 --> 00:43:41,368
[Rick] I had, like,
this short Afro,
1097
00:43:41,410 --> 00:43:42,953
you know,
and I didn't want that.
1098
00:43:42,995 --> 00:43:44,496
You know, I didn't wanna look
like everybody else.
1099
00:43:44,538 --> 00:43:47,124
And the Beatles had made such
a tremendous effect on me
1100
00:43:47,166 --> 00:43:48,667
with the Beatle haircut.
1101
00:43:48,709 --> 00:43:50,669
So I ran into this
African woman on an airplane,
1102
00:43:50,711 --> 00:43:53,631
she was from the Masai,
and I saw her hair.
1103
00:43:53,672 --> 00:43:55,758
I said,
"God, that's fantastic.
1104
00:43:55,799 --> 00:43:57,593
How do you do that?"
and she showed me these books
1105
00:43:57,635 --> 00:44:00,471
of Africans
with their short hair,
1106
00:44:00,512 --> 00:44:03,349
and then she showed me some
pictures after they finished
1107
00:44:03,390 --> 00:44:04,892
doing what they did,
their magic.
1108
00:44:04,933 --> 00:44:06,644
I said,
"Can you do this for me?"
1109
00:44:06,685 --> 00:44:08,103
And she said, "Yeah."
I said, "There it is. Bam.
1110
00:44:08,145 --> 00:44:09,855
That's the vision.
That's what I want."
1111
00:44:09,897 --> 00:44:11,106
Bustin' out!
1112
00:44:11,148 --> 00:44:12,608
We're bustin' out
1113
00:44:12,650 --> 00:44:14,026
[Levi] I had beads
and everything in mine.
1114
00:44:14,068 --> 00:44:15,944
Everybody thought
we was fucking crazy.
1115
00:44:15,986 --> 00:44:17,446
Next thing you know,
all the brothers,
1116
00:44:17,488 --> 00:44:18,697
they started wearing this shit.
1117
00:44:18,739 --> 00:44:20,991
He wanted everybody
to put glitter on,
1118
00:44:21,033 --> 00:44:23,994
you know, their hair,
and it'd be in your suitcase
1119
00:44:24,036 --> 00:44:26,121
for, like, six months
after the tour, you know.
1120
00:44:26,163 --> 00:44:28,207
Rick would pour all
that stuff in your hair, man.
1121
00:44:28,248 --> 00:44:31,460
It was like, man, you know,
I be ready to fight.
1122
00:44:31,502 --> 00:44:33,045
[Lanise]
He wanted us to look like
1123
00:44:33,087 --> 00:44:35,130
we were ready
to take care of business,
1124
00:44:35,172 --> 00:44:37,007
and that's what we did,
every night.
1125
00:44:37,049 --> 00:44:39,134
I mean, for me,
I couldn't fuck with it.
1126
00:44:39,176 --> 00:44:40,219
[laughs]
1127
00:44:40,260 --> 00:44:42,262
Rick James had a style that
1128
00:44:42,304 --> 00:44:46,558
kind of reminded you
of David Bowie, Kiss.
1129
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:50,396
It was Black, it was rock,
but it was kinda avant-garde,
1130
00:44:50,437 --> 00:44:53,232
in terms
of Black culture, for sure.
1131
00:44:53,273 --> 00:44:55,901
Look at you
1132
00:44:55,943 --> 00:44:58,570
Mary Jane
1133
00:44:59,988 --> 00:45:03,367
[David] Rick sees
George Clinton's showmanship,
1134
00:45:03,409 --> 00:45:06,120
and he realizes that,
1135
00:45:06,161 --> 00:45:09,373
just as George became
the purple-haired crazy man,
1136
00:45:09,415 --> 00:45:13,585
he's gonna have to come up
with his show identity.
1137
00:45:13,627 --> 00:45:16,171
Where's the ganja tonight?
1138
00:45:16,213 --> 00:45:20,259
[David] Weed became
a signature part of his act.
1139
00:45:20,300 --> 00:45:23,220
You know,
the giant joint on stage.
1140
00:45:23,262 --> 00:45:25,764
[Val] They would tell us
at sound check,
1141
00:45:25,806 --> 00:45:27,516
"You cannot smoke."
1142
00:45:27,558 --> 00:45:30,686
Rick said,
"We're smoking anyway."
1143
00:45:30,728 --> 00:45:33,772
So on stage,
he would light it up,
1144
00:45:33,814 --> 00:45:35,607
and he would
tell the audience,
1145
00:45:35,649 --> 00:45:37,860
"If the police bother me,
1146
00:45:37,901 --> 00:45:40,446
you all tear
this mother sucker up."
1147
00:45:40,487 --> 00:45:42,114
funky R&B music
1148
00:45:42,156 --> 00:45:45,951
[Steven] P-Funk, Parliament,
Bootsy, all these people,
1149
00:45:45,993 --> 00:45:48,996
they were kinda
looking at Rick sideways,
1150
00:45:49,037 --> 00:45:53,876
because he had learned
how to craft pop with funk,
1151
00:45:53,917 --> 00:45:57,921
and so he hit the big time
faster than they did.
1152
00:45:57,963 --> 00:46:00,632
[Bootsy] Rick was the smartest
one out of all of us.
1153
00:46:00,674 --> 00:46:03,677
He sold a lot of records.
People came to the concerts.
1154
00:46:03,719 --> 00:46:05,304
And, you know,
he used to talk about,
1155
00:46:05,345 --> 00:46:07,264
"Yeah, I'm selling
more records than y'all."
1156
00:46:07,306 --> 00:46:10,142
I think George took offense
a little bit.
1157
00:46:10,184 --> 00:46:14,313
But all was fair
in funk and war, man.
1158
00:46:14,354 --> 00:46:17,274
[cheers and applause]
1159
00:46:18,859 --> 00:46:20,819
[Tommy]
The first tour was amazing.
1160
00:46:20,861 --> 00:46:23,280
We'd be going out six,
seven months.
1161
00:46:23,322 --> 00:46:25,491
We hit every place in America,
it seemed like.
1162
00:46:25,532 --> 00:46:29,578
LA Coliseum, July 1979.
1163
00:46:29,620 --> 00:46:31,121
Greatest Funk Festival.
1164
00:46:31,163 --> 00:46:33,832
[cheers and applause]
1165
00:46:33,874 --> 00:46:39,338
1166
00:46:39,838 --> 00:46:42,257
[Lanise] There was over
100,000 people in there.
1167
00:46:42,299 --> 00:46:43,509
In the audience.
1168
00:46:43,550 --> 00:46:45,302
And they was
chanting our name,
1169
00:46:45,344 --> 00:46:47,137
screaming and hollering.
1170
00:46:47,179 --> 00:46:49,306
And that made me
feel real good,
1171
00:46:49,348 --> 00:46:51,517
and I was saying, "We did it."
1172
00:46:51,558 --> 00:46:56,939
1173
00:46:57,898 --> 00:46:59,066
[Gail]
He was a showman.
1174
00:46:59,107 --> 00:47:00,651
From the time
he walked on stage
1175
00:47:00,692 --> 00:47:02,319
to the time he walked off,
1176
00:47:02,361 --> 00:47:05,155
he was in it to give everything
that he felt about the music
1177
00:47:05,197 --> 00:47:06,865
and throw that out
to the audience.
1178
00:47:06,907 --> 00:47:07,741
Sing!
1179
00:47:07,783 --> 00:47:09,660
I'm in the beach house
1180
00:47:09,701 --> 00:47:11,286
[Lisa] Life on the road
with Rick James
1181
00:47:11,328 --> 00:47:12,996
and the Stone City Band
1182
00:47:13,038 --> 00:47:17,751
was tumultuous,
high energy, never-ending.
1183
00:47:17,793 --> 00:47:21,338
One of the most fun nights
of my life
1184
00:47:21,380 --> 00:47:22,881
was jamming with him
1185
00:47:22,923 --> 00:47:25,843
at Giants Stadium
here in New York.
1186
00:47:25,884 --> 00:47:30,639
I guess we were of the mindset
that we were so free,
1187
00:47:30,681 --> 00:47:32,808
we could just really
do anything we want.
1188
00:47:32,850 --> 00:47:34,518
I don't even know
what we played,
1189
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:37,354
but I remember going out there
with Rick and just jamming,
1190
00:47:37,396 --> 00:47:39,481
and just doing
whatever the hell we wanted,
1191
00:47:39,523 --> 00:47:41,358
and the crowd went bananas.
1192
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,151
I mean, it was incredible.
1193
00:47:43,193 --> 00:47:44,695
[Tommy] It was just, like,
pedal to the metal.
1194
00:47:44,736 --> 00:47:46,530
We just bump and groove,
1195
00:47:46,572 --> 00:47:49,575
and there was pyrotechnics,
you know, and theatrics.
1196
00:47:49,616 --> 00:47:51,702
We had dancers.
1197
00:47:51,743 --> 00:47:54,454
The pyrotechnics
was really a lot, you know.
1198
00:47:54,496 --> 00:47:55,622
Sometimes it would go off,
1199
00:47:55,664 --> 00:47:56,832
and you'd be, like,
shell-shocked.
1200
00:47:56,874 --> 00:47:58,584
Bam!
[imitates ringing]
1201
00:47:58,625 --> 00:48:00,127
Your ears would be ringing.
1202
00:48:00,168 --> 00:48:05,007
The band, the girls, Rick,
the crew--we were family.
1203
00:48:05,048 --> 00:48:07,134
[Val] We toured
all over the country.
1204
00:48:07,175 --> 00:48:09,887
Throwing money up in the air
in pillowcases.
1205
00:48:09,928 --> 00:48:12,222
You ate
at the best restaurants.
1206
00:48:12,264 --> 00:48:14,224
Christmas time, bonuses.
1207
00:48:14,266 --> 00:48:16,768
"Let's go.
Let's take a Learjet.
1208
00:48:16,810 --> 00:48:19,563
Let's take a helicopter.
Let's go to New York."
1209
00:48:19,605 --> 00:48:21,398
Just anything he wanted to do.
1210
00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:24,151
Most of us are from Buffalo,
and we moved to LA.
1211
00:48:24,192 --> 00:48:25,777
We were living in
Randolph Hearst's mansion.
1212
00:48:25,819 --> 00:48:27,446
I mean, we were, like,
living big time.
1213
00:48:27,487 --> 00:48:29,990
I brought all these guys out,
my homeboys from the ghetto.
1214
00:48:30,032 --> 00:48:32,075
[Lanise] Coming from Buffalo,
New York to LA
1215
00:48:32,117 --> 00:48:35,287
was an extreme
culture shock to me.
1216
00:48:35,329 --> 00:48:36,622
That was beautiful, man,
1217
00:48:36,663 --> 00:48:38,373
up in the canyons--
Coldwater Canyon.
1218
00:48:38,415 --> 00:48:41,460
I walked in there and said,
"I--damn."
1219
00:48:41,501 --> 00:48:43,128
I said, "This is living."
1220
00:48:43,170 --> 00:48:46,465
I mean, the house was so big,
you rarely ran into each other.
1221
00:48:46,506 --> 00:48:47,925
[laughs]
1222
00:48:47,966 --> 00:48:51,303
You had to get on the intercom
to find somebody.
1223
00:48:51,345 --> 00:48:53,847
[Levi] There was some stupid
shit going on out there.
1224
00:48:53,889 --> 00:48:56,016
There was plenty
of dope around.
1225
00:48:56,058 --> 00:48:58,310
Freaky women, all kinds
of different narcotics.
1226
00:48:58,352 --> 00:49:00,729
I think I snorted everything
on God's planet earth
1227
00:49:00,771 --> 00:49:01,647
when I was in the band.
1228
00:49:01,688 --> 00:49:04,107
Drugs. Rock and roll. Women.
1229
00:49:04,149 --> 00:49:06,360
It was all part
of the same package.
1230
00:49:06,401 --> 00:49:07,903
That was Rick.
1231
00:49:07,945 --> 00:49:10,405
I mean, he did that
before he even got famous.
1232
00:49:10,447 --> 00:49:11,740
He partied.
1233
00:49:11,782 --> 00:49:13,367
Plus he liked
to be around people.
1234
00:49:13,408 --> 00:49:15,410
[Rick] And those days
was wild and crazy.
1235
00:49:15,452 --> 00:49:16,787
I mean, we were
fucking all standing
1236
00:49:16,828 --> 00:49:18,288
on the verge of insanity
in those days.
1237
00:49:18,330 --> 00:49:19,831
Everybody was
snorting cocaine,
1238
00:49:19,873 --> 00:49:22,250
and everybody
was taking quaaludes,
1239
00:49:22,292 --> 00:49:25,212
drinking Cristal
and Dom Pérignon champagne,
1240
00:49:25,253 --> 00:49:28,632
and getting butt naked
and doing it in the bathrooms.
1241
00:49:28,674 --> 00:49:29,633
It was wonderful.
1242
00:49:29,675 --> 00:49:31,218
Girls love girls,
1243
00:49:31,259 --> 00:49:32,844
and I don't know
what guys were doing.
1244
00:49:32,886 --> 00:49:35,639
Personally, I was loving women
very, very hard them days.
1245
00:49:35,681 --> 00:49:38,475
I got a lot of inspiration
from women in those days.
1246
00:49:38,517 --> 00:49:40,852
[Oscar] There was a girl,
we had the video camera,
1247
00:49:40,894 --> 00:49:43,313
and her and I
were engaged sexually,
1248
00:49:43,355 --> 00:49:47,859
and Rick was behind the camera,
you know, taping us.
1249
00:49:47,901 --> 00:49:51,363
So at one point,
1250
00:49:51,405 --> 00:49:54,032
Rick just, you know,
took off his belt--
1251
00:49:54,074 --> 00:49:58,370
had the belt--and the girl
was on top of me,
1252
00:49:58,412 --> 00:50:03,166
and he started hitting the girl
on her behind with the strap.
1253
00:50:03,208 --> 00:50:04,876
And I'm thinking,
"Oh, these are just love taps.
1254
00:50:04,918 --> 00:50:06,461
You know, no big thing."
1255
00:50:06,503 --> 00:50:09,840
Until one time, the belt
slipped off of her behind
1256
00:50:09,881 --> 00:50:12,676
and hit me on the leg,
and it hurt it.
1257
00:50:12,718 --> 00:50:17,723
And I, you know, hollered out,
but I saw on her body
1258
00:50:17,764 --> 00:50:22,227
these red marks from the belt
hitting her behind.
1259
00:50:22,269 --> 00:50:25,355
If you gave him that space,
if you allowed him to do--
1260
00:50:25,397 --> 00:50:29,776
he would take
that opportunity and do it.
1261
00:50:29,818 --> 00:50:32,029
[Steven]
He did everything to women
1262
00:50:32,070 --> 00:50:34,573
to see
what they could withstand,
1263
00:50:34,614 --> 00:50:39,036
see what would make them say,
"Oh no. I'm not gonna do that."
1264
00:50:39,077 --> 00:50:41,246
The more they agreed to,
1265
00:50:41,288 --> 00:50:43,582
the more upset
he became with them.
1266
00:50:43,623 --> 00:50:48,003
He treated women the way that
rock and rollers treated women.
1267
00:50:48,045 --> 00:50:51,006
[Tanya] His sexual exploits
were more,
1268
00:50:51,048 --> 00:50:53,759
"You do that to that person.
Let me watch.
1269
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:56,261
I want to orchestrate
some shit over here."
1270
00:50:56,303 --> 00:50:58,221
He wasn't personally involved.
1271
00:50:58,263 --> 00:51:00,223
He was not
that kind of "super freak."
1272
00:51:00,265 --> 00:51:02,768
He didn't let people
touch him.
1273
00:51:02,809 --> 00:51:04,686
He wasn't, like, in the orgy.
1274
00:51:04,728 --> 00:51:06,271
He would watch the orgy.
1275
00:51:06,313 --> 00:51:08,774
It was not
a personal thing for him.
1276
00:51:08,815 --> 00:51:11,401
If he was gonna be sexual,
1277
00:51:11,443 --> 00:51:12,944
it was with somebody
he trusted,
1278
00:51:12,986 --> 00:51:14,613
and he trusted no one.
1279
00:51:14,654 --> 00:51:16,198
[siren wailing]
1280
00:51:16,239 --> 00:51:17,949
[Levi] He had broads, man,
chasing our limos
1281
00:51:17,991 --> 00:51:20,702
down the street and shit,
man, throwing panties on stage
1282
00:51:20,744 --> 00:51:22,120
and all kinds of stupid shit.
1283
00:51:22,162 --> 00:51:24,456
And that shit was funny to me,
but it was fun.
1284
00:51:24,498 --> 00:51:27,292
That's what you dreamed of
when you were growing up.
1285
00:51:27,334 --> 00:51:29,461
[Gail] I would say that
part of his persona
1286
00:51:29,503 --> 00:51:32,506
was the bad boy,
living on the dangerous side,
1287
00:51:32,547 --> 00:51:35,258
running around
with the different women,
1288
00:51:35,300 --> 00:51:38,678
the drugs, the whole
bigger-than-life picture
1289
00:51:38,720 --> 00:51:40,305
that he painted.
1290
00:51:40,347 --> 00:51:43,475
[Jason] On stage and in his
lyrics and in his music,
1291
00:51:43,517 --> 00:51:48,021
he was portraying this
sexual bravado and machismo.
1292
00:51:48,063 --> 00:51:50,273
Off stage, we now know
1293
00:51:50,315 --> 00:51:52,484
that what was underwriting
that machismo
1294
00:51:52,526 --> 00:51:55,070
and that bravado was
very disturbing,
1295
00:51:55,112 --> 00:51:57,364
very dark, and abusive.
1296
00:52:03,203 --> 00:52:06,414
upbeat R&B music
1297
00:52:06,456 --> 00:52:09,167
[Harry] Rick essentially has
a run of nine albums
1298
00:52:09,209 --> 00:52:12,003
in six, seven years--
Come Get it!
1299
00:52:12,045 --> 00:52:14,005
Bustin' Out of L Seven,
Fire It Up.
1300
00:52:14,047 --> 00:52:15,674
Bam, bam, bam, bam.
He's got all these hits.
1301
00:52:15,715 --> 00:52:18,135
[Levi] I used to sit there
and watch him write.
1302
00:52:18,176 --> 00:52:21,012
Incredible speed.
He would just--my God.
1303
00:52:21,054 --> 00:52:23,348
Next thing you know, you got
a hit record right there.
1304
00:52:23,390 --> 00:52:25,934
[Steven] He was making records
and making music
1305
00:52:25,976 --> 00:52:28,854
and making money,
but he was leveling off.
