bellanoche said:

----
Co-Sign Anyone who read Rick's book will find this article interesting since Rick left out the fact that the keyboards were pre-programmed when he stole them.

Should put an end to who was really biting off of who

Prince was really doin a headjob on poor Rick. The light skin issue, plus the fact that Prince was naturally androgynous and rocking far more than Ricks or any other Brothas record company would allow. Add the fact that Rick was abusing drugs (therefor paranoid) and had an abusive, alpha male personility- he couldnt accept that this kid was kicking his ass and being supported by major entities like Warners and MTV. If Rick aspired to have a more Rock presentation and sound he shouldnt have leveled his frustration at Prince, it was another Black man, Berry Gordy (who had to be dragged from standard Motown pop in the late 60's) who kept him in that box.It's all evolution, what Rick despised in Prince was the same thing the P-Funk Clan did not like about him, they accused him on many of occasions of watering down the funk.Prince, like Micheal Jackson are special once in a lifetime artist and just as great athletes like Jordan lessened the impact and legacy of other greats (Ewing, Barkley, Malone) so did Prince and Mike.

fms said:

Yeah, I was a bit surprised that Rick copped to it at first as well. I'm digging that example. Good reference.

prime said:
What's up, Black? I haven't seen you around the org in a minute.[/quote]
What it is, prime?

laurarichardson said:

*bites tongue*

....


This was a good interview, made me pretty interested in her new CD, since the last one I bought, La Dona, was completely forgetable from what I remember to my ears, and I just gave up on her. But I'm willing to give Congo Square a chance, the renta-rapper thing still worries me a tad.


.
[Edited 8/3/09 2:43am]

bellanoche said:

Daisy Duke: Catherine Bach. I could see that Rick was affected by Purple Rain for different reasons. One, as I had mentioned on the other great thread on Rick and P and The Fire It Up tour thread was that Rick in 82, had spoke on him and his mob doing a motion picture. It was to be titled "Alice In Ghettoland" and it was to star Rick, The Stone City Band and Teena as Alice. For whatever reason, it didn't jump off and for him to then see P getting hellified success from the PR film....That had to have felt like somebody had thumped him upside his temple with some Bruce Lee nunchucks. The yellow ones too. Not the black ones. When I saw Rick out here on the Street Songs tour, his live show was very rock. It was always obvious to me that Rick considered himself as a funk rock artist. And he wanted that type of crossover appeal. And Rick had it during 81/82. He just didn't have it to the degree that P did during Purple Rain. Also like I stated on the Fire It Up tour thread, I was SHOCKED when Rick came out with his album Wonderful in 88. Why? Because on the album cover, Rick was sportin' Purple Rain regalia like a big dog. Rick had the coat, the ruffles, the big ass whoopty woo Appolonia hoop earing and the big ass whoopty woo PR hair curl ringlets, the whole 9. Rick was like "Fuck that little short midget motherfucker....Gawt dammit, give me those ruffles and that eyeliner...I'm gonna get me some of that Purple Rain money!" And to think as much head as Rick used to talk about Prince before that....
[Edited 8/3/09 2:57am]

OOH! Cool article. Thanks for posting.
Going to see Teena at the end of the month.

blackguitaristz said:

I didn't know that about the "Alice in Wonderland" idea. Somehow I couldn't see that reaching the PR level even if it had gone from idea to fruition. I don't remember the "Wonderful" cover, but man, he was trying to cop the PR look four years after the fact?

Thanks for posting this article.

1) Love "Lady T" and her new single with Faith is the bomb

2) Shoutout to Blackguitarist - you always provide behind the scences info

3) Little Rick James story:

In the 90s, there was show on BET that would talk about random topics ranging form politics to entertainment. It would have celebrity guests on. Well Rick James happen to be one of the guests. I forgot what the hosts were talking about but Rick James started talking about Prince "out of the blue". The hosts were looking at him like WTF. He wouldn't stop! The hosts immediately went to a commercial. I couldn't believe what I was watching. Did anybody else see this show? Sorry but I can't remember the name of it or the hosts. It didn't stay on that long.

