we're well aware of the fact. thank you for repeatin it.

blackguitaristz said:

Ditto....Another thing that must be noted is that Rick resented (and rightly so) how Prince, the light skinned, rock playing, crossover negro received major play on MTV while the more hardcore R&B cat Rick James was barred from the station. There was a huge outcry at one point in '82 in which black artists complained nationally that they were being descriminated by MTV. So along comes Prince, a guy that was just opening up for Rick just two years earlier, getting major airplay with Little Red Corvette as well as the non threatening MJ...That's why he disliked Prince...It wasn't simple jealousy.[Edited 5/25/05 18:48pm]

Gr8muta said:

Well, it all boils down to this, Rick basically felt like he didn't have to be a fan of shit if he didn't want to. Simply, due to the fact that he's been in the buisiness longer than Prince. Plus, Rick gave Prince's career a boast by letting him having an opening spot on tour when he was just starting out and struggling. Furthermore, Rick felt that Prince stole alot of his ideas and used them to his advantage and don't give him credit (which some of P's protogees say he is known to do alot) .
[Edited 5/25/05 21:27pm]

All I know is dat when I'm carryin' both Prince's & R.J.'s CDs in my ride, the funk-dameter so high, other driver's look aroun' like, "Damn! where dat smell comin' from?"

Ditto....Another thing that must be noted is that Rick resented (and rightly so) how Prince, the light skinned, rock playing, crossover negro received major play on MTV while the more hardcore R&B cat Rick James was barred from the station. There was a huge outcry at one point in '82 in which black artists complained nationally that they were being descriminated by MTV. So along comes Prince, a guy that was just opening up for Rick just two years earlier, getting major airplay with Little Red Corvette as well as the non threatening MJ...That's why he disliked Prince...It wasn't simple jealousy...But in recent years, Rick James has come to respect our boy P...He was even quoted as saying that Prince truely represented the FUNK....But by simply saying it's jealously is doing a disservice to Rick's legacy....
[Edited 5/25/05 18:48pm]

murph said:

YES! I remember this! MTV was the new thing,and I remember watching Rosanna I don't know how many times, just waiting for an black act get some airplay. Then first MJ who might as well been white and Prince who started out saying that he was only 1/2 black and yes did play rock and crossed over to white audiences.
I imagine that did piss RJ off.

blackguitaristz said:

carrynobanners said:

psykosoul said:

Besides just months before he died Rick gave in interview giving Prince props on being an old-schooler who was still keeping the funk alive. But alas, no one is gonna look past the surface to get the real truth.

blackguitaristz said:

Hotlegs said:

Well, it all boils down to this, Rick basically felt like he didn't have to be a fan of shit if he didn't want to. Simply, due to the fact that he's been in the buisiness longer than Prince. Plus, Rick gave Prince's career a boast by letting him having an opening spot on tour when he was just starting out and struggling. Furthermore, Rick felt that Prince stole alot of his ideas and used them to his advantage and don't give him credit (which some of P's protogees say he is known to do alot) .

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

murph said:

Ditto....Another thing that must be noted is that Rick resented (and rightly so) how Prince, the light skinned, rock playing, crossover negro received major play on MTV while the more hardcore R&B cat Rick James was barred from the station. There was a huge outcry at one point in '82 in which black artists complained nationally that they were being descriminated by MTV. So along comes Prince, a guy that was just opening up for Rick just two years earlier, getting major airplay with Little Red Corvette as well as the non threatening MJ...That's why he disliked Prince...It wasn't simple jealousy...But in recent years, Rick James has come to respect our boy P...He was even quoted as saying that Prince truely represented the FUNK....But by simply saying it's jealously is doing a disservice to Rick's legacy....

cranshaw62 said:

Prince knew that sex sells and he used that to capture people's imagination but he had the music and the work ethic to back it up.

Prince stole Vanity away which is well, top shelf p***y.(No disrespect to the ladies.)

Rick was really probably bitter about that especially since it was public. E, W and F and George Clinton were doing spin-off groups/outside production first. (Brides, Emotions, Pockets, etc.)

