ReddBlitz said:

RJ was and will forever remain one of music's ultimate truths. It's a shame as to how still he doesn't get the proper recognition deserved. He definitely was Motown's savior during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It's funny as to how he'd always take subliminal jabs at Prince, but personally, they did respect each other's artistry. I did read or even heard somewhere that James originally was offered a deal to do a biopic life story, but he'd turn it down. Glow overall imo was one of his best works. They'll never be another!

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Well said. He is greatly missed. I love how he would tell a story. He even said he used to get into physical fights with Charlie Murphy, but they loved each other. I think he loved to make fun of Prince, but he didn't hate the man. It all comes from a place of love.

Rick admitted in his first book that he was jealous of Prince's success, when I read it I was shocked Rick admitted it

Rick might have been jealous of Prince. But Rick owned his Master recordings.

[Edited 3/21/18 12:10pm]

00000 said:

OKAY CHECK THE BEGINING IN THE DRESSING ROOM THE WAY RICK IS ACTING AND TALKING MINUS THE BOTTLE OF JACK IN HIS HAND HE'S TRYING TO MIMICK PRINCE'S ATTITUDE AND SOUND AND BODY LANGUAGE WHILE HE WS PLAYIN THE KID IN PURPLE RAIN HE'S TRYIN TO ACT LIKE PRINCE IN PURPLE RAIN THAT AUTOMATICALLY MADE ME THINK OF WHEN THE KID AND BILLY HAD ALL THOSE CONVERSATIONS ESPECIALLY THE BAR SCENE PRINCE DID AND ON TOP OF THAT THE SHIRT AND ON TOP OF THE THE WAY HIM AND HIS GIRLFRIEND WAS TALKIN LOOKED LIKE A KID AND APPOLONIA MOMENT FOR A SEC COMEON SLICK RICK WAS THAT DOGGONE JEALOUS??????SHEEEEESH

[Edited 3/21/18 11:17am]

[Edited 9/12/18 12:44pm]

He's ripping off Prince in the video. The same goes for "Loosey's Rap".

It went both ways. They were ripping off each other a lot in the beginning. Then Prince became really big in '84 and his rivals were the likes of Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen from that year on. Rick looked a bit silly when he kept "borrowing" stuff from Prince.

MotownSubdivision said:

000000 said:

Rick might have been jealous of Prince. But Rick own's and controls his Master recordings.

Rick always owned his music?

I might be conflating publishing rights with masters. But I think i recall from an interview he claimed to own his masters.

https://www.hbcusports.com/forums/threads/rick-james-talented-musician-smart-businessman.30259/

[Edited 3/21/18 12:26pm]

cloveringold85 said:

I always get a kick out of this interview with Rick; he's talking about Charlie Murphy and Prince. He starts talking about Prince at 13:00. So funny!

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he's a prick

Rick has said some terrible things about Prince,but I think they both were disrespectful to each other at times.There is a 1981 incident where Rick's mother saw Prince backstage at some awards show and she asked for his autograph.Prince rudely refused and walked away I would be pissed at Prince,too if he disrepected my mother!

SoulAlive said:

Rick has said some terrible things about Prince,but I think they both were disrespectful to each other at times.There is a 1981 incident where Rick's mother saw Prince backstage at some awards show and she asked for his autograph.Prince rudely refused and walked away I would be pissed at Prince,too if he disrepected my mother!

Agreed. They both saw each other as major competition early on. After '84-'85, I don't think that Prince gave a damn anymore. But its too bad that they could never see eye to eye, they would've made some awesome music together.

I'm a major Rick James fan and happily acknowledge his amazing talent but he's not even on the same planet as Prince as a musician. In addition Rick was a major league scum bag, read his book and prepare to throw up. His palpable jealousy of Prince is both pathetic and disturbing, Rick was a very petty dude sometimes.

luvsexy4all said:

cloveringold85 said:

I always get a kick out of this interview with Rick; he's talking about Charlie Murphy and Prince. He starts talking about Prince at 13:00. So funny!