[/quote]
I don't remember the "Wonderful" cover, but man, he was trying to cop the PR look four years after the fact?
[/quote]


Well I most certainly do. I was in Tower Records on GWU campus in DC. I was actually looking for a copy of Street Songs on vinyl when low and behold, I see the Wonderful lp. It was sad. I mean that I was immediately embarrassed for dude. My friend Chris just started chuckling at the sight. He said something to the affect that Prince had just ended that man's career. What made it such a tragedy for me was that this didn't come off as one upmanship. No no. This SCREAMED "I want to BE Prince". We both knew that Rick's career would never be the same and we were right.

blackguitaristz said:

i think the ruffled look was very evident in the glow video. i remember reading a article about sheila e in right on and the interviewer commented on how they put on the tv and glow came on, sheila got mad yelling "he's stealing our look!"

Interesting piece.
Thanks.
Also most of the comments here are worth reading.

Where could I get some of them Teena albums nowadays?

You computer geeks dont know a damn thing. Rick James's bass player and horn section wears ruffles in the "Hard To Get" video in 1982. Purple Rain came out in 1984, Since you Prince guitar-suckers are so smart go on youtube and do the research yourselves. Matter of fact, notice what the KING OF FUNK is wearing in that video. My oh my, is that the King Of Rock attire? You bet.If you look at all the videos from the Throwin Down album this guy is pratically making a mockery of Elvis. Yeah, Rick was a drug user and yeah, Prince ended up being more sucessful in the long run. But if you ask any "brotha" from this thing we call life "who is the funk-god" they will tell you Rick James. PurPle Rain is a stupid movie with amazing performances from Prince as well as Morris Day. There was a reason Rick didnt outshine Prince and that was simply because of Jim Crow programming at MTV. Lets rewind the clock back to 1982 and if MTV plays those videos from THrowin Down Rick James easily quaduples his catolog sales instantly. Pot-smoking niggers always get crucified when they do there own thing. Try invisioning that in you purple minds. Once it sinks in its a pretty awesome thing dont you think? Please, Im a Prince fan who knows his material backwards and forwards from his 1978-1984 work. The "minneapolis sound" is basically watered down Rick James punk-funk with the syntheziers replacing the "punk-funk" horns. Morris Day "zoot suit" in 1984 is Rick James "Coldblooded" attire with Day's own twist added. All his mannerisms in that movie look like Rick James on 1980 Soul Train. Wow, Im good. Youtube got all the proof. I know alot of Prince fans gonna hate me but for all the civil-minded people who need a good research project for the day. Youtube is one click away.Put the puzzle together and you get the greatest music consipiracy ever.Even if it was Rick's own fault. And to the guy who said Rick was just funk/rnb, youre smoking some of that crack Rick used to smoke because he was Mr. Funk-Rock. Good Evening Bitches

udo said:

Amazon. I think most of them are in print.

desinord said:

I don't know why I am even responding to this. However, firstly, I'm not a guy or a bitch. Secondly, I said that Rick was pigeonholed into Funk/R&B but really wanted to be viewed as a rocker. I stand by that. I am not smoking crack. I know that Rick was very versatile musically. However, I also know that the mainstream perception of him was as a Funk/R&B act despite his versatility. That fact gnawed at him no matter how much success he had in that genre.

Also, even without the Jim Crowism that compelled MTV to show Prince over Rick, I doubt that in the larger scheme of things that Rick James would have ever outshined Prince. Prince simply had/has more to offer as an artist, as time revealed if you look at the way their careers turned out.

Anyway, next time, try to check your emotion/irrationality and try to at least comprehend what people are saying before you start verbally attacking them without merit.

candy2277 said:

Was that the show that had the set-up similar to Politically Incorrect with the host and four guests sitting in chairs? A lady used to host it, then later I think Ed Gordon hosted it. I'm Googling it, but I cannot find anything about it. However, I think that might be the show you are talking about.

"Pot smoking niggers".....???? Second use of the "n" word in the last few weeks..What's the deal?



Who really cares who wore what first? I'm sure P and Rick both effected/stole (and to some extent) imitated each other whether they admitted it or not.

And I agree with Teena in that interview that the hate was mostly coming from Rick. Rick dissed P every chance he got throughout the 80's and 90's. And P probably really gave it no thought.