1306
00:52:28,895 --> 00:52:30,522
people were still into Rick,
1307
00:52:30,564 --> 00:52:33,233
but we were waiting
on something else.
1308
00:52:33,275 --> 00:52:35,193
And then came Street Songs.
1309
00:52:35,235 --> 00:52:38,321
First, there was rock.
Then there was hard rock.
1310
00:52:38,363 --> 00:52:40,365
Then there was punk rock.
1311
00:52:40,407 --> 00:52:43,201
And now, thanks to--
mainly to our next performer,
1312
00:52:43,243 --> 00:52:44,703
there's punk funk.
1313
00:52:44,744 --> 00:52:49,166
Here he is, the Pied Piper
of Funk, Mr. Rick James.
1314
00:52:49,207 --> 00:52:51,751
[cheers and applause]
1315
00:52:51,793 --> 00:52:54,462
upbeat funk music
1316
00:52:54,504 --> 00:52:56,631
1317
00:52:56,673 --> 00:52:58,216
[Rick] Street Songs spoke
of things
1318
00:52:58,258 --> 00:52:59,259
that happened in the ghetto.
1319
00:52:59,301 --> 00:53:00,719
It talks
about very real subjects
1320
00:53:00,760 --> 00:53:02,053
and very real things.
1321
00:53:02,095 --> 00:53:03,805
You know, Black people
made me.
1322
00:53:03,847 --> 00:53:05,390
Black people bought tickets
1323
00:53:05,432 --> 00:53:07,475
and sold out concerts
and stadiums.
1324
00:53:07,517 --> 00:53:10,729
So it was a conscious attempt
on my part
1325
00:53:10,770 --> 00:53:13,190
to get back to the roots
of what I'm all about.
1326
00:53:13,231 --> 00:53:15,483
When I came home
last night
1327
00:53:15,525 --> 00:53:18,570
1328
00:53:18,612 --> 00:53:22,032
You wouldn't
make love to me...
1329
00:53:22,073 --> 00:53:23,658
[Lanise]
Rick James had to come back
1330
00:53:23,700 --> 00:53:27,996
to Buffalo, New York,
to feel the vibe of everybody,
1331
00:53:28,038 --> 00:53:31,374
what was going on
at that particular time.
1332
00:53:31,416 --> 00:53:34,586
1333
00:53:34,628 --> 00:53:36,796
Out all night
just dancing...
1334
00:53:36,838 --> 00:53:39,799
This is the album that
everybody's talking about
1335
00:53:39,841 --> 00:53:41,092
and everybody is buying.
1336
00:53:41,134 --> 00:53:42,928
And triple platinum.
1337
00:53:42,969 --> 00:53:44,596
Your sales are just setting
1338
00:53:44,638 --> 00:53:46,389
new records
in the recording industry.
1339
00:53:46,431 --> 00:53:48,600
[host] What are you gonna do
with all that money, Rick?
1340
00:53:48,642 --> 00:53:50,727
Going to invest it
in making more money.
1341
00:53:50,769 --> 00:53:52,062
-Are you?
-[laughter]
1342
00:53:52,103 --> 00:53:53,563
[Jason]
Street Songs in 1981
1343
00:53:53,605 --> 00:53:54,940
takes him
to a whole other level.
1344
00:53:54,981 --> 00:53:57,776
Street Songs
is a concept album
1345
00:53:57,817 --> 00:54:01,196
that is very much rooted
around his childhood experience
1346
00:54:01,238 --> 00:54:02,697
growing up in Buffalo,
1347
00:54:02,739 --> 00:54:05,575
and his focus on the issues
that informed him
1348
00:54:05,617 --> 00:54:07,077
and informed Black communities
at the time.
1349
00:54:07,118 --> 00:54:08,954
When I was a young boy
1350
00:54:08,995 --> 00:54:11,081
Growing up in the ghetto
1351
00:54:11,122 --> 00:54:13,083
Hanging out on corners
1352
00:54:13,124 --> 00:54:14,960
Singing with the fellas...
1353
00:54:15,001 --> 00:54:16,753
[Dr. Boyd] "Ghetto Life"
could be a hip hop song.
1354
00:54:16,795 --> 00:54:20,048
The scene he's describing
is sort of, you know,
1355
00:54:20,090 --> 00:54:22,550
Black America
at a particular point,
1356
00:54:22,592 --> 00:54:25,971
from a class perspective,
talking about pimp game,
1357
00:54:26,012 --> 00:54:28,640
the dope game,
police brutality.
1358
00:54:28,682 --> 00:54:32,310
"Mr. Policeman" came out
years before "Fuck tha Police."
1359
00:54:32,352 --> 00:54:35,605
Hey, Mr. Policeman
1360
00:54:35,647 --> 00:54:38,733
I've seen you
in my neighborhood
1361
00:54:38,775 --> 00:54:41,987
You look to me
you'll do no good
1362
00:54:42,028 --> 00:54:45,156
[Ice Cube] And it's basically
saying the same thing.
1363
00:54:45,198 --> 00:54:46,658
I remember, like,
1364
00:54:46,700 --> 00:54:49,327
listening to it over
and over and over again.
1365
00:54:49,369 --> 00:54:51,496
[Jason]
It's probably his best album.
1366
00:54:51,538 --> 00:54:53,873
It all really came together
on Street Songs,
1367
00:54:53,915 --> 00:54:57,836
and you understood him
to be a concept R&B artist,
1368
00:54:57,877 --> 00:55:00,130
not just a kind of hired hand.
1369
00:55:00,171 --> 00:55:02,799
[funky music playing]
1370
00:55:02,841 --> 00:55:04,217
[Harry]
So this is bare bones.
1371
00:55:04,259 --> 00:55:05,844
Rhythm section
and some guitar riffs.
1372
00:55:05,885 --> 00:55:10,140
1373
00:55:10,181 --> 00:55:12,058
Master of the hand claps.
1374
00:55:13,810 --> 00:55:15,687
Give it to me, baby
1375
00:55:16,313 --> 00:55:18,023
[Harry] It's great to be able
to break it apart
1376
00:55:18,064 --> 00:55:19,774
and enjoy the pieces.
1377
00:55:19,816 --> 00:55:20,984
You know, we love it
when it's all together.
1378
00:55:21,026 --> 00:55:22,193
Like, we were just grooving
1379
00:55:22,235 --> 00:55:23,695
when you get the bass
and drums together.
1380
00:55:23,737 --> 00:55:24,612
Ho!
1381
00:55:24,654 --> 00:55:27,824
1382
00:55:27,866 --> 00:55:29,868
[Rick] All right, I hear
your fingers wearing out.
1383
00:55:29,909 --> 00:55:31,161
I hear 'em wearing out.
1384
00:55:31,202 --> 00:55:32,454
I hear the motherfuckers
wearing out.
1385
00:55:32,495 --> 00:55:34,205
[laughs]
1386
00:55:34,247 --> 00:55:38,168
"Super Freak"
1387
00:55:38,209 --> 00:55:39,502
I hate "Super Freak."
1388
00:55:39,544 --> 00:55:43,381
[playing "Super Freak"
bassline]
1389
00:55:43,423 --> 00:55:44,299
[Kerry]
Well, it's really funny.
1390
00:55:44,341 --> 00:55:45,383
That was the last song
1391
00:55:45,425 --> 00:55:47,052
that he recorded on the album,
1392
00:55:47,093 --> 00:55:50,430
and he didn't have anything
that he felt was pop,
1393
00:55:50,472 --> 00:55:52,223
and he just started
humming this thing.
1394
00:55:52,265 --> 00:55:54,267
[hums "Super Freak" bassline]
1395
00:55:54,309 --> 00:55:56,227
[Lanise] Every time
it would come on
1396
00:55:56,269 --> 00:55:57,937
in an arena that we was at,
1397
00:55:57,979 --> 00:56:00,398
the people acted a fool.
1398
00:56:00,440 --> 00:56:02,692
They went crazy over it.
1399
00:56:02,734 --> 00:56:05,362
'Cause we was playing
that song early in the night.
1400
00:56:05,403 --> 00:56:08,073
It was so big,
we had to make that
1401
00:56:08,114 --> 00:56:09,282
the last tune of the night.
1402
00:56:09,324 --> 00:56:12,494
She's a very kinky girl
1403
00:56:12,535 --> 00:56:16,373
The kind you don't
take home to mother
1404
00:56:16,414 --> 00:56:19,709
And she will never
let your spirit down
1405
00:56:19,751 --> 00:56:22,921
Once you get her
off the street
1406
00:56:22,962 --> 00:56:26,007
She likes the boys
in the band
1407
00:56:26,049 --> 00:56:28,259
[Rick] "Super Freak"
was just--it was a parody.
1408
00:56:28,301 --> 00:56:29,594
It was just a fucking joke.
1409
00:56:29,636 --> 00:56:31,679
You know, girls trying
to seduce you.
1410
00:56:31,721 --> 00:56:33,390
You know, I was with girls
who thought--
1411
00:56:33,431 --> 00:56:35,266
whatever--
candle lights and incense
1412
00:56:35,308 --> 00:56:39,020
and ménage à trois
and 714 quaaludes.
1413
00:56:39,062 --> 00:56:40,397
It was right on time.
1414
00:56:40,438 --> 00:56:43,358
I mean, "Super Freak"
was everywhere, you know?
1415
00:56:43,400 --> 00:56:45,068
Rick just called it out.
1416
00:56:45,110 --> 00:56:46,528
That girl is pretty kinky
1417
00:56:46,569 --> 00:56:48,279
The girl's a super freak
1418
00:56:48,321 --> 00:56:49,614
[Bootsy]
And I think it was good
1419
00:56:49,656 --> 00:56:52,283
because they felt good
about coming out.
1420
00:56:52,325 --> 00:56:53,618
Rick knew what he was doing.
1421
00:56:53,660 --> 00:56:56,538
I hate the fact
that it became so popular.
1422
00:56:56,579 --> 00:56:59,499
There were a lot of people
who had no idea
1423
00:56:59,541 --> 00:57:02,335
what Rick was about,
who heard that song,
1424
00:57:02,377 --> 00:57:04,462
and embraced it
1425
00:57:04,504 --> 00:57:08,425
separate from the rest
of his body of work.
1426
00:57:08,466 --> 00:57:10,510
I went to college
in the early '80s,
1427
00:57:10,552 --> 00:57:12,095
and "Super Freak"
was the kind of song
1428
00:57:12,137 --> 00:57:13,555
you'd hear
at a white frat party.
1429
00:57:13,596 --> 00:57:15,390
[host]
Straight from Rick James
1430
00:57:15,432 --> 00:57:17,434
and Dance Party USA's
Halloween Special!
1431
00:57:17,475 --> 00:57:19,561
Awoo!
1432
00:57:19,602 --> 00:57:21,438
[Dr. Boyd] And all the rest
of the music they gonna play
1433
00:57:21,479 --> 00:57:22,564
is gonna be rock and roll.
1434
00:57:22,605 --> 00:57:24,524
They're gonna play
one Black song,
1435
00:57:24,566 --> 00:57:25,775
it's gonna be "Super Freak,"
1436
00:57:25,817 --> 00:57:27,277
and they're gonna
freak out over it.
1437
00:57:27,318 --> 00:57:28,319
[producer] So it sounds like
you've been
1438
00:57:28,361 --> 00:57:29,904
to a few white frat parties.
1439
00:57:29,946 --> 00:57:32,490
You know, I made the rounds,
you know what I'm saying?
1440
00:57:32,532 --> 00:57:36,161
That record spoke
to a different mentality.
1441
00:57:36,202 --> 00:57:38,455
It spoke to the
New Wave generation.
1442
00:57:38,496 --> 00:57:40,623
It spoke to a different tempo.
1443
00:57:40,665 --> 00:57:43,001
You got the Oberheim synth
playing this little riff
1444
00:57:43,042 --> 00:57:44,669
where he's like,
1445
00:57:44,711 --> 00:57:47,005
"This is where I'm gonna
get white folks on board."
1446
00:57:47,046 --> 00:57:50,592
[bass line, synth notes
from New Wave song]
1447
00:57:50,633 --> 00:57:53,636
Devo's "Whip It"
1448
00:57:53,678 --> 00:57:56,306
So, it's this little thing
in the mix
1449
00:57:56,347 --> 00:58:00,477
that became the catalyst,
that made it cross over,
1450
00:58:00,518 --> 00:58:02,770
that just kinda caught
white folks' ears, you know.
1451
00:58:02,812 --> 00:58:04,147
[producer]
The dog whistle for whites.
1452
00:58:04,189 --> 00:58:05,648
-[laughter]
-Oh, shit.
1453
00:58:05,690 --> 00:58:08,693
She likes the boys
in the band
1454
00:58:08,735 --> 00:58:12,447
She says that
I'm her all-time favorite
1455
00:58:12,489 --> 00:58:14,324
When I make my move
to her room
1456
00:58:14,365 --> 00:58:16,451
It's the right time
1457
00:58:16,493 --> 00:58:18,369
She's never hard
to please...
1458
00:58:18,411 --> 00:58:21,414
[Nancy]
I directed all Rick's videos.
1459
00:58:21,456 --> 00:58:25,960
He was the first visual artist
for Motown.
1460
00:58:26,002 --> 00:58:27,295
New wave magazine
1461
00:58:27,337 --> 00:58:28,838
That girl is pretty kinky
1462
00:58:28,880 --> 00:58:30,548
That girl's
a super freak...
1463
00:58:30,590 --> 00:58:32,884
[Mark]
It was June 1981.
1464
00:58:32,926 --> 00:58:34,636
It was, like, right after
"Super Freak" came out.
1465
00:58:34,677 --> 00:58:37,347
Us Magazine sent me
to Buffalo, New York,
1466
00:58:37,388 --> 00:58:40,808
to his house, and I did photos
in all the different rooms.
1467
00:58:40,850 --> 00:58:43,686
Rick was really proud
of his things.
1468
00:58:43,728 --> 00:58:45,813
You know,
he had these two tusks
1469
00:58:45,855 --> 00:58:48,733
that were going into his pool.
1470
00:58:48,775 --> 00:58:51,194
I mean, it was a little
off the top, you know,
1471
00:58:51,236 --> 00:58:53,988
but I think everything
that he ever wanted,
1472
00:58:54,030 --> 00:58:56,199
he wanted to put in his home
in Buffalo.
1473
00:58:56,241 --> 00:58:57,617
He was living
the rock star life.
1474
00:58:57,659 --> 00:59:00,119
[Rick] Do I love sex?
Yes. Abundantly.
1475
00:59:00,161 --> 00:59:02,497
Do I love women? Yes. Totally.
1476
00:59:02,539 --> 00:59:04,624
Do I love the fact
that I have lots of money
1477
00:59:04,666 --> 00:59:06,292
and I'm rich and famous and--
1478
00:59:06,334 --> 00:59:07,710
yes. That's real great.
1479
00:59:07,752 --> 00:59:09,921
[Mark] I started shooting Rick
at concerts.
1480
00:59:09,963 --> 00:59:12,590
He was the Black Elvis.
Just larger than life.
1481
00:59:12,632 --> 00:59:15,051
James Brown on steroids.
This just says it all.
1482
00:59:15,093 --> 00:59:17,679
His boys around him, and he's
getting ready to go on stage.
1483
00:59:17,720 --> 00:59:19,389
It's a cross between
David Lee Roth,
1484
00:59:19,430 --> 00:59:21,975
Bret Michaels, and Vince Neil,
1485
00:59:22,016 --> 00:59:24,769
before they were even around.
[chuckles]
1486
00:59:24,811 --> 00:59:27,480
He was on top of the world.
He really was.
1487
00:59:27,522 --> 00:59:28,773
Girl's a super freak
1488
00:59:28,815 --> 00:59:31,276
[Nancy]
He wanted the fame.
1489
00:59:31,317 --> 00:59:33,778
He knew how to get it,
1490
00:59:33,820 --> 00:59:36,281
but he didn't know
how to turn it off.
1491
00:59:36,322 --> 00:59:39,117
That girl's all right
1492
00:59:39,158 --> 00:59:42,704
With me
1493
00:59:42,745 --> 00:59:44,414
[plays single note]
Yeah
1494
00:59:44,455 --> 00:59:47,917
[Nancy] He was getting high,
you know, and goofing up.
1495
00:59:47,959 --> 00:59:49,586
He talked about,
"I could have gone
1496
00:59:49,627 --> 00:59:51,713
with another video company,
1497
00:59:51,754 --> 00:59:56,301
or, you know--where they supply
a whole cocaine budget.
1498
00:59:56,342 --> 00:59:58,469
They put into the budget
the cocaine.
1499
00:59:58,511 --> 01:00:00,346
How come you don't do that?"
1500
01:00:02,181 --> 01:00:04,642
[Jason] There was a kind of
visceral danger about him.
1501
01:00:04,684 --> 01:00:06,728
You see this in the lyrics,
right,
1502
01:00:06,769 --> 01:00:08,646
where he's talking
about perversity and kink
1503
01:00:08,688 --> 01:00:11,232
and the kind of seedier
sides of the erotic.
1504
01:00:11,274 --> 01:00:14,277
You see this in his own
kind of self-presentation,
1505
01:00:14,319 --> 01:00:17,030
the way he dresses and the way
he interacts with the camera.
1506
01:00:17,071 --> 01:00:18,781
He sometimes seemed
really coked up
1507
01:00:18,823 --> 01:00:20,658
in front of the camera.
1508
01:00:20,700 --> 01:00:22,118
This wasn't
just a performance.
1509
01:00:22,160 --> 01:00:25,330
This was actually
who he was in some ways.
1510
01:00:25,788 --> 01:00:28,499
[Gail] If Rick James
came along now
1511
01:00:28,541 --> 01:00:30,335
and was doing
what he was doing,
1512
01:00:30,376 --> 01:00:34,130
it would not pass the test
in terms of misogyny,
1513
01:00:34,172 --> 01:00:35,340
women as sex objects.
1514
01:00:35,381 --> 01:00:36,716
He would probably stand out
1515
01:00:36,758 --> 01:00:39,510
like a sore thumb
and be ostracized.
1516
01:00:43,181 --> 01:00:45,475
The nominees for
favorite soul album are:
1517
01:00:45,516 --> 01:00:47,477
Gap Band III, The Gap Band...
1518
01:00:47,518 --> 01:00:49,729
[cheers and applause]
1519
01:00:49,771 --> 01:00:51,773
...Hotter than July,
Stevie Wonder...
1520
01:00:51,814 --> 01:00:54,400
[cheers and applause]
1521
01:00:54,442 --> 01:00:56,527
...Street Songs,
Rick James...
1522
01:00:56,569 --> 01:00:58,821
[cheers and applause]
1523
01:00:58,863 --> 01:01:02,158
...and The Dude,
Quincy Jones.