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he's a prick

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I don't think so. He was just having fun. Prince was a big jokester too!

mrpunkfunk said:

SoulAlive said:

Rick has said some terrible things about Prince,but I think they both were disrespectful to each other at times.There is a 1981 incident where Rick's mother saw Prince backstage at some awards show and she asked for his autograph.Prince rudely refused and walked away I would be pissed at Prince,too if he disrepected my mother!

Agreed. They both saw each other as major competition early on. After '84-'85, I don't think that Prince gave a damn anymore. But its too bad that they could never see eye to eye, they would've made some awesome music together.

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Prince was moody. Rick had a right to be pissed. Prince should have signed the autograph for Rick's Mom.

BalladofPeterParker said:

I'm a major Rick James fan and happily acknowledge his amazing talent but he's not even on the same planet as Prince as a musician. In addition Rick was a major league scum bag, read his book and prepare to throw up. His palpable jealousy of Prince is both pathetic and disturbing, Rick was a very petty dude sometimes.

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No doubt, but Rick was very talented, although not on the level of Prince, of course!

cloveringold85 said:

BalladofPeterParker said:

I'm a major Rick James fan and happily acknowledge his amazing talent but he's not even on the same planet as Prince as a musician. In addition Rick was a major league scum bag, read his book and prepare to throw up. His palpable jealousy of Prince is both pathetic and disturbing, Rick was a very petty dude sometimes.

.

No doubt, but Rick was very talented, although not on the level of Prince, of course!

Exactly. Rick was an AMAZING talent, he just let the drugs and his lifestyle tear him down. He can never measure up to Prince... but who could? So many people are quick to dump on Rick because he wasn't as good, but its not fare to view him through the 'Prince prism.' Just judge his work on its own merit.

cloveringold85 said:

mrpunkfunk said:

Agreed. They both saw each other as major competition early on. After '84-'85, I don't think that Prince gave a damn anymore. But its too bad that they could never see eye to eye, they would've made some awesome music together.

.

Prince was moody. Rick had a right to be pissed. Prince should have signed the autograph for Rick's Mom.

I'd bet that Prince regrets that, but Prince was a major egomaniac in his early years... and so was Rick .

mrpunkfunk said:

cloveringold85 said:

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No doubt, but Rick was very talented, although not on the level of Prince, of course!

Exactly. Rick was an AMAZING talent, he just let the drugs and his lifestyle tear him down. He can never measure up to Prince... but who could? So many people are quick to dump on Rick because he wasn't as good, but its not fare to view him through the 'Prince prism.' Just judge his work on its own merit.

As much as I love Rick,I would agree with all of this.One problem with Rick was,after the excellent Street Songs album,it appeared that he had trouble coming up with new ideas.Notice that many of his post-1981 singles ("Hard To Get"."Cold Blooded","17","Sweet And Sexy Thing","Loosey's Rap") all cover the same lyrical territory.Basically,he was singing about superfreaks.....over and over and over Don't get me wrong,I like most of these songs but it felt like Rick wasn't growing and evolving as an artist...or at least,not as much as Prince was during that period.

Loved me some Rick Jmaes. So underrated.

mrpunkfunk said:

cloveringold85 said:

.

No doubt, but Rick was very talented, although not on the level of Prince, of course!

Exactly. Rick was an AMAZING talent, he just let the drugs and his lifestyle tear him down. He can never measure up to Prince... but who could? So many people are quick to dump on Rick because he wasn't as good, but its not fare to view him through the 'Prince prism.' Just judge his work on its own merit.

.

SoulAlive said:

mrpunkfunk said:

Exactly. Rick was an AMAZING talent, he just let the drugs and his lifestyle tear him down. He can never measure up to Prince... but who could? So many people are quick to dump on Rick because he wasn't as good, but its not fare to view him through the 'Prince prism.' Just judge his work on its own merit.

As much as I love Rick,I would agree with all of this.One problem with Rick was,after the excellent Street Songs album,it appeared that he had trouble coming up with new ideas.Notice that many of his post-1981 singles ("Hard To Get"."Cold Blooded","17","Sweet And Sexy Thing","Loosey's Rap") all cover the same lyrical territory.Basically,he was singing about superfreaks.....over and over and over Don't get me wrong,I like most of these songs but it felt like Rick wasn't growing and evolving as an artist...or at least,not as much as Prince was during that period.

