Rick James is hilarious! I'm starting to think that his disses are just part of his act. It's a way for him to get more press attention than he would otherwise get.

But I do agree with him that it was disrespectful of Hammer to use one of Rick's songs, get a big hit, and then never mention Rick as the creator of the song.

Alicia Keys had a hit with a Prince song, and she has been giving Prince his props. She even wore a Prince shirt on an awards show. Unlike Hammer, who never acknowledged Rick.

I love Rick. Always have since the first album. He does come off negative sometimes in interviews and he is so blinded with hate for Prince that it is embarrasing.

He is right about how lame Kid Rock and that rip off white boy metal rap shit is.

Rick James and Tom Arnold have that thing with their nasal passages..it sounds like they have the worst cold eva! due to their septum being damaged from doing so much cocaine in the past.

On one of Rick James concerts, in 1981 I believe, before Rick came on, the houselights were on after the opening act and stagehands were setting up for Rick. Prince comes into the venue piggyback style with Big Chick carrying him. The crowd went into a semi frenzy trying to get a peak at Prince and to get to him. Prince was put down and stayed for like 5 minutes and then Big Chick carried him away out of the venue and more frenzy. When Rick was told this, he stated backstage "Obviously Princess wanted to see a pro". It seems that he was upstaged at his own show.

Mistamaxx said Ricks protege band MaryJanes girls had their record out first--wrong...he may have had the idea first but Vanity was released in 1982 and Mary jane Girls was released in 1983.

Rick has nerve talking about Prince in panty hose etc...the back cover of Street Songs with the cops hand on Ricks ass is suspect imho.

Prince needs to be comended for living a basiclally clean life..one fo the big factors that was always written about him like myth was that he was very very drug free..and look how clear it s kept Prince..no big scandals etc. Sure he may have partook in substances but its obvious for the most part Prince never went whole hog into the rock lifestyle of everyday drinking and drugs...with his trippy music you think he was on somethig

Oh, I also love Rick James of the past as well...can u believe he was on Dinah Shore back in the day and he blew her a dating game style kiss and said "cause we love you" all cornball style?
[This message was edited Sun Jul 21 10:00:08 PDT 2002 by rdhull]

hey! ricks cool. yes he's full of shit but u gotta love him.

Vagina said:

no need for the Name-calling.but I still dig what Rick said about Kid-rock&chumps like that.I dare you to answer why Run DMC who were Important in the Rap-Metal vibe can't even get Front Row seats on MTV shows.also a Black man can never be Racist in a country that has had our labor for Free for 400 years Plus OT.anyway I think Rick James is badd but I also believe that in some ways Rick&Prince are cut from the same cloth.both wanted the same things ,etc...Rick BTW though they hadn't dropped a Album had the Girl concept for His thing back in 79 backing Him up in concert.Parlet though beat both MJG&V6 to the punch in coming out.Rick trips out alot like anybody He will tout His Own Horn but there is truth to be found in there as well.

mistermaxxx said:

THEc
FINALLY SOME1 RESPECTS RICK IN SPITE OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS HE DOES(SOUND LIKE PRINCE?).I THOUGHT I WAS ALONE.

abucah said:

OK, I'll admit it,I am Rick James.

BLACKMF said:

I AGREE.

And 2 answer that Q, YES he does and her name is MARIAH CAREY of course since she worked wit da ol' brotha man

"No wonder he's a fuckin' preacher. No wonder he went broke. I'm happy it's the biggest rap record ever sold and there's no vulgarity. You don't have to use vulgarity -- n-words and b-words -- to get your point across."

Rick, Rick...

What do you think of rap metal?
I think it sucks. Kid Rock sucks big dicks in the sky. He's a white boy who's under the hallucination that he's black. I don't know who he thinks he is. He thinks he's Robert Plant in drag. Not only is he ridiculous, but he's sampling and doing old rock songs, screaming and hollering with a little fucking hat on. The best thing about him is that he's got the best pussy in the world with Pamela Anderson. But he sucks dicks in the sky and you can tell him I said so. Fuck Kid Rock."

How does he know she has "the best pussy"? Whatever..he's an idiot..altho' I do find the "little hat" comment hysterical as hell.

He's good 4 a laugh, that Rick James.

"Kid Rock sucks big dicks in the sky. He sucks dicks in the sky and you can tell him I said so."

LMFAO. Only Rick knows what he means.

mistermaxxx said:

well...Run DMC is on tour with Kid Rock and Aerosmith...and Rick James is on tour with something called United We Funk and the Bar-Kays, playing 7,500 seat venues...draw your own conclusions...

I like Rick James' music but I think he is a Fucking nut! Kid Rock is Cool, Pam's cool. Prince is the Shit! Rick James I agree with the other guy above. Why are you talking about him sucking Big Dicks in the Sky? So messed up??? Rick what are you Smokin??? Give me a fuckin break. You're a Crazy Fool! Do us a favor stick to the Funk and Shut -Up! That's right put one of those big Cocks in your mouth and Gag! You Asshole! Hahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahhahahahah!