1524
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:03,951
[cheers and applause]
1525
01:01:03,993 --> 01:01:05,286
And the winner?
1526
01:01:05,328 --> 01:01:08,331
And the winner is...
[giggles]
1527
01:01:08,373 --> 01:01:10,041
...Street Songs,
Rick James.
1528
01:01:10,083 --> 01:01:12,960
[upbeat music plays]
1529
01:01:13,002 --> 01:01:14,712
[Stan] Street Songs
really just facilitated
1530
01:01:14,754 --> 01:01:16,714
this extraordinary explosion
1531
01:01:16,756 --> 01:01:19,217
of what he could do
in all its forms.
1532
01:01:19,258 --> 01:01:21,886
He's winning awards.
He's appearing at the Grammys.
1533
01:01:21,928 --> 01:01:24,555
He's expanding his empire.
1534
01:01:24,597 --> 01:01:27,100
Mom, I love you,
and I told you
1535
01:01:27,141 --> 01:01:29,352
that there's such a thing
called rock and roll.
1536
01:01:29,394 --> 01:01:31,396
Well, now there's a thing
called funk and roll.
1537
01:01:31,437 --> 01:01:32,730
Thank you, people.
1538
01:01:32,772 --> 01:01:35,900
Rick James was not just
a great songwriter
1539
01:01:35,942 --> 01:01:37,402
and producer
for his own music,
1540
01:01:37,443 --> 01:01:38,945
but also for other artists.
1541
01:01:38,986 --> 01:01:41,906
[Steven] Once Rick
showed Motown
1542
01:01:41,948 --> 01:01:44,534
that he could deliver hits,
1543
01:01:44,575 --> 01:01:46,077
they were interested in him
1544
01:01:46,119 --> 01:01:48,413
producing
"Mary Had a Little Lamb."
1545
01:01:48,454 --> 01:01:50,081
They didn't care. Anybody.
1546
01:01:50,123 --> 01:01:51,457
And they had a girl
1547
01:01:51,499 --> 01:01:54,627
who had been a staff writer
there for the longest.
1548
01:01:54,669 --> 01:01:57,797
[indistinct chatter]
1549
01:01:58,798 --> 01:02:00,091
[laughs]
1550
01:02:00,133 --> 01:02:01,259
[Steven] Teena Marie.
1551
01:02:01,300 --> 01:02:02,760
They didn't know what to do
with her.
1552
01:02:02,802 --> 01:02:04,595
They had made tracks on her.
1553
01:02:04,637 --> 01:02:07,265
They had done all kinds
of styles with her.
1554
01:02:07,306 --> 01:02:08,766
Which song now?
1555
01:02:08,808 --> 01:02:10,268
Anybody ever wrote for me.
1556
01:02:10,309 --> 01:02:13,271
I always wrote songs
for everybody else.
1557
01:02:13,312 --> 01:02:15,106
Nobody ever wrote me one.
1558
01:02:15,148 --> 01:02:18,109
[Jason] One of Rick James'
greatest contributions
1559
01:02:18,151 --> 01:02:20,027
as a songwriter
and producer and arranger
1560
01:02:20,069 --> 01:02:21,779
was working with Teena Marie.
1561
01:02:21,821 --> 01:02:24,866
He produced her debut album
"Wild and Peaceful."
1562
01:02:24,907 --> 01:02:26,451
[Carmen] I was in California.
1563
01:02:26,492 --> 01:02:28,327
And we're riding down
to Motown,
1564
01:02:28,369 --> 01:02:30,830
and he puts this tape in.
He said, "Listen to this."
1565
01:02:30,872 --> 01:02:32,665
So, I'm listening to it,
1566
01:02:32,707 --> 01:02:35,001
and I think it was--that it's
a Black girl,
1567
01:02:35,042 --> 01:02:37,587
automatically,
because it had that sound.
1568
01:02:37,628 --> 01:02:40,631
[Teena Marie]
Young and I'm old
1569
01:02:40,673 --> 01:02:44,260
I'm rich and I'm poor
1570
01:02:44,302 --> 01:02:47,305
It feel like I've been on
this earth
1571
01:02:47,346 --> 01:02:50,016
Many times before
1572
01:02:50,057 --> 01:02:51,642
[Carmen] So we get to Motown.
1573
01:02:51,684 --> 01:02:53,352
These two girls
are walking towards us,
1574
01:02:53,394 --> 01:02:54,520
Black and a white one,
1575
01:02:54,562 --> 01:02:55,980
and he said,
"Here's Teena now.
1576
01:02:56,022 --> 01:02:58,441
You can meet her,"
and as we get closer,
1577
01:02:58,483 --> 01:02:59,901
I say to the Black girl,
1578
01:02:59,942 --> 01:03:02,779
"Hey, I heard your music.
You're bad."
1579
01:03:02,820 --> 01:03:05,281
And Rick says, "No, not her.
Her."
1580
01:03:05,323 --> 01:03:06,824
And I look at
the little white girl,
1581
01:03:06,866 --> 01:03:08,659
and I'm just like, "Her?"
1582
01:03:08,701 --> 01:03:11,078
[interviewer] How did that
happen when you first met Rick?
1583
01:03:11,120 --> 01:03:12,830
He was walking
down the hallway.
1584
01:03:12,872 --> 01:03:14,499
-[interviewer] 17th floor?
-Yeah.
1585
01:03:14,540 --> 01:03:15,958
[interviewer]
That sounds strange.
1586
01:03:16,000 --> 01:03:17,168
Just walking down the hall
in the record company.
1587
01:03:17,210 --> 01:03:18,419
Walking down the hallway.
1588
01:03:18,461 --> 01:03:19,504
[interviewer] You hadn't
known him before this?
1589
01:03:19,545 --> 01:03:21,339
No, I never knew him
before that.
1590
01:03:21,380 --> 01:03:23,090
[indistinct]
1591
01:03:23,132 --> 01:03:25,593
[Rick] I starting working
with Teena by sheer accident.
1592
01:03:25,635 --> 01:03:27,512
I was happened to be walking
around the halls of Motown,
1593
01:03:27,553 --> 01:03:28,971
and I happened
to hear this girl
1594
01:03:29,013 --> 01:03:30,431
singing through a room,
and I happened to go in,
1595
01:03:30,473 --> 01:03:32,266
and here's this little
white girl playing piano.
1596
01:03:32,308 --> 01:03:34,936
And I stopped and I listened.
And I thought she was great.
1597
01:03:34,977 --> 01:03:36,354
So I had this song
"Sucker for Love,"
1598
01:03:36,395 --> 01:03:37,230
and I put it on Teena.
1599
01:03:37,271 --> 01:03:38,523
Baby, you too
1600
01:03:38,564 --> 01:03:41,150
Are a mellow fellow
1601
01:03:41,192 --> 01:03:44,737
And you're as rare
as vintage wine
1602
01:03:44,779 --> 01:03:46,030
[Steven] I remember
the first time
1603
01:03:46,072 --> 01:03:47,740
they did a session together.
1604
01:03:47,782 --> 01:03:50,034
They were at
Marvin Gaye's studio.
1605
01:03:50,076 --> 01:03:52,829
Everybody and they mama
was in this place,
1606
01:03:52,870 --> 01:03:54,539
all sitting
in the control room,
1607
01:03:54,580 --> 01:03:55,748
just watching this.
1608
01:03:55,790 --> 01:03:57,291
Rick was behind the board.
1609
01:03:57,333 --> 01:03:59,043
And he knew exactly
what he wanted.
1610
01:03:59,085 --> 01:04:01,254
And he gave her a huge record.
1611
01:04:01,295 --> 01:04:04,173
[David] He knew she was
an R&B vocalist.
1612
01:04:04,215 --> 01:04:05,800
He obviously knew
she was white.
1613
01:04:05,842 --> 01:04:07,468
And he didn't really care.
1614
01:04:07,510 --> 01:04:10,888
He was open-minded.
He saw she could really blow.
1615
01:04:10,930 --> 01:04:12,974
He allowed her to grow.
1616
01:04:13,015 --> 01:04:15,810
He tutored her.
He mentored her.
1617
01:04:15,852 --> 01:04:18,354
And she became a star
in her own right.
1618
01:04:18,396 --> 01:04:20,231
smooth funky music
1619
01:04:20,273 --> 01:04:24,735
She developed primarily
a Black fan base,
1620
01:04:24,777 --> 01:04:27,697
because she was
authentically Black.
1621
01:04:27,738 --> 01:04:29,073
She just had the soul.
1622
01:04:29,115 --> 01:04:31,033
I used to tell her
all the time,
1623
01:04:31,075 --> 01:04:34,412
"Your skin is light,
but you're a Black woman."
1624
01:04:34,453 --> 01:04:36,205
[Levi] She was a sister.
She wasn't faking shit.
1625
01:04:36,247 --> 01:04:37,874
And that's the first thing,
you know, one would think.
1626
01:04:37,915 --> 01:04:40,042
"Man, bitch can't be
all that shit, man.
1627
01:04:40,084 --> 01:04:42,253
You faking this bull."
No, no, she's straight sister.
1628
01:04:42,295 --> 01:04:44,881
[Steven] Their relationship
was initially
1629
01:04:44,922 --> 01:04:47,258
one of big brother
and little sister.
1630
01:04:47,300 --> 01:04:50,970
But it turned into a boy-girl
relationship sort of a thing.
1631
01:04:51,012 --> 01:04:52,388
[Levi] She said, "Me and Rick
getting married."
1632
01:04:52,430 --> 01:04:54,307
I said, "When?
When the fuck you hear this?"
1633
01:04:54,348 --> 01:04:55,641
"Levi, I'm in love,
1634
01:04:55,683 --> 01:04:56,809
and he's in love.
We getting married."
1635
01:04:56,851 --> 01:04:59,604
I said,
"Teena, he ain't marrying you."
1636
01:04:59,645 --> 01:05:01,147
And it never happened.
1637
01:05:01,188 --> 01:05:03,316
That was just Rick high
somewhere talking that shit.
1638
01:05:03,357 --> 01:05:06,277
[Teena vocalizing]
1639
01:05:14,285 --> 01:05:17,121
[cheers and applause]
1640
01:05:17,163 --> 01:05:19,457
Abuse them
1641
01:05:19,498 --> 01:05:23,085
[band plays soul music]
1642
01:05:23,127 --> 01:05:28,049
Oh, that's what
I used to do
1643
01:05:28,090 --> 01:05:32,470
Use and abuse them
1644
01:05:32,511 --> 01:05:35,556
Oh
1645
01:05:35,598 --> 01:05:37,934
Then I laid eyes on you
1646
01:05:37,975 --> 01:05:39,977
[Ice Cube] "Fire and Desire"
is one of the most
1647
01:05:40,019 --> 01:05:42,063
perfectly produced songs
ever made.
1648
01:05:42,104 --> 01:05:43,981
Pain for pleasure
1649
01:05:44,023 --> 01:05:45,608
[Ice Cube]
It walks you through
1650
01:05:45,650 --> 01:05:47,985
a relationship that once was
1651
01:05:48,027 --> 01:05:50,488
but can't be no more.
1652
01:05:50,529 --> 01:05:54,033
It was burning too hot.
Too much passion.
1653
01:05:54,075 --> 01:05:57,495
When you don't think Rick
can hang with Teena Marie,
1654
01:05:57,536 --> 01:05:59,080
he does.
1655
01:05:59,121 --> 01:06:01,207
You were cold as ice
1656
01:06:01,248 --> 01:06:04,126
[Teena] Whoo
1657
01:06:04,168 --> 01:06:08,714
Don't you know,
sugar, sugar
1658
01:06:08,756 --> 01:06:13,094
[Steven] It was just some
sho'nuff soul.
1659
01:06:13,135 --> 01:06:16,472
It became a big signature
record for he and Teena.
1660
01:06:16,514 --> 01:06:21,268
[Nile] When I first heard him
doing the duet with Teena,
1661
01:06:21,310 --> 01:06:24,021
I mean,
it was, like, off the chart.
1662
01:06:24,063 --> 01:06:26,148
He brought out
something special
1663
01:06:26,190 --> 01:06:28,275
in the people
that were around him.
1664
01:06:28,317 --> 01:06:32,989
He had a certain magic
in his style of production
1665
01:06:33,030 --> 01:06:34,824
that, you know,
all the great producers have--
1666
01:06:34,865 --> 01:06:36,784
the Gamble and Huffs
1667
01:06:36,826 --> 01:06:38,619
and the Princes
and the Quincys.
1668
01:06:38,661 --> 01:06:43,541
All night long
1669
01:06:43,582 --> 01:06:47,211
Long
1670
01:06:47,253 --> 01:06:50,464
Oh, something's got me
so excited
1671
01:06:50,506 --> 01:06:52,550
Baby
1672
01:06:52,591 --> 01:06:57,430
A feeling I've been
holding back so long
1673
01:06:57,471 --> 01:06:59,181
[Rick] Ever since I had
established myself,
1674
01:06:59,223 --> 01:07:00,850
I had a concept
for some girl singers.
1675
01:07:00,891 --> 01:07:02,476
'Cause I knew
I can write for girls.
1676
01:07:02,518 --> 01:07:05,604
You know, it's easy for me
to write for them, you know.
1677
01:07:05,646 --> 01:07:08,149
I've been such an asshole
to them that, you know,
1678
01:07:08,190 --> 01:07:10,526
I can kind of reverse and know
how they feel, you know?
1679
01:07:10,568 --> 01:07:12,987
[JoJo] He said, "I'm gonna
start a female group."
1680
01:07:13,029 --> 01:07:14,572
He said, "I want you
to learn these songs,
1681
01:07:14,613 --> 01:07:16,282
'cause these are gonna be
some of the songs
1682
01:07:16,323 --> 01:07:17,742
that I'm gonna use
for the group."
1683
01:07:17,783 --> 01:07:18,909
I really didn't know
what direction
1684
01:07:18,951 --> 01:07:20,244
he wanted to go in
until he said,
1685
01:07:20,286 --> 01:07:22,079
"What kind of music
do you like?
1686
01:07:22,121 --> 01:07:24,749
What would you like
this particular project to be?"
1687
01:07:24,790 --> 01:07:28,127
I said, "Something that they're
gonna play 30 years later."
1688
01:07:28,627 --> 01:07:30,921
Boy, you can just
best believe
1689
01:07:30,963 --> 01:07:33,924
I'm the only girl
in your life
1690
01:07:33,966 --> 01:07:36,927
[upbeat soul music playing]
1691
01:07:36,969 --> 01:07:39,180
I'll be your sugar
in the morning
1692
01:07:39,221 --> 01:07:42,349
And the sweet stuff
you need at night
1693
01:07:42,391 --> 01:07:44,185
[Stan]
Rick takes the Mary Jane Girls
1694
01:07:44,226 --> 01:07:47,438
and really pours his
female side into this group.
1695
01:07:47,480 --> 01:07:49,023
We've got this demo
of "In My House"
1696
01:07:49,065 --> 01:07:50,566
with Rick singing
the dummy lyrics.
1697
01:07:50,608 --> 01:07:53,069
[Rick] But you can just hide
your key
1698
01:07:53,110 --> 01:07:56,238
[continues singing
indistinctly]
1699
01:07:56,280 --> 01:07:58,074
[Stan] Could have easily been
a Rick James song.
1700
01:07:58,115 --> 01:07:59,617
But he found a way to make it,
1701
01:07:59,658 --> 01:08:01,869
"No,
I think it's got the girls."
1702
01:08:01,911 --> 01:08:04,497
Maybe there's a falsetto
in his head that he's hearing.
1703
01:08:04,538 --> 01:08:08,084
When you need
a little peace of mind
1704
01:08:08,125 --> 01:08:12,004
Come on over, boy, anytime
1705
01:08:12,046 --> 01:08:16,050
I'll keep you happy
and so satisfied
1706
01:08:16,092 --> 01:08:18,052
In my house
1707
01:08:18,094 --> 01:08:20,096
In my house
1708
01:08:20,137 --> 01:08:23,599
[Stan] Rick is taking his vibe
and orchestrating this sound.
1709
01:08:23,641 --> 01:08:26,352
[singing indistinctly]
1710
01:08:26,393 --> 01:08:28,354
Come home to every night
1711
01:08:28,395 --> 01:08:31,357
The girl that makes
all your dreams
1712
01:08:31,398 --> 01:08:33,859
And fantasies come true
1713
01:08:33,901 --> 01:08:35,486
[David] Rick saw himself
1714
01:08:35,528 --> 01:08:38,155
as a businessman
as well as an artist.
1715
01:08:38,197 --> 01:08:40,658
And he wanted to develop
different acts
1716
01:08:40,699 --> 01:08:43,160
and own different acts.
He was entrepreneurial.
1717
01:08:44,203 --> 01:08:46,122
[Jason] The role of a producer
1718
01:08:46,163 --> 01:08:48,165
is to be able to go
into a recording studio,
1719
01:08:48,207 --> 01:08:50,626
bring musicians together,
record them,
1720
01:08:50,668 --> 01:08:54,088
generate an amazing energy
in that performance,
1721
01:08:54,130 --> 01:08:55,589
and then transfer
that on to record.
1722
01:08:55,631 --> 01:08:57,716
Rick James was amazing
at doing that.
1723
01:08:57,758 --> 01:09:00,886
But he was also really savvy
about creating hits.
1724
01:09:00,928 --> 01:09:03,180
When you're on the top
1725
01:09:03,222 --> 01:09:04,723
There's no place
you can really go
1726
01:09:04,765 --> 01:09:08,144
But down, down, down
1727
01:09:08,185 --> 01:09:09,854
[Steven] Motown said, "Hey,
1728
01:09:09,895 --> 01:09:11,230
who else you wanna
produce here?"
1729
01:09:11,272 --> 01:09:13,232
So he produced
The Temptations,
1730
01:09:13,274 --> 01:09:15,276
"Standing on the Top."
He got them a hit.
1731
01:09:15,317 --> 01:09:17,611
He worked with Smokey Robinson.
Then he branched out.
1732
01:09:17,653 --> 01:09:19,029
[John] Eddie Murphy
has been in Buffalo
1733
01:09:19,071 --> 01:09:20,281
for almost a week.
1734
01:09:20,322 --> 01:09:21,657
Most of that time
has been spent
1735
01:09:21,699 --> 01:09:23,993
inside Rick James'
recording studio.
1736
01:09:24,034 --> 01:09:27,121
The pair plan to produce
Murphy's first singing single.