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Supposedly, Rick stole Prince's syntesizers and he wrote "Street Songs" from that, so that would make sense why many think that was his last great album.

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Teena Marie talking about Rick stealing Prince's synth......

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SoulAlive said:

MotownSubdivision said:

SoulAlive said:

As much as I love Rick,I would agree with all of this.One problem with Rick was,after the excellent Street Songs album,it appeared that he had trouble coming up with new ideas.Notice that many of his post-1981 singles ("Hard To Get"."Cold Blooded","17","Sweet And Sexy Thing","Loosey's Rap") all cover the same lyrical territory.Basically,he was singing about superfreaks.....over and over and over Don't get me wrong,I like most of these songs but it felt like Rick wasn't growing and evolving as an artist...or at least,not as much as Prince was during that period.

Yeah, Rick never did manage to top or match Street Songs; he would rewind the same themes over and over and never even bothered to veil it a little by different production methods. It's really a shame cuz I think he could've done better than Street Somgs.

Agreed. Rick could've been so much better than 'Street Songs'. I think his decline is as simple as 24/7 cocaine and alcohol. Its a shame too, I believe that a clean RJ could've seriously made some hits, if not as an artist then definitely as a producer.

MotownSubdivision said:

SoulAlive said:

As much as I love Rick,I would agree with all of this.One problem with Rick was,after the excellent Street Songs album,it appeared that he had trouble coming up with new ideas.Notice that many of his post-1981 singles ("Hard To Get"."Cold Blooded","17","Sweet And Sexy Thing","Loosey's Rap") all cover the same lyrical territory.Basically,he was singing about superfreaks.....over and over and over Don't get me wrong,I like most of these songs but it felt like Rick wasn't growing and evolving as an artist...or at least,not as much as Prince was during that period.

Yeah, Rick never did manage to top or match Street Songs; he would rewind the same themes over and over and never even bothered to veil it a little by different production methods. It's really a shame cuz I think he could've done better than Street Somgs.

The Glow album sounds very different from the earlier records. Not necessarily in the best possible way, but he tried something different with the album. It's glossy 80s pop with hard rock guitars.

Cold Blooded is quite different from Street Songs too, although I do feel that he was trying to make his own "Controversy" or "1999" type of record with it. I like it a lot myself, in any case.

[Edited 4/1/18 0:59am]

^^I agree,on Cold Blooded,Rick did change his sound a little.There were more synths,less horns......a colder electronic funk sound.I like that album alot.

'The Flag' album is also one where he tried to switch it up a little bit. Its an album I actually like a lot. 'Glow' could've been better though, it has some good tracks on it, but not solid overall. He was trying to find his footing in the new world order (post Thriller/Purple Rain).

[Edited 4/2/18 12:35pm]

I respect Rick but come on the video goes to show

Rick was always trying to reach Prince levels but never even came close

For every Rick corny song and video there was Prince taking it to a whole new level

novabrkr said:

MotownSubdivision said:

SoulAlive said: Yeah, Rick never did manage to top or match Street Songs; he would rewind the same themes over and over and never even bothered to veil it a little by different production methods. It's really a shame cuz I think he could've done better than Street Somgs.

The Glow album sounds very different from the earlier records. Not necessarily in the best possible way, but he tried something different with the album. It's glossy 80s pop with hard rock guitars.

Cold Blooded is quite different from Street Songs too, although I do feel that he was trying to make his own "Controversy" or "1999" type of record with it. I like it a lot myself, in any case.

[Edited 4/1/18 0:59am]

Abdul said:

Rick admitted in his first book that he was jealous of Prince's success, when I read it I was shocked Rick admitted it

so was prince. look how he acted on that tour

I was never able to get into this album.It suffers from synthesizer overkill most of the tracks all sound alike.

mrpunkfunk said:

'The Flag' album is also one where he tried to switch it up a little bit. Its an album I actually like a lot.