IMHO I think Prince got a lot of ideas from Earth Wind And Fire while they were both managed by Cavallo and Co.

The Senheiser mics, Fender Jazz Bass. Mesa Boogie amps, The Paisley Park label/studio. Maurice had all this going in 1979 with the ARC label and The Complex.(Feel free to correct the names. I don't feel like looking them up) You can see that in the Earh Wind And Fire In Concert 1982 HBO DVD.

Back to Rick. He didn't win.

Prince knew that sex sells and he used that to capture people's imagination but he had the music and the work ethic to back it up.

And every year like clockwork he "did the work." He may have had problems like everyone but he didn't disappear like Sly or go the Elvis route.

At he still looks great and is capable of giving the world good music.

Rick after knowing he had health problems went and did all that drug stuff and he lost his life. Rick didn't give himself the chance to come back and show people. "Despite what I've been though here is my talent and my music."

To the average person who doesn't know Rick's career three things will come to mind:

"He was in jail, wasn't he?"
"Can't touch this."
"I'm Rick James, Bitch!"

I'm sure he wanted a better legacy than that.
[Edited 5/25/05 23:46pm]

medina said:

Don't get me wrong Funk is Funk. But the truth is the light and it will set you free just like rhythm.

Hotlegs said:

DAYUM!!!

Legs you said something there!!!!

funkpill said:

Yo, I meant this as a compliment.I'm ol' school, & back in the day, the funkier, the better.

medina said:

Ok, I'm Glad That You Can Feel Me. Pill, We Have To Make More Room On The Org Mothership for this cat.


"I Want The Funk. The Whole Funk, Nuthin But The Funk."

Hotlegs said:

Thanx.I'll bring along a big ol' "Flashlight".

Don't know how many folks in Prince Music and More are really aware of Rick and P, because it goes far back. And it appears that many just started getting into P in the late 80's, at the very earliest. But for all of the o.g. P fans that were actually into P before "When Doves Cry", this fued was double sided. Sure, there is no doubt that Rick was jealous of P. Rick later admitted this. But, at the time when P was opening up for Rick, Rick was definately the bigger star. And even in 81 when P released Controversy, Rick was at the top with his huge hit album "Streetsongs". Rick's popularity put heat on Prince to get it up, so to speak. Overall, it was just competition more than anything. Rick had his world as P was building his own. Period. Sure, Rick was the first to openly talk about P in the press, but that was just fanning the flames. Rick knew P was on the rise, so,...They both admired and respected each other as artists, if not as people.

Prince stole Vanity away which is well, top shelf p***y.(No disrespect to the ladies.)

cranshaw62 said:

This part here is the part that I think just really adds insult to injury as far as Rick was concerned. Anyone that thinks someone as fine as Vanity didn't play a major factor in Rick's hate for Prince is probably using as much coke as Rick did. Its not like Rick would not have done the same, but Prince straight stole her away from Rick and used the whole idea of the Mary Jane girls to put Vanity in the spotlight. Let's not forget P & Vanity had the cover of Rolling Stone. I'm sure Rick wasn't feelin that.

So with Prince getting all kinds of recognition while Rick was getting shunned by a lot of folks within the industry, stealing Vanity, and Prince using a lot of Rick's ideas successfully, the hate was deeply rooted. Not that he wasn't justified in some way, but Rick never seemed to understand that his mouth got him into a lot of trouble. He was always calling folks out citing what he felt were major character flaws, but never really admitted any of his own. He destroyed himself.

The irony is...Vanity left Prince a year later,and signed to Motown (the label that Rick was on).When Vanity was on 'Soul Train' in 1984,she mentioned that Rick was helping her out,giving her alot of great advice.Rick probably thought "She came back to me",lol.

dealodelandron said:

The irony is...Vanity left Prince a year later,and signed to Motown (the label that Rick was on).When Vanity was on 'Soul Train' in 1984,she mentioned that Rick was helping her out,giving her alot of great advice.Rick probably thought "She came back to me",lol.