1737
01:09:27,163 --> 01:09:30,583
My girl wants to party
all the time
1738
01:09:30,624 --> 01:09:35,588
Party all the time
1739
01:09:39,675 --> 01:09:41,135
Yeah
1740
01:09:41,177 --> 01:09:42,970
1741
01:09:43,012 --> 01:09:45,347
[Ty] Daddy was showing him
the ropes like a big brother.
1742
01:09:45,389 --> 01:09:48,184
And Eddie was like a kid
at that time
1743
01:09:48,225 --> 01:09:50,477
and really looked up
to my dad.
1744
01:09:50,519 --> 01:09:53,230
They had a lot of love
and respect for each other.
1745
01:09:53,272 --> 01:09:56,901
Mick Jagger--I had a great
big influence on Mick.
1746
01:09:56,942 --> 01:10:00,905
When I first met Mick,
his lip was small.
1747
01:10:00,946 --> 01:10:03,908
And after meeting me,
he came out with this new look.
1748
01:10:03,949 --> 01:10:07,036
[laughter]
1749
01:10:07,077 --> 01:10:08,329
[Levi] Being in
a rock and roll band
1750
01:10:08,370 --> 01:10:10,164
is not a lot of free time.
1751
01:10:10,206 --> 01:10:12,166
Rock and roll is hard,
going at it hard.
1752
01:10:12,208 --> 01:10:14,335
Especially funk.
You gotta hit it hard.
1753
01:10:14,376 --> 01:10:16,754
Hit it like you're fighting it.
That's what he did.
1754
01:10:16,795 --> 01:10:19,548
soft jazz music
1755
01:10:19,590 --> 01:10:22,593
1756
01:10:22,635 --> 01:10:25,721
[Ty] I think my dad
being absent from my life
1757
01:10:25,763 --> 01:10:30,267
was just--there was a void.
There was an emptiness.
1758
01:10:30,309 --> 01:10:32,728
To my knowledge,
I met him for the first time
1759
01:10:32,770 --> 01:10:35,606
when I was 13 years old.
1760
01:10:35,648 --> 01:10:37,066
[producer] But there were
years when he gave you
1761
01:10:37,107 --> 01:10:39,109
absolutely no money, right?
1762
01:10:39,151 --> 01:10:41,904
Correct. He didn't even know
where I was.
1763
01:10:41,946 --> 01:10:44,907
[Ty] When you have a father
that has millions of dollars,
1764
01:10:44,949 --> 01:10:47,660
like, you think
that you should be riding
1765
01:10:47,701 --> 01:10:51,872
in the Benzes and the Rollses,
and you have all the new bags
1766
01:10:51,914 --> 01:10:54,708
and the Girbaud jeans
that everybody is wearing,
1767
01:10:54,750 --> 01:10:56,460
and the Jordache.
1768
01:10:56,502 --> 01:10:59,088
You know,
and that wasn't the case.
1769
01:10:59,129 --> 01:11:00,965
My brother, Little Rickie,
1770
01:11:01,006 --> 01:11:02,383
he's two years younger
than me.
1771
01:11:02,424 --> 01:11:04,468
And so he would go around,
like,
1772
01:11:04,510 --> 01:11:07,304
bragging about who his dad was.
1773
01:11:07,346 --> 01:11:10,391
And, you know, me being
the older sister, I'm like,
1774
01:11:10,432 --> 01:11:13,477
"Stop telling people that.
Don't tell nobody else that."
1775
01:11:13,519 --> 01:11:15,312
So...
[laughs]
1776
01:11:15,354 --> 01:11:17,982
...one little boy he told,
I guess his dad happened
1777
01:11:18,023 --> 01:11:20,109
to work for my father,
as security,
1778
01:11:20,150 --> 01:11:22,945
and his dad wind up
telling my father,
1779
01:11:22,987 --> 01:11:24,655
and my dad was probably like,
1780
01:11:24,697 --> 01:11:27,658
"Well, where are they at?
Because it probably is."
1781
01:11:27,700 --> 01:11:30,536
A private investigator
knocked on our door,
1782
01:11:30,577 --> 01:11:34,331
and within days we were flown
to Buffalo, New York
1783
01:11:34,373 --> 01:11:35,874
to meet our dad
for the first time.
1784
01:11:35,916 --> 01:11:37,668
When we landed,
1785
01:11:37,710 --> 01:11:40,629
he told us that he went up
to some other kids,
1786
01:11:40,671 --> 01:11:42,631
and it wasn't us,
so it was, like,
1787
01:11:42,673 --> 01:11:45,384
this whole big ordeal about,
you know,
1788
01:11:45,426 --> 01:11:47,803
him not really knowing
who his children were.
1789
01:11:47,845 --> 01:11:50,514
I just welcomed him
with open arms,
1790
01:11:50,556 --> 01:11:53,309
and it was--it was
instant love.
1791
01:11:53,350 --> 01:11:56,353
He's living this
rock-and-roll lifestyle.
1792
01:11:56,395 --> 01:11:59,023
I could see him trying
to tone it down a tiny bit.
1793
01:11:59,064 --> 01:12:01,191
He still has to be RJ.
1794
01:12:01,233 --> 01:12:02,818
And Rick would treat
his little boy
1795
01:12:02,860 --> 01:12:05,279
like he was a grown man.
And I got mad at Rick.
1796
01:12:05,321 --> 01:12:07,781
I said, "Rick, man,
you just met him again.
1797
01:12:07,823 --> 01:12:10,617
Why are you hollering at him?"
"Because he's doing dumb shit."
1798
01:12:10,659 --> 01:12:13,203
"Yeah. That's his job,
to do dumb shit.
1799
01:12:13,245 --> 01:12:14,955
Your job is to make sure
he doesn't do it anymore.
1800
01:12:14,997 --> 01:12:17,166
You took them out
of the projects, man,
1801
01:12:17,207 --> 01:12:18,709
to come out
to this huge mansion.
1802
01:12:18,751 --> 01:12:20,711
They're, like, in awe,
and you gonna holler at him
1803
01:12:20,753 --> 01:12:23,339
because he did some stupid shit
a kid would do?
1804
01:12:23,380 --> 01:12:24,840
Come on, man. Let it go."
1805
01:12:24,882 --> 01:12:28,886
[Ty] At times, when he would
try to be a father,
1806
01:12:28,927 --> 01:12:32,222
it would be more so, like,
"I'm gonna go out.
1807
01:12:32,264 --> 01:12:34,058
I'm gonna hang out.
I'm gonna go party.
1808
01:12:34,099 --> 01:12:36,560
But when I get back, you better
still--stay in your room.
1809
01:12:36,602 --> 01:12:38,562
Like, don't come out
the rest of the night."
1810
01:12:38,604 --> 01:12:41,523
Like, I'm, like, "Oh my God."
Like, I would almost be scared
1811
01:12:41,565 --> 01:12:44,109
to see what was taking place
outside the doors.
1812
01:12:44,151 --> 01:12:46,403
Walking over naked girls
1813
01:12:46,445 --> 01:12:49,073
at 7:00 a.m. in the morning
was normal to me.
1814
01:12:49,114 --> 01:12:50,741
I'm like, "Oh, excuse me."
1815
01:12:50,783 --> 01:12:52,576
[laughs]
1816
01:12:54,787 --> 01:12:56,955
[Jason] Rick James
fashioned himself
1817
01:12:56,997 --> 01:12:59,291
into a kind of
unique creation.
1818
01:12:59,333 --> 01:13:01,085
So there was no one else
like Rick James
1819
01:13:01,126 --> 01:13:03,504
at all
that existed in the scene.
1820
01:13:03,545 --> 01:13:05,547
However, there was someone
who would eventually
1821
01:13:05,589 --> 01:13:06,840
become quite close
to Rick James,
1822
01:13:06,882 --> 01:13:08,384
in terms of his image,
and that was Prince.
1823
01:13:08,425 --> 01:13:11,428
upbeat music
1824
01:13:11,470 --> 01:13:14,181
1825
01:13:14,223 --> 01:13:15,766
[Rick] My manager brought
some tapes over and said,
1826
01:13:15,808 --> 01:13:17,226
"Well, there's this kid
who's got this record.
1827
01:13:17,267 --> 01:13:19,269
'I Want to Be Your Lover.'"
And I loved that record.
1828
01:13:19,311 --> 01:13:20,437
And I saw some videos of him.
1829
01:13:20,479 --> 01:13:21,939
And, you know,
he was cool, you know.
1830
01:13:21,980 --> 01:13:23,899
I mean,
I felt he resembled us a lot.
1831
01:13:23,941 --> 01:13:25,692
I ain't got no money
1832
01:13:25,734 --> 01:13:27,778
1833
01:13:27,820 --> 01:13:31,407
I ain't like those
other guys you hang around
1834
01:13:31,448 --> 01:13:34,118
[Jason] In the late 1970s,
the music industry
1835
01:13:34,159 --> 01:13:36,578
had its hopes pinned
on Prince.
1836
01:13:36,620 --> 01:13:39,123
Prince, who was trying
to find his legs
1837
01:13:39,164 --> 01:13:40,791
as a musician and as an artist,
1838
01:13:40,833 --> 01:13:42,918
ended up on tour
with Rick James.
1839
01:13:42,960 --> 01:13:44,628
He actually opened
for Rick James.
1840
01:13:44,670 --> 01:13:45,838
Oh, my God.
1841
01:13:45,879 --> 01:13:49,967
Rick had a love-hate
relationship with Prince.
1842
01:13:50,008 --> 01:13:53,804
He loved him because he loved
what Prince was about.
1843
01:13:53,846 --> 01:13:55,681
He loved the swagger.
He loved the music.
1844
01:13:55,722 --> 01:13:58,350
He hated him
because Prince gave him heat.
1845
01:13:58,392 --> 01:14:00,811
Rick definitely had
an attitude with Prince.
1846
01:14:00,853 --> 01:14:03,272
They just was competing
with one another.
1847
01:14:03,313 --> 01:14:06,233
[Levi] Rick got mad when Prince
would watch us on stage
1848
01:14:06,275 --> 01:14:07,443
and do the same goddamn shit.
1849
01:14:07,484 --> 01:14:10,070
Rick would go, "Ooh, ooh."
1850
01:14:10,112 --> 01:14:12,489
And his audience would go crazy
every time he would do that.
1851
01:14:12,531 --> 01:14:16,118
Prince would start doing
the "Ooh, ooh"...
1852
01:14:16,160 --> 01:14:18,078
[laughs]
1853
01:14:18,120 --> 01:14:19,997
...before Rick would come out.
1854
01:14:20,038 --> 01:14:23,167
And Rick was like,
"Man, you can't do that
1855
01:14:23,208 --> 01:14:25,002
'Ooh, ooh' stuff.
That's what I do."
1856
01:14:25,043 --> 01:14:27,004
And Prince was like, "Dude.
1857
01:14:27,045 --> 01:14:31,175
You don't have a monopoly on
'Ooh, ooh.'
1858
01:14:31,216 --> 01:14:33,177
I can do what the fuck
I want to do."
1859
01:14:33,218 --> 01:14:34,344
[Rick] I got really pissed off.
1860
01:14:34,386 --> 01:14:36,013
And I went
and told his managers.
1861
01:14:36,054 --> 01:14:37,931
I said, "Look, how can I go up
and do what I gotta do
1862
01:14:37,973 --> 01:14:40,434
if this dude's
gonna be taking my shit?"
1863
01:14:40,476 --> 01:14:41,685
It all straightened
itself out.
1864
01:14:41,727 --> 01:14:42,978
But I mean, you know, Prince
1865
01:14:43,020 --> 01:14:44,521
was giving me
hell on the road.
1866
01:14:44,563 --> 01:14:47,691
I remember being on shows
with Rick and Prince,
1867
01:14:47,733 --> 01:14:50,861
and, you know, they would
pull plugs on each other,
1868
01:14:50,903 --> 01:14:53,739
you know,
and get ready to go to blows.
1869
01:14:53,780 --> 01:14:55,491
I used to always say to Rick,
you know,
1870
01:14:55,532 --> 01:14:58,619
"We all are just doing
our own kind of thing.
1871
01:14:58,660 --> 01:15:01,371
Like, you know,
Prince is Prince, you're you.
1872
01:15:01,413 --> 01:15:03,665
We all have our own identity
1873
01:15:03,707 --> 01:15:05,751
when it comes
to the world of funk."
1874
01:15:05,792 --> 01:15:07,711
[Levi] Prince was,
like, what, 21, 22?
1875
01:15:07,753 --> 01:15:09,671
We can't do what a 21-
or 22-year-old dude
1876
01:15:09,713 --> 01:15:11,298
can do anymore.
We tried.
1877
01:15:11,340 --> 01:15:12,758
But we had a lot of, you know,
1878
01:15:12,799 --> 01:15:15,427
shots and B12 shots
and shit we'd have to take.
1879
01:15:15,469 --> 01:15:18,680
I think, whenever the master
sees an acolyte
1880
01:15:18,722 --> 01:15:20,724
who might
be younger and hotter,
1881
01:15:20,766 --> 01:15:23,310
the master gets
a little nervous.
1882
01:15:23,352 --> 01:15:25,187
[announcer]
MTV. Music Television.
1883
01:15:25,229 --> 01:15:28,649
Video music, 24 hours a day.
And it's stereo.
1884
01:15:28,690 --> 01:15:30,400
[Steven] Other than Prince,
1885
01:15:30,442 --> 01:15:32,736
Rick's biggest battle
was with MTV.
1886
01:15:32,778 --> 01:15:34,738
[narrator] The American
recording industry essentially
1887
01:15:34,780 --> 01:15:37,574
divides rock and roll music
into two basic categories:
1888
01:15:37,616 --> 01:15:40,369
white rock
and Black rhythm and blues.
1889
01:15:40,410 --> 01:15:41,703
We are looking
for a certain sound
1890
01:15:41,745 --> 01:15:43,247
and a certain point of view.
1891
01:15:43,288 --> 01:15:44,748
We are not all things
to all people.
1892
01:15:44,790 --> 01:15:47,209
[Jason] MTV, as an institution,
thought of itself
1893
01:15:47,251 --> 01:15:50,379
as a platform
1894
01:15:50,420 --> 01:15:53,423
that would play music videos
that would primarily appeal
1895
01:15:53,465 --> 01:15:55,634
to its desired demographic,
1896
01:15:55,676 --> 01:15:57,344
which is young white men
who are into rock music.
1897
01:15:57,386 --> 01:15:59,012
And that meant that
Black artists
1898
01:15:59,054 --> 01:16:02,683
had very little opportunity
to present themselves on MTV.
1899
01:16:02,724 --> 01:16:05,978
In fact, they just didn't play
most Black music videos.
1900
01:16:06,019 --> 01:16:08,021
[reporter] Consumers of both
Black and pop music
1901
01:16:08,063 --> 01:16:10,023
bought 3 million copies
of Rick James' album
1902
01:16:10,065 --> 01:16:13,193
"Super Freak,"
but MTV would not air it.
1903
01:16:13,235 --> 01:16:14,403
MTV doesn't play Rick James.
1904
01:16:14,444 --> 01:16:15,487
They don't play
Michael Jackson.
1905
01:16:15,529 --> 01:16:16,613
They don't play the Commodores.
1906
01:16:16,655 --> 01:16:17,906
They don't play
Earth, Wind & Fire.
1907
01:16:17,948 --> 01:16:19,700
They don't play Stevie Wonder.
Why is that?
1908
01:16:19,741 --> 01:16:21,535
[Steven]
When Rick tried to get on,
1909
01:16:21,577 --> 01:16:23,287
he didn't have that muscle
1910
01:16:23,328 --> 01:16:27,583
that Warner Brothers
or Columbia Records provided.
1911
01:16:27,624 --> 01:16:29,960
And I just remember him
getting on the phone
1912
01:16:30,002 --> 01:16:33,380
and just screaming at me
and saying,
1913
01:16:33,422 --> 01:16:37,884
"Why did you not stand
your ground
1914
01:16:37,926 --> 01:16:41,471
and make them put
1915
01:16:41,513 --> 01:16:43,765
"Super Freak" on there?
1916
01:16:43,807 --> 01:16:47,811
So what Rick chose to do
was to take his war public.
1917
01:16:47,853 --> 01:16:49,813
We're being sat in the back
of the bus, television-style.
1918
01:16:49,855 --> 01:16:51,064
This isn't The Wizard of Oz.
1919
01:16:51,106 --> 01:16:52,316
I mean,
there are Black people here.
1920
01:16:52,357 --> 01:16:53,900
And we make music.
1921
01:16:53,942 --> 01:16:55,569
And we spent thousands--
a hundred thousand
1922
01:16:55,611 --> 01:16:57,738
dollars on videos.
I mean, don't we exist?
1923
01:16:57,779 --> 01:16:59,865
In the case of Rick James,
1924
01:16:59,906 --> 01:17:03,327
the determination was made
that it was an R&B song
1925
01:17:03,368 --> 01:17:05,537
and was not
a rock and roll song.
1926
01:17:05,579 --> 01:17:06,830
[Rick] I was very vocal,
1927
01:17:06,872 --> 01:17:08,457
because I'm very vocal
about injustice.
1928
01:17:08,498 --> 01:17:10,417
I've never been one to bite
my tongue, and I never will.
1929
01:17:10,459 --> 01:17:11,460
If I see something funky
that's going on,
1930
01:17:11,501 --> 01:17:12,628
I'm gonna speak on it.
1931
01:17:12,669 --> 01:17:14,004
[reporter]
In the past few months,
1932
01:17:14,046 --> 01:17:15,172
MTV has increased
1933
01:17:15,213 --> 01:17:17,174
the number of Black videos
it programs
1934
01:17:17,215 --> 01:17:20,302
to include
Michael Jackson and Prince.
1935
01:17:20,344 --> 01:17:24,681
Michael, because of this
whole thing that Rick did,
1936
01:17:24,723 --> 01:17:29,645
was able to be the person
that MTV say,
1937
01:17:29,686 --> 01:17:31,605
"No, we do play Black music
1938
01:17:31,647 --> 01:17:33,982
because we start
playing Michael Jackson."
1939
01:17:34,024 --> 01:17:36,693
Being Black, you see this all
the time with white people.
1940
01:17:36,735 --> 01:17:40,947
They'll pick someone
that is still kind of edgy,
1941
01:17:40,989 --> 01:17:42,199
but not too edgy.
1942
01:17:42,240 --> 01:17:43,867
You look at Michael
1943
01:17:43,909 --> 01:17:46,495
standing next to Rick,
at that point in time,
1944
01:17:46,536 --> 01:17:48,705
they're gonna gravitate
to Michael.