Not taking anything away from Rick, because he picked up the funk ball when Sly dropped it. But when Rick burned out in the late 80's, P kept the funk going until the early "new soul" 90's.

And like Teena said, it's sad the 2 of them never got together to work on some more tunes. I'm sure they would have put out something strong.

And to SlyStoneBio..I love your site.

..oh yeah...(as mentioned earlier)..according to "Pyro John" (Rick's light man) P and Rick DID work on 1 song together during that famous tour. Who knows who's vault it might be in?

benjaminira said:

bellanoche said:

prodigalfan said:

Did you read the article? I am still shaking my head about that part.

"Robbery could have also referred to Teena’s strained relationship with Motown Records. She had delivered three smash hits to Motown within a year – “Behind the Groove,” “I Need Your Lovin’” (#9 R&B), and “Square Biz” (#3 R&B). Both Irons in the Fire and It Must be Magic had hit the top ten of the R&B album charts and the top 40 of the pop album charts. By 1982, she had earned the first of her three Grammy nominations for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Female and her total sales were approaching a million. Yet, while Motown was earning millions of dollars from sales of Teena Marie’s records Teena was only earning a hundred dollars a week from the label. In May of 1982, she told Motown she would not record for the label any more and sued the label for the money she was due. Motown responded with a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and seeking to stop her from recording for another label. Officially, Teena’s contract with Motown was not due to expire until April 1983. Still, record executive Larkin Arnold signed her to Epic Records in November of 1982. Motown was able to win an injunction that stopped Teena from releasing a new album through Epic. Yet, Teena persevered and prevailed. Despite Motown’s delaying tactics, the court proceedings revealed that Teena was the victim of the record industry’s standard operating procedures. She was discouraged from reviewing her contract. She had no lawyer present when she signed the contract in 1976. Motown had not paid her like a star when they signed her nor had they compensated her with royalties appropriate for an artist who had achieved her level of success. Therefore, the court ruled, Motown could not cry foul when Teena breached the contract’s exclusivity clause to sign with Epic. Robbery was finally released in late 1983 and the case was ultimately settled in September of 1984."

http://vitarhythms.blogspot.com/

did any of you ever stop to think the reason why prince reach superstar status was because of rick.rick james gave prince an opening slot on his tour despite the fact there were better performer out there that would have been a better choice.prince responed to rick kindness to him by constanly going to his show and cause a scence and ruining the flow of the show.the one thing that pissed me off was when prince had his bodyguard carry him thru out the arena while the mary james girls were performing on stage.these girls did not deserve that type of treatment from him but i guess he cant help him self.LET ALSO GET ONE THING CLEAR RICK JAMES SOLD A LOT OF RECORDS WITHOUT THE HELP OF MTV AND A MOVIE.

dreamshaman32 said:

Sorry bro but Prince and MJ are not on the same level, not even on the same spaceship, MJ can't do a good album without Quincy Jones, even Thriller and Of the wall lack the core of funk.

jackson35 said:

FACTS:
Rick James gave Prince an opening slot because Prince was the critics darling, Rick need it some one with respect and street credit. Prince was considered the best performer at that time. Ask the Rolling Stones who took him first.

The mary james girls din't deserve that type of treatment from Prince? obviously you hate Prince, cause what Rick James did to those girls do not compare to a guy been carry by his bodyguard in a concert (like many people do).

Rick james beat, abuse and rape some of those girls, you should talk about that to.

Rick James did sold well without MTV, but with the help of radio.

Prince sold well without MTV and without radio, think about that.

desinord said:

But if you ask any "brotha" from this thing we call life "who is the funk-god" they will tell you Prince (unless your livin under a rock).

Purple Rain is a very good movie, with amazing photography, beautifull detail and unique editing with a great rock attitude, plus it's a very important piece of black cinema, a mainstream movie with no stars, a low budget and a fresh filmmaker that went to the top, plus it broke down so many walls, you din't see the black superstars havin sex or kissing on the screen (not eddie, not richard), films like 8 Mile and Hustle and Flow were inspired by it and modern filmmakers like Tarantino named one of the best Rock and Roll movies ever made.