1945
01:17:48,747 --> 01:17:50,040
MTV should give
the opportunity,
1946
01:17:50,082 --> 01:17:51,792
whether they're playing
Rick James or not,
1947
01:17:51,833 --> 01:17:53,168
I think they should play--
1948
01:17:53,210 --> 01:17:54,503
there's a lot of great
Black videos out there,
1949
01:17:54,544 --> 01:17:56,046
and I think
they should be seen.
1950
01:17:56,088 --> 01:17:57,839
In one way,
I'm sad I spoke out.
1951
01:17:57,881 --> 01:17:59,257
In another way,
I'm happy that I spoke out.
1952
01:17:59,299 --> 01:18:00,592
Because it didn't help me.
1953
01:18:00,634 --> 01:18:02,219
I mean, it didn't get me
any videos played.
1954
01:18:02,260 --> 01:18:04,805
I had met with one
of the MTV executives,
1955
01:18:04,846 --> 01:18:06,890
and we got drunk together
in New York at a club.
1956
01:18:06,932 --> 01:18:08,058
And he had told me--he said,
"Rick, you know,
1957
01:18:08,100 --> 01:18:09,768
they just got a hard-on
for you, man."
1958
01:18:09,810 --> 01:18:11,687
And that's one of the things
that really hurt me.
1959
01:18:11,728 --> 01:18:13,563
[Nancy]
He's not trusting Motown.
1960
01:18:13,605 --> 01:18:16,149
And I probably perpetuated
that as well.
1961
01:18:16,191 --> 01:18:19,486
"You're not helping us out
at Motown."
1962
01:18:19,528 --> 01:18:21,571
No one liked him after that,
you know?
1963
01:18:21,613 --> 01:18:23,824
It was too much.
1964
01:18:23,865 --> 01:18:26,576
[Kerry] Rick pretty much knew
that he was responsible
1965
01:18:26,618 --> 01:18:28,704
for his demise at Motown.
1966
01:18:28,745 --> 01:18:31,623
After the "Throwin' Down"
record,
1967
01:18:31,665 --> 01:18:33,250
he had come off of tour.
1968
01:18:33,291 --> 01:18:36,670
On the Super Freak tour,
we made 40 million bucks.
1969
01:18:36,712 --> 01:18:40,382
On the Throwin' Down tour,
he only made 13 million bucks
1970
01:18:40,424 --> 01:18:43,051
because the record didn't do
as well as Street Songs.
1971
01:18:43,093 --> 01:18:46,221
When he was delivering
his record to Motown,
1972
01:18:46,263 --> 01:18:47,764
I was with him,
1973
01:18:47,806 --> 01:18:51,893
and we went
into Jay Lasker's office.
1974
01:18:51,935 --> 01:18:54,896
Now, Jay Lasker was
the president of Motown.
1975
01:18:54,938 --> 01:18:57,607
The way that it was is that
he would turn in a tape
1976
01:18:57,649 --> 01:18:59,443
and he would get a check
for a million dollars.
1977
01:18:59,484 --> 01:19:01,570
He says, "Here's your tapes."
1978
01:19:01,611 --> 01:19:03,905
And then Jay
was like--with a cigar--
1979
01:19:03,947 --> 01:19:05,741
"Okay, yeah.
1980
01:19:05,782 --> 01:19:07,951
Well, give him
his million dollars," right?
1981
01:19:07,993 --> 01:19:11,163
So as he gets
his million dollars,
1982
01:19:11,204 --> 01:19:14,082
he grabs the million dollars
and said, "You know what,
1983
01:19:14,124 --> 01:19:15,459
I don't give a fuck
about a million dollars."
1984
01:19:15,500 --> 01:19:17,669
He said,
"Sell my goddamn record!"
1985
01:19:17,711 --> 01:19:19,129
And Jay was like, "Dude."
1986
01:19:19,171 --> 01:19:21,381
He said, "No! You sell
my motherfucking record!
1987
01:19:21,423 --> 01:19:22,799
Because the fact
of the matter is
1988
01:19:22,841 --> 01:19:25,635
I made $40 million on tour
with 'Street Songs,'
1989
01:19:25,677 --> 01:19:27,095
and I only made $13 million.
1990
01:19:27,137 --> 01:19:28,722
I don't give a fuck
about this million dollars!
1991
01:19:28,764 --> 01:19:30,056
Sell my motherfucking record
1992
01:19:30,098 --> 01:19:31,516
so I can make
some motherfucking money!"
1993
01:19:31,558 --> 01:19:34,102
And then Rick
pulls out cocaine,
1994
01:19:34,144 --> 01:19:36,480
puts it on the desk,
chops it up,
1995
01:19:36,521 --> 01:19:39,024
snorts it
in front of Jay Lasker.
1996
01:19:39,065 --> 01:19:40,400
And Jay Lasker's
sitting back there.
1997
01:19:40,442 --> 01:19:41,735
I'm sitting next to Rick.
1998
01:19:41,777 --> 01:19:43,653
And I'm like,
"Oh, shit," right?
1999
01:19:43,695 --> 01:19:45,989
And then Rick snorts it,
2000
01:19:46,031 --> 01:19:48,116
jumps on Jay Lasker's desk,
2001
01:19:48,158 --> 01:19:49,826
puts his dick in front
of Jay Lasker's face,
2002
01:19:49,868 --> 01:19:52,412
and says,
"Sell my goddamn record!"
2003
01:19:52,454 --> 01:19:53,997
He takes the check
2004
01:19:54,039 --> 01:19:55,999
and he walks out
of Jay Lasker's office.
2005
01:19:56,041 --> 01:19:59,169
And then Jay Lasker says to me,
2006
01:19:59,211 --> 01:20:00,504
"Lionel Richie."
2007
01:20:00,545 --> 01:20:01,505
Hello
2008
01:20:01,546 --> 01:20:04,007
2009
01:20:04,049 --> 01:20:07,427
Is it me
you're looking for?
2010
01:20:07,469 --> 01:20:09,179
[Kerry] And that was it.
2011
01:20:09,221 --> 01:20:10,847
He was done with Rick.
2012
01:20:10,889 --> 01:20:13,975
And his focus went
on Lionel Richie.
2013
01:20:14,017 --> 01:20:15,936
And that's the reason
that Lionel Richie
2014
01:20:15,977 --> 01:20:20,690
got all of this incredible,
amazing push.
2015
01:20:20,732 --> 01:20:23,026
[David] I think he suffered
2016
01:20:23,068 --> 01:20:26,029
from all the usual ailments
2017
01:20:26,071 --> 01:20:29,241
that assault
show business people.
2018
01:20:29,282 --> 01:20:32,035
Too much adulation
is not healthy.
2019
01:20:32,077 --> 01:20:36,832
Gets you high.
He suffered from entitlement.
2020
01:20:36,873 --> 01:20:38,333
"I've worked so hard.
2021
01:20:38,375 --> 01:20:40,210
I might as well get
whatever I want--
2022
01:20:40,252 --> 01:20:42,254
whatever woman,
whatever drug."
2023
01:20:42,295 --> 01:20:45,215
Show business, if you're not
emotionally well-grounded,
2024
01:20:45,257 --> 01:20:46,925
will chew you up
and spit you out.
2025
01:20:46,967 --> 01:20:49,344
You could almost think
2026
01:20:49,386 --> 01:20:52,889
that Rick had
multiple personalities
2027
01:20:52,931 --> 01:20:55,809
because you could talk
to any number of people
2028
01:20:55,851 --> 01:20:57,227
they would say,
"Oh, he's very generous."
2029
01:20:57,269 --> 01:21:01,022
But now, if there was
another situation,
2030
01:21:01,064 --> 01:21:04,401
"Rick, how about putting
our names--not my name,
2031
01:21:04,442 --> 01:21:06,653
our names--on this record?"
2032
01:21:06,695 --> 01:21:09,239
He wouldn't say no.
2033
01:21:09,281 --> 01:21:10,907
But it never happened.
2034
01:21:10,949 --> 01:21:12,200
We didn't get shit from Rick.
2035
01:21:12,242 --> 01:21:14,369
The idea was,
"I'm gonna get you guys."
2036
01:21:14,411 --> 01:21:16,746
You know, very charismatically
saying,
2037
01:21:16,788 --> 01:21:18,540
"I'm gonna pay you guys off,
man.
2038
01:21:18,582 --> 01:21:20,375
You've been beautiful.
You've been wonderful,"
2039
01:21:20,417 --> 01:21:22,836
and all this shit.
Man, where's the money?
2040
01:21:22,878 --> 01:21:24,963
Fuck the fame.
I want the fortune, bro.
2041
01:21:25,005 --> 01:21:27,090
The guys in other bands
that I knew
2042
01:21:27,132 --> 01:21:29,217
were buying houses
in Miami and shit,
2043
01:21:29,259 --> 01:21:30,594
and in Panama.
2044
01:21:30,635 --> 01:21:32,137
These motherfuckers with us,
man--
2045
01:21:32,178 --> 01:21:33,889
just enough
rent fucking money.
2046
01:21:33,930 --> 01:21:36,725
mellow music
2047
01:21:36,766 --> 01:21:37,976
[Jason] I think
it had become clear
2048
01:21:38,018 --> 01:21:39,644
that Rick James' behavior
2049
01:21:39,686 --> 01:21:41,229
was erratic, was excessive.
2050
01:21:41,271 --> 01:21:44,399
Drugs were a source
of the reason why
2051
01:21:44,441 --> 01:21:46,651
his career stalled
in the 1980s.
2052
01:21:46,693 --> 01:21:47,986
Drugs incapacitated him.
2053
01:21:48,028 --> 01:21:49,446
[Levi] I did
a whole bunch of shit,
2054
01:21:49,487 --> 01:21:51,573
but I had one thing
that Rick didn't have.
2055
01:21:51,615 --> 01:21:53,283
I knew it came to a time,
2056
01:21:53,325 --> 01:21:54,951
"I can't be doing
this shit no more."
2057
01:21:54,993 --> 01:21:56,620
The worst thing God ever did
2058
01:21:56,661 --> 01:21:58,705
was put cocaine in a form
where you could smoke it.
2059
01:21:58,747 --> 01:21:59,956
You don't quit.
2060
01:21:59,998 --> 01:22:01,124
When they was
smoking that shit,
2061
01:22:01,166 --> 01:22:02,792
they did it all day
and all night.
2062
01:22:02,834 --> 01:22:04,878
[JoJo] I started to see him
as a person
2063
01:22:04,920 --> 01:22:07,380
who had an addiction.
2064
01:22:07,422 --> 01:22:10,800
When someone has an addiction,
they're not rationale.
2065
01:22:10,842 --> 01:22:13,053
They're not thinking
rationally.
2066
01:22:13,094 --> 01:22:14,721
[Oscar] Rick was the only one
2067
01:22:14,763 --> 01:22:17,432
that really allowed that drug
2068
01:22:17,474 --> 01:22:20,226
to take over and change
who you really are.
2069
01:22:20,268 --> 01:22:23,104
And over time, as, primarily,
2070
01:22:23,146 --> 01:22:26,483
band members saw that,
they began to peel off.
2071
01:22:26,524 --> 01:22:29,069
It kind of fell apart
gradually, you know.
2072
01:22:29,110 --> 01:22:31,321
Things started
to kind of unravel.
2073
01:22:31,363 --> 01:22:32,989
I was the first person
to leave.
2074
01:22:33,031 --> 01:22:35,283
It just wasn't feeling
right for me.
2075
01:22:35,325 --> 01:22:36,952
I left before all that--
the shit
2076
01:22:36,993 --> 01:22:38,286
started getting
really out of pocket,
2077
01:22:38,328 --> 01:22:41,456
'cause it got to a point
where Rick was Rick now.
2078
01:22:41,498 --> 01:22:43,792
There's no more
James Johnson, Jr.
2079
01:22:43,833 --> 01:22:45,794
That dude gone.
2080
01:22:45,835 --> 01:22:48,380
Got to the point to where
2081
01:22:48,421 --> 01:22:51,675
Rick's primary circle
2082
01:22:51,716 --> 01:22:54,135
wasn't the band anymore.
2083
01:22:54,177 --> 01:22:57,013
Everybody want to be around.
They know you get high.
2084
01:22:57,055 --> 01:22:58,890
They want to bring it to you.
2085
01:22:58,932 --> 01:23:00,475
They don't want
the best for you.
2086
01:23:00,517 --> 01:23:02,435
And a lot of times,
Rick used to tell me
2087
01:23:02,477 --> 01:23:04,145
he felt he was a tool.
2088
01:23:04,187 --> 01:23:07,148
Everyone wanted to come to him
to get this and get that.
2089
01:23:07,190 --> 01:23:09,859
[Rick] I wish that
there was somebody
2090
01:23:09,901 --> 01:23:11,695
who would go up on stage
and be Rick James.
2091
01:23:11,736 --> 01:23:12,988
I wish that there was somebody
2092
01:23:13,029 --> 01:23:14,280
who could have lived
my lifestyle,
2093
01:23:14,322 --> 01:23:15,657
when I was living
all through my pain.
2094
01:23:15,699 --> 01:23:18,368
[chuckles] I would have loved
to have that.
2095
01:23:18,410 --> 01:23:20,286
It would have taken
a lot of pressure off me.
2096
01:23:20,328 --> 01:23:22,831
One day, I had him crying.
I was mad at him, man.
2097
01:23:22,872 --> 01:23:25,458
I was so mad--
"That white bitch got you"--
2098
01:23:25,500 --> 01:23:26,960
that's what we called cocaine--
"That white bitch
2099
01:23:27,002 --> 01:23:29,212
got you fucked up, man."
2100
01:23:29,254 --> 01:23:31,047
And he would say, "Like, man,
I just can't stop."
2101
01:23:31,089 --> 01:23:33,008
I said, "Goddamn it,
you're weak.
2102
01:23:33,049 --> 01:23:35,218
You're a weak
motherfucker, man.
2103
01:23:35,260 --> 01:23:37,721
You can't keep doing this shit.
It's gonna kill you."
2104
01:23:37,762 --> 01:23:40,056
[Rick] I was in a lawsuit
with Motown Records
2105
01:23:40,098 --> 01:23:41,349
for about five or six years
2106
01:23:41,391 --> 01:23:43,351
where I couldn't make
an album.
2107
01:23:43,393 --> 01:23:45,395
And that whole period of time,
2108
01:23:45,437 --> 01:23:47,856
my drug addiction
really just escalated.
2109
01:23:47,897 --> 01:23:50,734
I was spending six, seven--
seven, eight thousand dollars
2110
01:23:50,775 --> 01:23:54,571
a week on drugs--cocaine.
This went on for years.
2111
01:23:54,612 --> 01:23:56,239
'Cause I pretty much
just stopped touring.
2112
01:23:56,281 --> 01:23:59,284
And I was basically
just isolating myself.
2113
01:23:59,325 --> 01:24:03,621
I never experienced him
smoking cocaine.
2114
01:24:03,663 --> 01:24:06,249
Like, I never saw him high.
2115
01:24:06,291 --> 01:24:09,711
So I think he wanted me
to believe
2116
01:24:09,753 --> 01:24:11,171
that that wasn't taking place.
2117
01:24:11,212 --> 01:24:13,506
But, I mean, of course, I knew.
2118
01:24:13,548 --> 01:24:17,010
[Jason] The moment that really
marks a change in the way
2119
01:24:17,052 --> 01:24:19,888
that we think
about Rick James is 1990.
2120
01:24:19,929 --> 01:24:22,015
MC Hammer's
"U Can't Touch This"
2121
01:24:22,057 --> 01:24:23,266
Can't touch this
2122
01:24:23,308 --> 01:24:24,601
[Rick] I've only met
MC Hammer
2123
01:24:24,642 --> 01:24:26,019
one time in my life,
2124
01:24:26,061 --> 01:24:27,562
and he was a nice guy.
I mean, he was okay.
2125
01:24:27,604 --> 01:24:29,522
But at the time,
a lot of rap was going on
2126
01:24:29,564 --> 01:24:31,900
that was really kind of
off-beat,
2127
01:24:31,941 --> 01:24:33,401
very derogative
towards women.
2128
01:24:33,443 --> 01:24:34,944
Listen up, baby,
you look real pretty
2129
01:24:34,986 --> 01:24:36,446
Let me pull off your shirt
and suck yo titties
2130
01:24:36,488 --> 01:24:38,073
[Rick] And I really got
pissed off,
2131
01:24:38,114 --> 01:24:39,616
because I certainly
didn't need the money.
2132
01:24:39,657 --> 01:24:41,367
And I told my accountants
and lawyers, "No more rappers
2133
01:24:41,409 --> 01:24:43,119
are allowed to use
any of my stuff. Nothing."
2134
01:24:43,161 --> 01:24:44,662
[Dr. Boyd] Rick was not
a big fan of hip hop,
2135
01:24:44,704 --> 01:24:47,791
and a lot of older
Black artists at the time
2136
01:24:47,832 --> 01:24:50,794
were not fans of hip hop
when it emerged.
2137
01:24:50,835 --> 01:24:52,295
Matter of fact,
they were hating.
2138
01:24:52,337 --> 01:24:54,005
But I think, if you look
at the history of music,
2139
01:24:54,047 --> 01:24:57,342
whenever there's a new form,
old heads often don't like it.
2140
01:24:57,383 --> 01:24:59,969
Louis Armstrong didn't like
what Charlie Parker
2141
01:25:00,011 --> 01:25:02,097
and Dizzy Gillespie was doing.
2142
01:25:04,724 --> 01:25:06,476
[Rick] I was driving in LA,
and I heard the DJ
2143
01:25:06,518 --> 01:25:08,520
say something
about Rick James.
2144
01:25:08,561 --> 01:25:10,355
And then he said,
this is number five
2145
01:25:10,396 --> 01:25:11,815
in the country pop record
or something.
2146
01:25:11,856 --> 01:25:13,691
And he played it on--
Nah, nah, nah, nah
2147
01:25:13,733 --> 01:25:15,235
Nah-nah, nah-nah
2148
01:25:15,276 --> 01:25:16,778
And I said, "Oh, great."
You know, "I'm back."
2149
01:25:16,820 --> 01:25:18,154
And then the record stopped
and the guy says,
2150
01:25:18,196 --> 01:25:19,823
"Can't Touch This."
What?
2151
01:25:19,864 --> 01:25:21,241
And then
he really pissed me off.
2152
01:25:21,282 --> 01:25:23,827
-He says this line...
- My-my-my-my
2153
01:25:23,868 --> 01:25:25,995
Music hits me so hard
2154
01:25:26,037 --> 01:25:27,580
[Rick]
And I really got enflamed.
2155
01:25:27,622 --> 01:25:29,332
"His music"?
And I remember calling up
2156
01:25:29,374 --> 01:25:30,917
my accountants and lawyers
and said,
2157
01:25:30,959 --> 01:25:32,293
"I really thought
I told you guys
2158
01:25:32,335 --> 01:25:33,837
not to let any more rappers
use my stuff."
2159
01:25:33,878 --> 01:25:35,338
I was yelling--[grumbling]
2160
01:25:35,380 --> 01:25:36,840
Then they said, you know,
"You're gonna be making
2161
01:25:36,881 --> 01:25:38,925
so many million dollars."
I said, "Okay, never mind."
2162
01:25:38,967 --> 01:25:41,010
Rick James is very,
very, very happy.
2163
01:25:41,052 --> 01:25:44,639
And because of my using
2164
01:25:44,681 --> 01:25:46,683
his music,
2165
01:25:46,724 --> 01:25:48,268
it has made him enough money
2166
01:25:48,309 --> 01:25:50,353
to buy a new Rolls-Royce
and a new house.
2167
01:25:50,395 --> 01:25:53,022
I told you, homeboy,
you can't touch this
2168
01:25:53,064 --> 01:25:55,024
[Dr. Boyd] Hip hop gave
a second life
2169
01:25:55,066 --> 01:25:56,568
to a lot of Black artists.
2170
01:25:56,609 --> 01:25:59,362
MC Hammer is
the most popular example.
2171
01:25:59,404 --> 01:26:01,156
It's corny as hell.
But it was huge.
2172
01:26:01,197 --> 01:26:03,032
Hammer beat everybody
to the punch.
2173
01:26:03,074 --> 01:26:05,493
To this day, if you put it on,
2174
01:26:05,535 --> 01:26:07,495
it'll get it
cracking up in here.
2175
01:26:07,537 --> 01:26:11,749
The irony is that he probably
made more money
2176
01:26:11,791 --> 01:26:13,835
from "U Can't Touch This"
2177
01:26:13,877 --> 01:26:17,672
than, you know, he made
on the original version
2178
01:26:17,714 --> 01:26:19,424
of "Super Freak."
2179
01:26:19,465 --> 01:26:21,259
[Rick] I decided I wanted
to do another record.
2180
01:26:21,301 --> 01:26:23,094
So I signed
with Warner Brothers.
2181
01:26:23,136 --> 01:26:24,721
I did an album called
"Wonderful."
2182
01:26:24,762 --> 01:26:27,056
It had a number one
R&B single, "Loosey's Rap."
2183
01:26:27,098 --> 01:26:29,559
I know a chick,
her name is Loosey
2184
01:26:29,601 --> 01:26:31,728
2185
01:26:31,769 --> 01:26:33,688
She's a freaky thang
2186
01:26:33,730 --> 01:26:35,732
I was on the label
on Warner Brothers.
2187
01:26:35,773 --> 01:26:38,359
I'm Shanté,
and the rhyme today
2188
01:26:38,401 --> 01:26:41,070
Just rap so fresh
till I get out of breath
2189
01:26:41,112 --> 01:26:42,405
They were like,
"Okay, well look, you need
2190
01:26:42,447 --> 01:26:44,532
to go and stay
with Rick for a little while,
2191
01:26:44,574 --> 01:26:46,910
and you guys are gonna
and work on a single together."
2192
01:26:46,951 --> 01:26:48,077
And I'm straight out
the group home.
2193
01:26:48,119 --> 01:26:49,579
I already have a baby.
2194
01:26:49,621 --> 01:26:51,998
I'm spending
so much time on tour,
2195
01:26:52,040 --> 01:26:53,583
I didn't even have
a home address.
2196
01:26:53,625 --> 01:26:56,085
So I'll go to Rick James'
house and stay.
2197
01:26:56,127 --> 01:26:58,213
A lady was also staying there,
and I take it
2198
01:26:58,254 --> 01:27:00,298
that she was Rick's wife,
2199
01:27:00,340 --> 01:27:02,884
girlfriend, live-in girlfriend,
or whatever.
2200
01:27:02,926 --> 01:27:04,719
And it's so sad,
because I was thinking
2201
01:27:04,761 --> 01:27:07,013
about this recently--like,
I never knew her name,
2202
01:27:07,055 --> 01:27:08,431
and I was there
for almost three months.
2203
01:27:08,473 --> 01:27:09,641
'Cause her called her "bitch."
2204
01:27:09,682 --> 01:27:11,267
"Bitch, get something
from the store."
2205
01:27:11,309 --> 01:27:12,727
"Bitch, go get them
something to eat."
2206
01:27:12,769 --> 01:27:14,145
"Bitch, such such such."
2207
01:27:14,187 --> 01:27:15,897
And, you know,
she just, "Okay.
2208
01:27:15,939 --> 01:27:17,899
Okay, Rick.
Okay."
2209
01:27:17,941 --> 01:27:21,444
You know, and I knew
I didn't want to be that bitch.
2210
01:27:23,905 --> 01:27:25,907
[Ty]
Daddy had numerous girls.
2211
01:27:25,949 --> 01:27:28,826
There was always somebody
flying in and out.
2212
01:27:28,868 --> 01:27:32,455
You know, we'd go
to the local pizza shop,
2213
01:27:32,497 --> 01:27:34,624
and girls would be
coming back.
2214
01:27:34,666 --> 01:27:36,584
I remember Tanya
2215
01:27:36,626 --> 01:27:38,878
coming to the house
for the first time.
2216
01:27:38,920 --> 01:27:42,090
She was 17.
She was the same age as me.
2217
01:27:42,131 --> 01:27:43,299
He comes in the house.
2218
01:27:43,341 --> 01:27:45,134
They're pratting in
from the airport.
2219
01:27:45,176 --> 01:27:46,594
I pulled him to the side.
"How old is she?"
2220
01:27:46,636 --> 01:27:47,887
"She's 21!"
2221
01:27:47,929 --> 01:27:50,556
I'm like, "Hmm. Okay."
2222
01:27:50,598 --> 01:27:53,810
[Tanya] When I met him,
I didn't feel like he was
2223
01:27:53,851 --> 01:27:55,603
so much older than me.
2224
01:27:55,645 --> 01:27:59,190
He definitely did not have
the spirit of a 39-year-old.
2225
01:27:59,232 --> 01:28:01,067
He didn't look like
a 39-year-old.
2226
01:28:01,109 --> 01:28:02,485
You know Black don't crack.
2227
01:28:02,527 --> 01:28:05,780
So he was 30, maybe.
2228
01:28:05,822 --> 01:28:09,117
And I was a precious 17, so.
2229
01:28:09,158 --> 01:28:12,453
If I would have been hip
to who he was,
2230
01:28:12,495 --> 01:28:13,871
we would not have connected.
2231
01:28:13,913 --> 01:28:15,748
[Levi] Rick fell in love
with a young girl.
2232
01:28:15,790 --> 01:28:18,376
They just had a lot of sex
and shit--
2233
01:28:18,418 --> 01:28:21,045
people, whatnot,
parties with everybody naked.
2234
01:28:21,087 --> 01:28:22,672
She was too young
for me to be around.
2235
01:28:22,714 --> 01:28:24,465
I mean,
she was like a baby to me.
2236
01:28:24,507 --> 01:28:27,885
They both met
under the influence.
2237
01:28:27,927 --> 01:28:30,972
They proceeded to get together
under that same thing.
2238
01:28:31,014 --> 01:28:33,433
So I didn't think much of it.
2239
01:28:33,474 --> 01:28:35,101
[Tanya] I came damaged,
2240
01:28:35,143 --> 01:28:38,313
and Rick saw that damage in me
because he was damaged.
2241
01:28:38,354 --> 01:28:41,524
The reason we connected so well
was because, in a safe space,
2242
01:28:41,566 --> 01:28:43,026
we could be
vulnerable together,
2243
01:28:43,067 --> 01:28:44,610
and both of our damage
connected,
2244
01:28:44,652 --> 01:28:48,197
because he had such
a fucking, like, image
2245
01:28:48,239 --> 01:28:50,033
that he couldn't even escape.
2246
01:28:50,074 --> 01:28:51,534
Like, he couldn't
escape that image.
2247
01:28:51,576 --> 01:28:53,745
He could escape it with me.
2248
01:28:55,580 --> 01:28:56,622
[Rick] I bought this house.
2249
01:28:56,664 --> 01:28:58,458
It was at the top
of Mulholland.
2250
01:28:58,499 --> 01:29:00,251
Gorgeous home.
And really, all it was for me
2251
01:29:00,293 --> 01:29:02,628
was just a place to get high.
2252
01:29:05,673 --> 01:29:09,093
I'd go out, and come home
with 20, 30 people,
2253
01:29:09,135 --> 01:29:12,305
19 of them I never met before,
and they'd stay for days.
2254
01:29:12,347 --> 01:29:13,890
And my life was pretty dark
at that time.
2255
01:29:13,931 --> 01:29:16,100
The house had really
turned into a crack haven.
2256
01:29:16,142 --> 01:29:18,936
A person who sniffs coke
and does things on a certain,
2257
01:29:18,978 --> 01:29:20,313
more expensive level,
2258
01:29:20,355 --> 01:29:22,357
won't have certain
people around them.
2259
01:29:22,398 --> 01:29:24,233
But a person who will
smoke crack is liable
2260
01:29:24,275 --> 01:29:25,943
to have anybody around them
2261
01:29:25,985 --> 01:29:27,862
because it becomes
an anybody drug.
2262
01:29:28,613 --> 01:29:30,031
[sighs]
2263
01:29:30,073 --> 01:29:33,242
It was a time that I was
2264
01:29:33,284 --> 01:29:35,870
trying to intercede a binge.
2265
01:29:35,912 --> 01:29:39,374
And my dad was on, like,
maybe--it was three
2266
01:29:39,415 --> 01:29:42,960
or four days
that we hadn't saw his face.
2267
01:29:43,002 --> 01:29:46,089
I called Val, and I was like,
"I'm going in the room."
2268
01:29:46,130 --> 01:29:48,007
I got there to the house.
2269
01:29:48,049 --> 01:29:50,760
We got a butter knife
2270
01:29:50,802 --> 01:29:54,514
out of the kitchen drawer,
and went in there.
2271
01:29:54,555 --> 01:29:56,432
We went looking around,
2272
01:29:56,474 --> 01:30:01,020
with women hiding
in the closet or in the shower.
2273
01:30:01,062 --> 01:30:02,438
I was like, "You gotta go.
2274
01:30:02,480 --> 01:30:04,273
It's time to go.
It's check-out time."
2275
01:30:04,315 --> 01:30:06,859
Right?
So he's still asleep.
2276
01:30:06,901 --> 01:30:10,029
And he woke up and just--
2277
01:30:10,071 --> 01:30:13,908
it was--it was pretty bad.
2278
01:30:13,950 --> 01:30:15,284
He started throwing things.
2279
01:30:15,326 --> 01:30:16,911
Then he threw at book at me.
2280
01:30:16,953 --> 01:30:19,414
I picked the book up
and threw it right back at him.
2281
01:30:19,455 --> 01:30:21,499
He was ducking.
2282
01:30:21,541 --> 01:30:24,127
He threw, like, a candlestick
or something,
2283
01:30:24,168 --> 01:30:25,586
and it cut my foot open.
2284
01:30:25,628 --> 01:30:29,173
I had to have stitches.
2285
01:30:29,215 --> 01:30:31,467
I wound up in the hospital.
2286
01:30:31,509 --> 01:30:33,511
I didn't talk to my dad
for eight months.
2287
01:30:33,553 --> 01:30:36,681
That was the demon.
That was the devil.
2288
01:30:36,722 --> 01:30:39,892
That was
drug-possessed James Johnson.
2289
01:30:42,061 --> 01:30:44,647
Pop singer Rick James
is being accused of
2290
01:30:44,689 --> 01:30:46,023
all kinds of terrible things,
2291
01:30:46,065 --> 01:30:48,192
and authorities are taking it
very seriously.
2292
01:30:48,234 --> 01:30:51,237
[reporter] James is accused of
assault with a deadly weapon,
2293
01:30:51,279 --> 01:30:55,658
aggravated mayhem, torture,
and forceable oral copulation.
2294
01:30:55,700 --> 01:30:58,995
Arrested for assault
with great bodily injury
2295
01:30:59,036 --> 01:31:01,247
was Tanya Hijazi,
2296
01:31:01,289 --> 01:31:04,417
21 years of age,
and Rick James.
2297
01:31:04,459 --> 01:31:06,169
[Robert] The day that Rick
got arrested,
2298
01:31:06,210 --> 01:31:07,962
I was called on that case.
2299
01:31:08,004 --> 01:31:11,924
Rick was accused of torturing
a girl with a crackpipe.
2300
01:31:14,552 --> 01:31:16,137
Hi, all these cameras.
2301
01:31:16,179 --> 01:31:17,847
[JoJo] I was shocked.
2302
01:31:17,889 --> 01:31:21,350
That broke my heart
when I saw the report on that.
2303
01:31:21,392 --> 01:31:23,311
He looked like he was scared.
2304
01:31:23,352 --> 01:31:26,355
Well, you know, I just hope
that phrase--
2305
01:31:26,397 --> 01:31:27,899
innocent till proven guilty--
is true.
2306
01:31:27,940 --> 01:31:29,525
I've kind of found,
since I've been in here,
2307
01:31:29,567 --> 01:31:32,862
it's like guilty
till proven innocent.
2308
01:31:32,904 --> 01:31:34,864
I've always been guilty
of things till proven innocent.
2309
01:31:34,906 --> 01:31:37,366
[Ty] He was accused
of sexual assault,
2310
01:31:37,408 --> 01:31:42,163
and the girl was
pretty much partying
2311
01:31:42,205 --> 01:31:44,040
with them the whole time.
2312
01:31:44,081 --> 01:31:48,085
And I guess, you know,
when it was over,
2313
01:31:48,127 --> 01:31:50,505
she had a couple of burns.
2314
01:31:50,546 --> 01:31:52,590
Like, Tanya had some burns too.
2315
01:31:52,632 --> 01:31:56,385
This is something
that was condoned.
2316
01:31:56,427 --> 01:32:00,306
[Joseph] Frances Alley told us
about having been a visitor
2317
01:32:00,348 --> 01:32:01,891
at Rick James' home.
2318
01:32:01,933 --> 01:32:05,520
Everything got out of control
when he suspected her
2319
01:32:05,561 --> 01:32:09,732
of stealing
some kind of--some cocaine.
2320
01:32:09,774 --> 01:32:13,152
He tied her up to a chair
while she was nude,
2321
01:32:13,194 --> 01:32:17,907
and she said that he burned her
with a crack cocaine pipe,
2322
01:32:17,949 --> 01:32:20,576
and brought out a big butcher
knife from the kitchen,
2323
01:32:20,618 --> 01:32:22,995
after his girlfriend
warmed it up,
2324
01:32:23,037 --> 01:32:24,747
and put it against her leg.
2325
01:32:24,789 --> 01:32:26,916
[reporter] Why would someone
make these stories up?
2326
01:32:26,958 --> 01:32:28,584
-Well, we--
-We'll take care of that.
2327
01:32:28,626 --> 01:32:30,378
We--Mr. James is gonna fight
2328
01:32:30,419 --> 01:32:31,921
this thing in court,
and we can't wait
2329
01:32:31,963 --> 01:32:33,631
for the truth to come out.
The truth will come out.
2330
01:32:33,673 --> 01:32:35,633
[Rick] You don't force anyone
to do crack.
2331
01:32:35,675 --> 01:32:37,468
You don't force them.
People that I know,
2332
01:32:37,510 --> 01:32:39,095
that smoke crack,
they'll go out
2333
01:32:39,136 --> 01:32:41,430
and sell their babies
for a hit of crack.
2334
01:32:41,472 --> 01:32:42,723
And she said I forced her
to have sex.
2335
01:32:42,765 --> 01:32:44,100
I never forced her
to have sex.
2336
01:32:44,141 --> 01:32:45,935
I never forced a woman
in my life to have sex.
2337
01:32:45,977 --> 01:32:48,104
If anything, I gotta force
them not to have sex.
2338
01:32:48,145 --> 01:32:50,481
[Tanya] What sprang out
of that adversity
2339
01:32:50,523 --> 01:32:53,317
was our connection.
2340
01:32:53,359 --> 01:32:55,570
"The witch hunt
that is happening
2341
01:32:55,611 --> 01:32:57,154
right now is serious,
2342
01:32:57,196 --> 01:33:00,283
and we need to stick together,
2343
01:33:00,324 --> 01:33:02,994
and I need to protect
this man,
2344
01:33:03,035 --> 01:33:05,246
and he needs to protect me,
2345
01:33:05,288 --> 01:33:07,707
because this is
some foul shit."
2346
01:33:07,748 --> 01:33:09,792
[Carmen] I hated to see him
catch that case,
2347
01:33:09,834 --> 01:33:12,878
because he didn't need that.
But was he capable of that?
2348
01:33:12,920 --> 01:33:15,464
Any addict
is capable of anything.
2349
01:33:15,506 --> 01:33:18,301
You can do some subhuman stuff,
and that's just the way it is.
2350
01:33:18,342 --> 01:33:21,804
[Nile] That didn't seem like
the person I knew at all.
2351
01:33:21,846 --> 01:33:24,599
We did our fair share
of partying, that's for sure.
2352
01:33:24,640 --> 01:33:27,393
But nothing, I mean,
nothing of that sort.
2353
01:33:27,435 --> 01:33:28,644
[Betty] I just worry about it.
2354
01:33:28,686 --> 01:33:30,896
That's the only thing
I can tell you.
2355
01:33:30,938 --> 01:33:33,274
And I think I'll never give up
praying about it--
2356
01:33:33,316 --> 01:33:35,067
that he will stop,
2357
01:33:35,109 --> 01:33:37,695
or if he not doing,
don't do it anymore.
2358
01:33:37,737 --> 01:33:39,363
[Carmen]
When my mother was dying,
2359
01:33:39,405 --> 01:33:40,948
and me and my brother Roy
2360
01:33:40,990 --> 01:33:43,951
was calling him to come,
he was in California,
2361
01:33:43,993 --> 01:33:45,703
and we was calling him--
we was threatening him
2362
01:33:45,745 --> 01:33:47,288
we'd come and get him,
2363
01:33:47,330 --> 01:33:49,540
because she was that
tied to him.
2364
01:33:49,582 --> 01:33:52,376
And he was out there
getting high.
2365
01:33:52,418 --> 01:33:53,794
And we called him and told him,
2366
01:33:53,836 --> 01:33:55,338
"Hey, we gotta come
and get your ass.
2367
01:33:55,379 --> 01:33:56,589
We're gonna come
and get you, man."
2368
01:33:56,631 --> 01:33:58,215
And then he came on back,
and he was fucked up
2369
01:33:58,257 --> 01:34:00,343
when he came.