Your good? yeah, You Tube rocks, right? How about wikipedia? LOL! your so rebel! so deep! I bet you have a blog, wow! how special, how unique.

By the way my 11 year old sister just uploaded a clip of Rick James, you should look it up to get your facts. She put some good info too.

desinord said:

Man,... you ain't hardly schooling anybody. Least of all me. I already stated long time ago on several other threads that P bit off of Rick. If you want to try to hang on to the ruffles, and what some band member in Rick's band wore, whatever. You can have that. Truth be told, BOTH Rick and P wouldn't have ever considered wearing ANYTHING with ruffles if it weren't for Hendrix so fuck all of the other shit. I NEVER stated that Rick or P owned the keys to wearing ruffles. Hell, when I was 15, as many on here know by now, I wore ruffles and a headband to the Purple Rain Premier in 84. In my mind, I was of course evoking Hendrix FIRST. BUT to everybody else who saw me there more than likely thought I was either copying Dez or Prince. But the credit for the flashy brutha in music all goes to Little Richard for without him, Jimi may not had felt as "free to wave his freak flag high" so to speak. And Jimi pretty much admitted to this as true. Richard himself stated that he "gave Jimi confidence and recompense of reward. My Lord."! Richard be rhyming his ass off. But as far as Rick's importance, THAT goes without saying. Rick was The Man in 81/82 and he did all of this WITHOUT racist ass MTV. Who initially was NOT going to even play Michael Jackson. So yeah man, many on here KNOW the history. BUT Rick DID bite off of P's look and vibe on the Wonderful album cover. But don't trip...Rick had no shame in his game. He certainly KNEW what the fuck he was doing. No one put a pistol up side Rick's skull making him do that shit. He WANTED to do it. He probably felt justified in that shit being that P had bit from him in 80-83.
As a kid, the first time I noticed P was "borrowing" from Rick was from Rick's album "Bustin' Out of L7" with the spray painted writting on the walls that P ended up using on Dirty Mind. Now P could have also taken that from the film The Warriors, which he also borrowed from in a few scenes for the film Purple Rain. Hell, Rick even could have gotten that from The Warriors. Like he got the animated artwork vibe for his Bustin Out of L7 album cover from KISS and the album "Destroyer". Even Rick's pose is identical to Gene Simmons pose on "Destroyer". When all of ya'll are bored, go get both albums and put them side to side and tell 'em that your boy bgz told ya so. Also with the two girls on each side of Rick on that album, that also echoes KISS's Love Gun album with the women at their feet. Ya'll know that Rick also had a song also titled "Love Gun". This wouldn't be the last time Rick paid homage to Gene and KISS. On Rick's "Throwin Down" album, he has Gene's bass guitar up there with him on the stairs. Just a little side info....It was no secret that Rick LOVED KISS for he has said in different interviews that he wanted his live shows with the fireworks and the smoke to look like a KISS concert. He said he wanted to bring that to the black kids and make it like the 4th of July.
[Edited 8/4/09 12:53pm]

L4OATheOriginal said:

It is evident in the Glow video and I remember Sheila stating that. I believe Sheila was like "Those are our ruffles!" That crossed my mind actually when I was posting yesterday. Rick had on the leopard printed trench styled coat.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Say whaaaaat???!! Damn desiord,...I sure hope that you're a brutha tossing that word around like that. Don't get me wrong, bruthas need to stop using it, including me. But damn,...Usually bruthas, when we say it, we drop the "er" at the end. Bruthas pronounce it "nigga" with an "a" at the end. No "er" and shit. That's a totally different connotation. Unless a brutha is imitating a non black saying it. It's a fucked up word regardless and I wouldn't want my kids using it but EVERYBODY on earth KNOWS that it is a rule that ONLY blacks can use it in the pressence of another black! Wrong or not, that's just a rule that we are the only ones to use it. But it has long since been used since the late 90's from non black kids copying bruthas using it as a term of endearment and shit. You'll hear a little white dude telling another white dude or an Asian dude "What's up my nigga?" Just imitating what they have heard bruthas say to each other. That's another reason why it should be banished. But let me stop before this shit gets locked. How much ya'll wanna bet that this very topic now gets started over in Politics and Religion?

this thread is....interesting