Excuse my French.
2370
01:34:01,969 --> 01:34:03,679
[Rick] When I went to Buffalo
to see her,
2371
01:34:03,721 --> 01:34:05,598
she was already dying.
She was just hanging on.
2372
01:34:05,640 --> 01:34:08,476
She was in a coma
for like three or four days.
2373
01:34:08,517 --> 01:34:09,769
She really didn't
want to leave, you know.
2374
01:34:09,810 --> 01:34:11,020
She didn't want to let go
till, like,
2375
01:34:11,062 --> 01:34:13,356
she saw all her kids,
you know.
2376
01:34:13,397 --> 01:34:15,149
And I was, like,
the loneliest,
2377
01:34:15,191 --> 01:34:17,026
empty person in the world.
2378
01:34:17,068 --> 01:34:19,445
[Tanya] That was the beginning
of the downfall.
2379
01:34:19,487 --> 01:34:21,197
And the depression
was a constant
2380
01:34:21,238 --> 01:34:22,782
within, you know, that.
2381
01:34:22,823 --> 01:34:24,700
[Robert] Even though they had
all these headlines
2382
01:34:24,742 --> 01:34:27,036
about Rick was facing
life imprisonment,
2383
01:34:27,078 --> 01:34:30,456
they agreed to drop
all the serious felony charges,
2384
01:34:30,498 --> 01:34:34,710
and Rick was able to get a year
in drug rehab as his sentence.
2385
01:34:34,752 --> 01:34:37,713
While we were still
wrapping up our case,
2386
01:34:37,755 --> 01:34:40,466
Rick picked up another case,
Mary Sauger.
2387
01:34:40,508 --> 01:34:42,635
[Mary] He basically slammed me
against the wall,
2388
01:34:42,677 --> 01:34:45,262
started strangling me, and...
2389
01:34:45,304 --> 01:34:47,890
the fists, the--everything.
2390
01:34:47,932 --> 01:34:50,017
It just went on repeatedly
for hours and hours.
2391
01:34:50,059 --> 01:34:52,019
And then at one point,
I was knocked unconscious.
2392
01:34:52,061 --> 01:34:54,772
[Rick] I went to a hotel room
to get away for a while.
2393
01:34:54,814 --> 01:34:57,108
And Tanya joined me there.
This girl came over.
2394
01:34:57,149 --> 01:34:58,651
And two days went by,
2395
01:34:58,693 --> 01:34:59,944
and we were all pretty drunk,
pretty high.
2396
01:34:59,985 --> 01:35:01,529
Her and Tanya got
into a fight.
2397
01:35:01,570 --> 01:35:03,239
She smacked Tanya.
Tanya smacked her.
2398
01:35:03,280 --> 01:35:04,740
And she kicked Tanya.
2399
01:35:04,782 --> 01:35:06,117
Well, when the girl tried
to kick Tanya,
2400
01:35:06,158 --> 01:35:08,536
that ticked me off.
I went into the girl.
2401
01:35:08,577 --> 01:35:10,579
Yeah,
I laid hands on this girl.
2402
01:35:10,621 --> 01:35:12,123
[Robert]
The codefendant, Tanya,
2403
01:35:12,164 --> 01:35:13,666
has pled guilty today,
2404
01:35:13,708 --> 01:35:15,835
and she's serving four years
in state prison
2405
01:35:15,876 --> 01:35:18,087
when she surrenders, and
that's gonna be in a month.
2406
01:35:18,129 --> 01:35:19,880
And he's facing
two torture charges
2407
01:35:19,922 --> 01:35:22,258
and one charge
of aggravated mayhem.
2408
01:35:22,299 --> 01:35:25,261
Those three counts alone
are life sentences.
2409
01:35:25,302 --> 01:35:27,763
[Tanya] There was so much shit
that hit the fan,
2410
01:35:27,805 --> 01:35:30,015
all immediately,
all at one time.
2411
01:35:30,057 --> 01:35:32,435
And there was no time
to think.
2412
01:35:32,476 --> 01:35:34,395
You just acted on judgment.
2413
01:35:34,437 --> 01:35:37,440
And my judgment
was to go all-in with this man
2414
01:35:37,481 --> 01:35:41,610
because I knew that he didn't
deserve what was going on.
2415
01:35:41,652 --> 01:35:43,112
[Rick] You know, I was in,
like, a dream.
2416
01:35:43,154 --> 01:35:44,613
I couldn't believe it.
You know, I was getting high
2417
01:35:44,655 --> 01:35:46,031
every night before the trial,
2418
01:35:46,073 --> 01:35:48,576
falling asleep at court.
I'm snoring.
2419
01:35:48,617 --> 01:35:51,954
Because I was just in a daze
that this was happening.
2420
01:35:51,996 --> 01:35:53,247
[Carmen]
When I was watching him,
2421
01:35:53,289 --> 01:35:54,582
when he was in court,
2422
01:35:54,623 --> 01:35:56,250
and he was nodding
and carrying on,
2423
01:35:56,292 --> 01:35:57,752
that said a lot, basically.
2424
01:35:57,793 --> 01:36:00,463
[Steven] That was just too much
2425
01:36:00,504 --> 01:36:02,089
for anyone to deal with.
2426
01:36:02,131 --> 01:36:04,341
And then times
were changing too.
2427
01:36:04,383 --> 01:36:06,761
It was like, "Rick, ain't
nobody doing this shit no more.
2428
01:36:06,802 --> 01:36:08,763
Everybody grows up
at some point.
2429
01:36:08,804 --> 01:36:11,390
I mean,
you still doing this stuff?"
2430
01:36:11,432 --> 01:36:13,726
[Kerry] I think it was totally
taken out of context.
2431
01:36:13,768 --> 01:36:15,895
But it was what it was.
2432
01:36:15,936 --> 01:36:17,897
What matters is that
he's in court.
2433
01:36:17,938 --> 01:36:19,982
He's got to fight it,
and if he loses,
2434
01:36:20,024 --> 01:36:21,609
he could be in jail
for the rest of his life.
2435
01:36:21,650 --> 01:36:23,986
We, the jury, in the above
entitled action,
2436
01:36:24,028 --> 01:36:26,489
find the defendant Rick James
2437
01:36:26,530 --> 01:36:28,824
guilty of the crime of sale...
2438
01:36:28,866 --> 01:36:31,619
[Rick] They ended up giving
five years, four months.
2439
01:36:31,660 --> 01:36:33,496
That's when I went
to Folsom Prison.
2440
01:36:34,079 --> 01:36:36,791
This was a serious,
strange transition.
2441
01:36:36,832 --> 01:36:39,335
As much as I thought it was
a curse and a terrible thing,
2442
01:36:39,376 --> 01:36:41,295
it turned out to be
a beautiful blessing.
2443
01:36:41,337 --> 01:36:43,672
I'm thankful to God to let me
have prison as an alternative,
2444
01:36:43,714 --> 01:36:45,007
as opposed to the grave,
2445
01:36:45,049 --> 01:36:47,009
'cause I was headed
to the grave.
2446
01:36:47,051 --> 01:36:48,761
[Tanya]
He chose to be Muslim
2447
01:36:48,803 --> 01:36:50,596
when he was in prison.
2448
01:36:50,638 --> 01:36:52,097
It didn't last long.
2449
01:36:52,139 --> 01:36:55,601
But a lot of that
was understand himself.
2450
01:36:55,643 --> 01:36:59,104
He felt, too, like
the Rick James persona--like,
2451
01:36:59,146 --> 01:37:01,190
he's not Rick James.
He's James Ambrose Johnson.
2452
01:37:01,232 --> 01:37:02,900
[Rick] When Tanya was
in prison,
2453
01:37:02,942 --> 01:37:04,819
we used to write letters
to each other a lot.
2454
01:37:04,860 --> 01:37:07,279
We needed to stop doing drugs
for our son.
2455
01:37:07,321 --> 01:37:09,615
[Tanya] Even though we were up
against all this bullshit,
2456
01:37:09,657 --> 01:37:12,117
we were bringing life
into the world,
2457
01:37:12,159 --> 01:37:14,078
and it was a very special time
for us.
2458
01:37:14,119 --> 01:37:15,746
Literally, like,
2459
01:37:15,788 --> 01:37:18,958
the rose that grew
through the concrete,
2460
01:37:18,999 --> 01:37:21,252
'cause we were facing
some really heavy shit,
2461
01:37:21,293 --> 01:37:25,464
but we were giving birth
to a magnificent spirit.
2462
01:37:25,506 --> 01:37:28,175
[Ty] Tazman grounded him a lot.
2463
01:37:28,217 --> 01:37:32,555
He got a second chance
at being a father.
2464
01:37:32,596 --> 01:37:35,015
Funk musician Rick James
is a free man
2465
01:37:35,057 --> 01:37:37,351
after spending
three years in prison.
2466
01:37:37,393 --> 01:37:39,228
The first thing James did
when he was released
2467
01:37:39,270 --> 01:37:42,147
was to hug
his four-year-old son.
2468
01:37:42,189 --> 01:37:45,025
He says his prison time
was well-spent, though.
2469
01:37:45,067 --> 01:37:48,070
He got off drugs
and wrote 400 songs.
2470
01:37:48,112 --> 01:37:49,697
[Rick] There was so much pain
inside of me.
2471
01:37:49,738 --> 01:37:52,074
And there was so many things
that I wanted to say.
2472
01:37:52,116 --> 01:37:53,868
It's like when I started,
you know?
2473
01:37:53,909 --> 01:37:56,078
I had that hunger again.
2474
01:37:56,120 --> 01:37:57,621
Plus I was going broke,
and I needed to--
2475
01:37:57,663 --> 01:37:58,831
[laughter]
2476
01:37:58,873 --> 01:38:00,040
I had a hard time,
you know,
2477
01:38:00,082 --> 01:38:01,250
'cause a lot
of record companies
2478
01:38:01,292 --> 01:38:03,085
didn't want to take
a chance on me.
2479
01:38:03,127 --> 01:38:05,421
So I just said, "Fuck it.
I'm gonna make my own album."
2480
01:38:05,462 --> 01:38:08,132
I just wanted to go back to
the roots of what I was about.
2481
01:38:08,173 --> 01:38:11,927
Once he got out of prison,
he called me, and he said,
2482
01:38:11,969 --> 01:38:14,430
"I want to get
the original Stone City Band
2483
01:38:14,471 --> 01:38:16,557
back together.
Come on over."
2484
01:38:16,599 --> 01:38:18,058
And I'm just like,
"Wait a minute.
2485
01:38:18,100 --> 01:38:20,227
I have a job, you know."
He said, "No, no, no.
2486
01:38:20,269 --> 01:38:22,271
You've got to get down here
right now."
2487
01:38:22,313 --> 01:38:23,314
And he just did that.
2488
01:38:23,355 --> 01:38:25,232
So when he says that,
you do that.
2489
01:38:25,274 --> 01:38:26,901
Everything was business
as usual.
2490
01:38:26,942 --> 01:38:28,986
He was normal.
He wasn't high.
2491
01:38:29,028 --> 01:38:31,155
I thought it was a great album.
We went on tour.
2492
01:38:31,196 --> 01:38:34,575
[band plays
"Give It To Me Baby"]
2493
01:38:34,617 --> 01:38:37,119
Give it to me baby,
give it to me baby
2494
01:38:37,161 --> 01:38:39,538
[Kerry] As soon as
he got out of jail,
2495
01:38:39,580 --> 01:38:43,250
my job was to make sure
he didn't get high.
2496
01:38:43,292 --> 01:38:45,461
I put him on a few shows,
and he would go on there,
2497
01:38:45,502 --> 01:38:48,047
and people would say,
"Oh, my gosh. Rick is clean.
2498
01:38:48,088 --> 01:38:50,549
He's smart. He's intelligent.
And he was clear."
2499
01:38:50,591 --> 01:38:52,760
But during this time period,
2500
01:38:52,801 --> 01:38:56,221
my phone stopped ringing
as a manager,
2501
01:38:56,263 --> 01:38:59,141
because people didn't want
to see a clean Rick James.
2502
01:38:59,183 --> 01:39:01,894
They wanted to see
a Super Freak.
2503
01:39:01,936 --> 01:39:03,520
-Hey, man.
-[both laugh]
2504
01:39:03,562 --> 01:39:04,855
Hey. What's up?
2505
01:39:04,897 --> 01:39:05,981
[record scratches]
2506
01:39:06,023 --> 01:39:08,859
Nice girls dude
2507
01:39:08,901 --> 01:39:11,195
This man lost a serious
guitar of minute.
2508
01:39:11,236 --> 01:39:12,821
That's not the issue
with you.
2509
01:39:12,863 --> 01:39:14,114
Okay? And that is the issue
that I'm dealing with.
2510
01:39:14,156 --> 01:39:15,366
That's not what you
bringing up.
2511
01:39:15,407 --> 01:39:16,992
You bringing up
a character reference.
2512
01:39:17,034 --> 01:39:19,411
-Well, are you not gay?
-Hold on. Hold on.
2513
01:39:19,453 --> 01:39:20,704
That's got nothing
to do with nothing.
2514
01:39:20,746 --> 01:39:22,456
You don't ask me
my personal business.
2515
01:39:22,498 --> 01:39:24,041
But, at the same time,
2516
01:39:24,083 --> 01:39:26,460
he turned back
into that lifestyle.
2517
01:39:28,212 --> 01:39:31,048
[Tanya] Rick was always
the champion of the underdogs
2518
01:39:31,090 --> 01:39:33,342
but never of himself.
2519
01:39:33,384 --> 01:39:36,220
He would stay sober
2520
01:39:36,261 --> 01:39:38,973
for very short,
sporadic times,
2521
01:39:39,014 --> 01:39:41,809
but it was until
he could not bear
2522
01:39:41,850 --> 01:39:44,228
the depression anymore.
2523
01:39:44,269 --> 01:39:47,648
He would stay sober for a month
to three months, at the most.
2524
01:39:47,690 --> 01:39:50,859
I've never seen Rick sober
for more than three months.
2525
01:39:50,901 --> 01:39:53,195
Rick went to over 30 rehabs.
2526
01:39:53,237 --> 01:39:55,781
Rick was constantly
trying to get clean.
2527
01:39:55,823 --> 01:39:58,701
He wanted to be his potential.
2528
01:39:58,742 --> 01:40:01,870
His addiction was the bane
of his existence.
2529
01:40:01,912 --> 01:40:04,623
He was a tortured soul.
2530
01:40:04,665 --> 01:40:08,043
Most of our marriage was spent
at Cedars-Sinai Hospital,
2531
01:40:08,085 --> 01:40:09,545
dealing with
his health problems.
2532
01:40:09,586 --> 01:40:10,838
My husband asked me
2533
01:40:10,879 --> 01:40:12,548
to come out here
and talk to you guys.
2534
01:40:12,589 --> 01:40:14,299
He suffered a stroke.
2535
01:40:14,341 --> 01:40:16,468
[Ty] He had a pacemaker
installed.
2536
01:40:16,510 --> 01:40:19,221
His doctor told him,
"You gotta stop doing drugs."
2537
01:40:19,263 --> 01:40:22,224
And he just lived the way
he wanted to live,
2538
01:40:22,266 --> 01:40:24,226
till the wheels fell off.
2539
01:40:24,268 --> 01:40:27,229
[Tanya] His dopamine,
his adrenaline was gone,
2540
01:40:27,271 --> 01:40:30,357
and the only way it would be
brought back up again
2541
01:40:30,399 --> 01:40:31,734
was with cocaine.
2542
01:40:31,775 --> 01:40:34,069
Cocaine had stolen
2543
01:40:34,111 --> 01:40:37,698
all of his pleasure centers
in his brain.
2544
01:40:37,740 --> 01:40:39,366
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
2545
01:40:39,408 --> 01:40:41,618
[laughter]
2546
01:40:41,660 --> 01:40:43,370
[Jason] In the early 2000s,
2547
01:40:43,412 --> 01:40:46,081
Rick James is not
really thought of a lot.
2548
01:40:46,123 --> 01:40:49,084
In 2004,
on the Dave Chappelle show,
2549
01:40:49,126 --> 01:40:51,086
there's a skit
about Rick James.
2550
01:40:51,128 --> 01:40:53,130
Ladies and gentlemen,
make some noise--
2551
01:40:53,172 --> 01:40:55,257
"Charlie Murphy's
True Hollywood Stories."
2552
01:40:55,299 --> 01:40:57,259
I was a huge Rick James fan.
2553
01:40:57,301 --> 01:40:59,261
That's the first person
that I would say,
2554
01:40:59,303 --> 01:41:01,513
out of all the celebrities
that I met,
2555
01:41:01,555 --> 01:41:03,098
that I was-I was starstruck.
2556
01:41:03,140 --> 01:41:04,183
Come on, babe.
Just show me your titties.
2557
01:41:04,224 --> 01:41:06,101
I'm Rick James.
Do something.
2558
01:41:06,143 --> 01:41:08,729
Mm. Mm.
2559
01:41:08,771 --> 01:41:10,439
I wish I had more hands,
2560
01:41:10,481 --> 01:41:13,525
so I could give those titties
four thumbs down.
2561
01:41:13,567 --> 01:41:16,111
What Dave Chappelle did
with the Rick James character--
2562
01:41:16,153 --> 01:41:18,781
you know, it really showed you,
like,
2563
01:41:18,822 --> 01:41:20,616
what Rick James'
personality was.
2564
01:41:20,657 --> 01:41:24,119
Rick James didn't give a fuck.
2565
01:41:24,161 --> 01:41:26,288
And Dave Chappelle
embodied that.
2566
01:41:26,330 --> 01:41:27,414
-[Dave as Rick] Charlie!
-What's up, man?
2567
01:41:27,456 --> 01:41:28,749
There's a new joke
going around.
2568
01:41:28,791 --> 01:41:31,001
Have you heard it?
[laughing]
2569
01:41:31,043 --> 01:41:33,670
What did the five fingers
say to the face?
2570
01:41:33,712 --> 01:41:35,005
[laughing]
2571
01:41:35,047 --> 01:41:36,965
-What?
-Slap!
2572
01:41:37,007 --> 01:41:38,842
[audience laughter, applause]
2573
01:41:38,884 --> 01:41:40,135
I'm Rick James, bitch.
2574
01:41:40,177 --> 01:41:41,261
[Donnell] In that moment,
2575
01:41:41,303 --> 01:41:42,805
being in the studio,
I was like,
2576
01:41:42,846 --> 01:41:46,266
"This is a sketch that people
are gonna be talking about
2577
01:41:46,308 --> 01:41:48,143
and remembering
for the rest of their lives."
2578
01:41:48,185 --> 01:41:50,145
That sketch was so powerful,
2579
01:41:50,187 --> 01:41:52,481
it had grade school kids
getting suspended.
2580
01:41:52,523 --> 01:41:54,983
They was going to school,
lunchroom, cafeteria,
2581
01:41:55,025 --> 01:41:57,111
any chance they had--
"I'm Rick James, bitch."
2582
01:41:57,152 --> 01:41:59,488
I must be losing my mind.
2583
01:41:59,530 --> 01:42:02,491
Reminiscing about Charlie
Murphy jump kicking my ass.
2584
01:42:03,700 --> 01:42:05,119
Ain't that a B.
2585
01:42:05,160 --> 01:42:06,620
"I'm Rick James, bitch"
wasn't funny to me,
2586
01:42:06,662 --> 01:42:08,580
'cause all it made him
was a caricature,
2587
01:42:08,622 --> 01:42:11,250
as far as I was concerned.
They made him out of a toy,
2588
01:42:11,291 --> 01:42:13,585
as opposed to a real live man,
human being.
2589
01:42:13,627 --> 01:42:15,587
A lot of that was true.
2590
01:42:15,629 --> 01:42:19,675
Rick would actually do
that--come in and talk shit.
2591
01:42:19,716 --> 01:42:21,510
That was Rick, all the way.
2592
01:42:21,552 --> 01:42:23,762
In the beginning,
his attitude was,
2593
01:42:23,804 --> 01:42:25,264
"Oh, well that's kind of cute.
2594
01:42:25,305 --> 01:42:26,598
It doesn't matter. It's TV.
It's comedy."
2595
01:42:26,640 --> 01:42:28,350
But then it got to be
a whole thing.
2596
01:42:28,392 --> 01:42:30,811
He might have imagined
that he was being mocked.
2597
01:42:30,853 --> 01:42:33,564
And yet, at the same time,
he was so interested
2598
01:42:33,605 --> 01:42:37,151
in maintaining
his own forward momentum,
2599
01:42:37,192 --> 01:42:39,653
that he took advantage
of that mockery
2600
01:42:39,695 --> 01:42:41,363
and turned it into something
that would work for him.
2601
01:42:41,405 --> 01:42:43,031
Never mind who you thought
I was.
2602
01:42:43,073 --> 01:42:45,075
I'm Rick James, bitch.
2603
01:42:45,117 --> 01:42:46,535
[cheers and applause]
2604
01:42:46,577 --> 01:42:48,370
[Jason] He uses
the very catchphrase
2605
01:42:48,412 --> 01:42:50,164
that could have been used
against him
2606
01:42:50,205 --> 01:42:52,583
to help brand him
in a different way.
2607
01:42:52,624 --> 01:42:55,043
That was really the source of
Rick James' renewed popularity
2608
01:42:55,085 --> 01:42:56,545
in the early 2000s.
2609
01:42:56,587 --> 01:42:58,797
Love
2610
01:42:58,839 --> 01:43:01,675
[Teena] Whoo
2611
01:43:01,717 --> 01:43:04,136
[cheers and applause]
2612
01:43:04,178 --> 01:43:08,348
Them and leave them
2613
01:43:08,390 --> 01:43:10,142
Yes!
2614
01:43:10,184 --> 01:43:12,561
That's what I used to do
2615
01:43:12,603 --> 01:43:14,354
Sing the song
2616
01:43:14,396 --> 01:43:18,859
I used to use
and abuse them, baby
2617
01:43:18,901 --> 01:43:20,068
[Carmen]
That music awards thing
2618
01:43:20,110 --> 01:43:21,403
he was on--he was nothing.
2619
01:43:21,445 --> 01:43:24,239
The voice was gone.
Everything was gone.
2620
01:43:24,281 --> 01:43:25,908
He was nothing
but a shell there.
2621
01:43:25,949 --> 01:43:27,743
That hurt. That hurt.
2622
01:43:27,784 --> 01:43:29,912
[interviewer] But most people
saw that as a great,
2623
01:43:29,953 --> 01:43:31,038
big moment.
2624
01:43:31,079 --> 01:43:33,248
Yeah, well...
2625
01:43:33,290 --> 01:43:36,043
I saw it as, like,
the bitter end.
2626
01:43:36,084 --> 01:43:38,086
I knew something
was gonna happen.
2627
01:43:38,128 --> 01:43:42,216
bass chords
2628
01:43:42,257 --> 01:43:44,426
[Steven] I think that
by that time,
2629
01:43:44,468 --> 01:43:47,638
he was bored
with the whole thing.
2630
01:43:47,679 --> 01:43:51,600
It's kind of like anyone who
gets money or stuff or a woman.
2631
01:43:51,642 --> 01:43:53,977
You think it's going
to change things,
2632
01:43:54,019 --> 01:43:56,438
and the change begins within.
2633
01:43:56,480 --> 01:43:58,857
And I don't think Rick
really knew that.
2634
01:43:58,899 --> 01:44:03,654
He kept looking outward
for some salvation.
2635
01:44:03,695 --> 01:44:06,114
And he just never found it.
2636
01:44:06,156 --> 01:44:07,991
[David] The times I saw Rick,
after jail,
2637
01:44:08,033 --> 01:44:09,618
I left with a broken heart.
2638
01:44:09,660 --> 01:44:12,579
I felt as though I don't know
if he can live a lot longer.
2639
01:44:14,498 --> 01:44:16,583
[reporter] Grammy Award-winning
singer Rick James
2640
01:44:16,625 --> 01:44:19,920
found dead in his home.
Rick James was 56 years old.
2641
01:44:19,962 --> 01:44:21,296
[Levi] My father
called me first
2642
01:44:21,338 --> 01:44:22,798
and told me Rick was gone.
2643
01:44:22,839 --> 01:44:24,383
And man, we cried.
2644
01:44:24,424 --> 01:44:27,970
God damn,
we cried over that phone, man.
2645
01:44:28,011 --> 01:44:29,805
And it still fucks with me.
2646
01:44:29,846 --> 01:44:32,891
I was in Florida,
and I was coming off the plane.
2647
01:44:32,933 --> 01:44:35,269
I looked up on the news screen,
2648
01:44:35,310 --> 01:44:38,313
coming from the airport, CNN,
2649
01:44:38,355 --> 01:44:41,316
and it had "Rick James dead."
They was taking his body.
2650
01:44:41,358 --> 01:44:43,402
[reporter] He had nine drugs
in his system.
2651
01:44:43,443 --> 01:44:46,446
Nine.
Among them, Xanax,
2652
01:44:46,488 --> 01:44:49,783
Valium, Vicodin,
crystal meth, and cocaine.
2653
01:44:49,825 --> 01:44:52,035
[Tanya] I went right
the fuck there.
2654
01:44:52,077 --> 01:44:54,496
Like, immediately,
I was on it.
2655
01:44:54,538 --> 01:44:57,249
Security at the place
that he was at
2656
01:44:57,291 --> 01:45:00,210
were not letting us in.
So I hopped the gate.
2657
01:45:00,252 --> 01:45:03,297
I'm running, because the place
that he was at
2658
01:45:03,338 --> 01:45:06,174
was a little bit further in
from the security gate.
2659
01:45:06,216 --> 01:45:08,760
And security is, like,
"Stop! Stop!"
2660
01:45:08,802 --> 01:45:11,346
And I was like,
"If you want to talk to me,
2661
01:45:11,388 --> 01:45:13,473
you better start running,
because I'm not stopping."
2662
01:45:13,515 --> 01:45:17,769
I got there, and he was dead.
2663
01:45:17,811 --> 01:45:22,691
[Ty] I just remember
going in the room,
2664
01:45:22,733 --> 01:45:27,195
and he was still in the bed,
where he passed.
2665
01:45:27,237 --> 01:45:30,365
And I just wanted
to be next to him.
2666
01:45:30,407 --> 01:45:34,036
And I laid there
for about an hour,
2667
01:45:34,077 --> 01:45:35,537
just holding his hand,
2668
01:45:35,579 --> 01:45:39,499
before they came
to pick him up.
2669
01:45:39,541 --> 01:45:43,045
And everything was chaotic
2670
01:45:43,086 --> 01:45:45,380
outside of us, and I just said,
2671
01:45:45,422 --> 01:45:48,717
"Close the door.
I don't want anybody in here."
2672
01:45:48,759 --> 01:45:50,635
I don't think he tried
to OD, man.
2673
01:45:50,677 --> 01:45:52,763
He loved being alive.
We had things to do.
2674
01:45:52,804 --> 01:45:54,389
We were ready to go back
on the road.
2675
01:45:54,431 --> 01:45:56,350
That means we going back
in the studio.
2676
01:45:56,391 --> 01:45:57,851
Come over for some fresh shit.
2677
01:45:57,893 --> 01:46:00,604
Man, we--oh, we would have
killed them the next time out.
2678
01:46:00,645 --> 01:46:03,106
We never got there.
Almost.
2679
01:46:04,691 --> 01:46:06,360
[Stevie Wonder] I love you,
Rick, for the time
2680
01:46:06,401 --> 01:46:08,987
that you stood
with my brother Calvin,
2681
01:46:09,029 --> 01:46:11,156
and the fun that y'all had
and the fun we had,
2682
01:46:11,198 --> 01:46:13,283
and the songs that you heard
of mine, that you said,
2683
01:46:13,325 --> 01:46:14,826
"Nah, I don't think
that's good enough.
2684
01:46:14,868 --> 01:46:15,994
You gotta do
something else with that."
2685
01:46:16,036 --> 01:46:17,287
[laughter]
2686
01:46:17,329 --> 01:46:19,706
[Teena] I will forever
be linked
2687
01:46:19,748 --> 01:46:21,500
in the archives
2688
01:46:21,541 --> 01:46:26,004
of R&B history with this man.
2689
01:46:26,046 --> 01:46:28,507
[Tanya] I love that people
came out to honor him
2690
01:46:28,548 --> 01:46:30,258
at the day of his death.
2691
01:46:30,300 --> 01:46:33,261
My contention is, though, with
all these powerful friends,
2692
01:46:33,303 --> 01:46:36,014
compadres, and connections--
2693
01:46:36,056 --> 01:46:38,433
when he was needing help,
2694
01:46:38,475 --> 01:46:40,769
when he was having trouble,
2695
01:46:40,811 --> 01:46:42,354
where were these people?
2696
01:46:42,396 --> 01:46:44,564
[Carmen] Wasn't Mr. Perfect,
by far.
2697
01:46:44,606 --> 01:46:46,024
You know, he had
all the fallacies.
2698
01:46:46,066 --> 01:46:47,943
But he was a good guy,
2699
01:46:47,984 --> 01:46:50,028
and a very talented guy.
2700
01:46:50,070 --> 01:46:52,572
And I think that
if he would have been able
2701
01:46:52,614 --> 01:46:55,450
to shake that demon,
would still be strong today.
2702
01:46:55,492 --> 01:46:57,869
[JoJo] Even in the adversity,
2703
01:46:57,911 --> 01:46:59,121
I learned a lot from him,
2704
01:46:59,162 --> 01:47:01,206
and I'm grateful.
I'm still--I mean,
2705
01:47:01,248 --> 01:47:04,918
I'm older now.
We mature--excuse me.
2706
01:47:07,129 --> 01:47:10,173
I told JoJo,
"If Rick were here,
2707
01:47:10,215 --> 01:47:12,926
and he asked me tomorrow,
2708
01:47:12,968 --> 01:47:14,344
'Why don't you come back?
2709
01:47:14,386 --> 01:47:16,513
We're taking the band
back out,' I'd go."
2710
01:47:16,555 --> 01:47:19,433
thoughtful bass music
2711
01:47:19,474 --> 01:47:24,771
2712
01:47:29,109 --> 01:47:31,194
[indistinct chatter]
2713
01:47:31,236 --> 01:47:32,779
[Oscar] It took a lot of work,
2714
01:47:32,821 --> 01:47:34,614
because we were
all over the place.
2715
01:47:34,656 --> 01:47:36,825
I think because
we really realized
2716
01:47:36,867 --> 01:47:39,244
we're getting to the point
to where people
2717
01:47:39,286 --> 01:47:43,748
are asking for Rick's music
in a genuine sense again.
2718
01:47:43,790 --> 01:47:45,667
So we got together and said,
"Hey. Let's do it."
2719
01:47:45,709 --> 01:47:48,753
It feels great.
I love to play.
2720
01:47:48,795 --> 01:47:51,006
You know, that's
what we're are. We're players.
2721
01:47:51,047 --> 01:47:52,841
[host] So without further ado,
I need everybody
2722
01:47:52,883 --> 01:47:54,009
to stand to your feet,
2723
01:47:54,050 --> 01:47:56,136
so we can bring them out
the Buffalo way.
2724
01:47:56,178 --> 01:47:58,180
Make some noise for my boys,
2725
01:47:58,221 --> 01:48:03,268
the Stone City Band!
2726
01:48:03,310 --> 01:48:05,979
[band playing
upbeat funky music]
2727
01:48:06,021 --> 01:48:11,401
2728
01:48:21,620 --> 01:48:23,872
Buffalo, are you in the house?
2729
01:48:23,914 --> 01:48:26,875
Guess who's back up in here
this evening.
2730
01:48:26,917 --> 01:48:28,668
We got the original boys.
2731
01:48:28,710 --> 01:48:30,045
Stone City Band.
2732
01:48:30,086 --> 01:48:31,505
Whoo.
2733
01:48:40,347 --> 01:48:41,389
[singers vocalizing]
2734
01:48:41,431 --> 01:48:43,391
What y'all smoking?
2735
01:48:44,184 --> 01:48:46,061
Oh, yeah
2736
01:48:46,102 --> 01:48:48,688
I'm in love with Mary Jane
2737
01:48:48,730 --> 01:48:51,399
She's my main thing
2738
01:48:51,441 --> 01:48:54,069
She makes me feel alright
2739
01:48:54,110 --> 01:48:56,655
She makes my heart sing
2740
01:48:56,696 --> 01:48:59,074
And when I'm feeling low
2741
01:48:59,115 --> 01:49:02,035
She comes as no surprise
2742
01:49:02,077 --> 01:49:04,454
Turns me on with her love
2743
01:49:04,496 --> 01:49:09,668
Takes me to paradise
2744
01:49:11,169 --> 01:49:14,256
Do you love me Mary Jane?
2745
01:49:14,297 --> 01:49:16,716
[interviewer] Had you become
the Rick James character?
2746
01:49:16,758 --> 01:49:18,260
[Rick] Yeah.
I think that was the problem,
2747
01:49:18,301 --> 01:49:20,804
was I was trying to live out
the Rick James character.
2748
01:49:20,845 --> 01:49:22,514
And if you try to hang out with
Rick James, you're in trouble.
2749
01:49:22,556 --> 01:49:24,474
Mary Jane
2750
01:49:24,516 --> 01:49:27,852
Don't you play no games
2751
01:49:27,894 --> 01:49:29,187
Whoo
2752
01:49:29,229 --> 01:49:31,815
Mary Jane
2753
01:49:31,856 --> 01:49:34,859
I love her just the same
2754
01:49:34,901 --> 01:49:36,486
Mary Jane
2755
01:49:36,528 --> 01:49:40,156
dramatic hip hop music
2756
01:49:40,198 --> 01:49:42,367
[Taz] I was at a party.
2757
01:49:42,409 --> 01:49:45,870
I think I might
have been, like, 14.
2758
01:49:45,912 --> 01:49:49,624
And everybody was rapping.
And I started rapping.
2759
01:49:49,666 --> 01:49:54,421
And the whole crowd
of people spun around,
2760
01:49:54,462 --> 01:49:56,381
and all of a sudden
I was just, like,
2761
01:49:56,423 --> 01:49:58,049
in the middle of this crowd,
2762
01:49:58,091 --> 01:50:00,427
and they're all, like,
so mesmerized.
2763
01:50:00,468 --> 01:50:01,636
That was the first time I was,
like "Whoa.
2764
01:50:01,678 --> 01:50:03,471
Maybe I can do this shit."
2765
01:50:03,513 --> 01:50:05,056
'Cause I saw my dad do it
for so long.
2766
01:50:05,098 --> 01:50:07,475
No matter what you say
about how he lived,
2767
01:50:07,517 --> 01:50:09,728
you know, drug-wise,
sex-wise, whatever,
2768
01:50:09,769 --> 01:50:11,813
but he's a fucking legend.
2769
01:50:11,855 --> 01:50:14,149
If my dad was here today,
2770
01:50:14,190 --> 01:50:15,900
I'm sure he would,
you know what I'm saying,
2771
01:50:15,942 --> 01:50:18,862
have a million things to say:
"Do what feels right.
2772
01:50:18,903 --> 01:50:21,448
Don't correct yourself
for whoever you are.
2773
01:50:21,489 --> 01:50:23,199
Just do what feels
right to you.
2774
01:50:23,241 --> 01:50:24,826
Do what's natural."
2775
01:50:29,372 --> 01:50:32,042
upbeat funky music
2776
01:50:32,083 --> 01:50:37,505
2777
01:51:40,151 --> 01:51:42,404
What's your favorite
Rick James record?
2778
01:51:42,445 --> 01:51:44,030
"You and I."
2779
01:51:44,072 --> 01:51:46,574
[laughter]
2780
01:51:46,616 --> 01:51:48,201
Why "You and I"?
2781
01:51:48,243 --> 01:51:51,246
Why is "You and I" your
favorite Rick James record?
2782
01:51:51,287 --> 01:51:53,540
I just like the sound of it,
2783
01:51:53,581 --> 01:51:56,042
the melody, the rhythm.
2784
01:51:56,084 --> 01:51:57,627
-It makes me move.
-It makes you feel good?
2785
01:51:57,669 --> 01:52:00,422
-It makes me feel good.
-[laughter]
2786
01:52:00,463 --> 01:52:02,090
What's your favorite
Rick James record?
2787
01:52:02,132 --> 01:52:03,925
Oh, my favorite is
2788
01:52:03,967 --> 01:52:06,845
-Cold--mm-do-do--Blooded.
-Do it again.
2789
01:52:06,886 --> 01:52:08,722
-[Charisma] Do it again.
-[laughter]
2790
01:52:08,763 --> 01:52:10,515
-[Ty] Do-do-doo
-[Jasmine] Blooded
2791
01:52:10,557 --> 01:52:12,225
Oh, it's the best.
2792
01:52:12,267 --> 01:52:13,435
-[Ty] Oh, my God.
-[Jasmine] I love that song.
2793
01:52:13,476 --> 01:52:15,270
It just has--oh, my gosh.
2794
01:52:15,311 --> 01:52:19,857
The beat to it. Yeah.
351969
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