On the girl group thing, I heard that Rick James had been promising Vanity that he would do an album for her, but he was dragging his feet and putting it off.

At some point, Vanity dumped Rick James and went with Prince because Prince told her he would get an album together for her. Prince came through on his promise with the Vanity 6 album and got his girl group out there on the market before Rick could get his together.

I guess it's a case of "you snooze, you lose." Rick was late and Prince was on time.

twonabomber said:

Run DMC brought back Aerosmith&Aerosmith are getting Icon awards&getting major attention while Run Dmc is stuck working with cats from Third eyed Blind.United we Funk is doing quite well Rick,Bar-Kays,con Funk Shun,Gap Band,Dazz Band,among others has been rolling for almost 3 Years.I'd easily go see United we Funk as to seeing Boring Kid Rock.Aerosmith who have been on a Pop Pass since 88.Run Dmc's last album wasn't too Good&I wonder why Russell simmons won't give a Hand out to them&Bring them over to Def Jam??anyway with Rick always expect the Unexpected.He is a Card but Means well&Knows the game.in Neil Young's New Book He has nothing but Gllowing things to say about Rick&His talent.also upon Reading I found a few things that Him&Prince have in Common.Rick is exactly what we need in the PC era of nobody saying of how they truly feel on the Music scene.it's always cool IMHO to hear from a Cat that has been on Top&Knows what is truly going down&On.

Prince is Always on time. he's got the Perfect Stroke.

Rick James is one outspoken dude,that's for sure...lol..reading his interviews these days are fun,because you never know who he's gonna diss next:)

The Rick James/Prince feud began in the early 80s,after Prince opened for Rick on his 1980 'Fire It Up' tour.Many critics felt that Prince routinely stole the show.Rick soon began making negative comments about Prince in the press.He felt that Prince was stealing some of his ideas...


***Movie project---In 1982,Rick began planning an autobiographical movie called 'Spice Of Life'.The movie was never made,but in 1984 Prince released his own semi-autobiographical film 'Purple Rain',which became a huge success.

***Girl group---In the early 80s,Rick began speaking of a sexy girl group that he was gonna put together.The problem was,Prince beat him to the punch when Vanity 6 came out in the summer of '82.Rick's own group,The Mary Jane Girls,didn't come out until the spring of '83.

Btw,in 1986,Rick began feuding with his label (Motown) and there was a "tug-of-war" situation with the Mary Jane Girls.Rick's contract with Motown had come to a close,and because of the feuding,the third Mary Jane Girls album (tilted 'Conversation') remains in the vault,collecting dust.

Rick also was upset at Prince reportedly turning down his Mom for an autograph, this was like in the early 80's. Also there was a funk showdown between him and Prince here in Atlanta. The concert promoters even promoted it like that..."Rick James vs Prince funk/rock showdown live at the Omni. This was like in 1980. I wanted to go to this concert so bad, of course I couldn't go. But a couple of my older friends went and said that although Rick was good. LIL MAN set the place on fire. It was said that LIL MAN got biggest response from the fans. This is not good because, at the time, Rick was more well known than Prince. And Rick was the headliner of this concert.

Rick is still one of my favorite funk artists...the king of that PUNK FUNK THANG!!! You can hear his influence on groups like The Clash (listen to their hit "Rock The Casbah"...you'l pick up on Rick James "Throwin Down" the album reference immediately). STREET SONGS is one of the best albums ever made. A punk funk masterpiece and THROWIN DOWN was a worthy followup. I love his voice (especially love the way he uses it to strong effect on the ballads). However, he should let by gones be by gones.

More on the Rick James/Prince feud...


***In 1983,Rick James and the Mary Jane Girls performed at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. and Prince showed up! He had his bodyguard carry him to his seat during the Mary Jane Girls' set.The audience members saw Prince and went berserk,completely ignoring the Mary Jane Girls! When Rick found out about Prince's surprise appearance,he said "I have no problem with that.Princess obviously wanted to learn from a pro".

***Rick James' 1985 video for the song "Glow" looks suspiciously like the 'Purple Rain' movie.It shows Rick sitting in his dressing room before a performance,wearing a ruffled shirt and looking distressed a'la Prince's "The Kid" character.Sheila E. lashed out at Rick,saying "Those ruffles were OURS! And his videos look just like 'Purple Rain'!".

***Rick James criticized Vanity 6 in several 1983 interviews."They suck big oranges",he said. "They can't sing.My Mary Jane Girls are gonna blow them away!".But in 1984,when Vanity signed with Motown Records,she claims that Rick was "very helpful" to her as she recorded her solo album.

***When Rick signed with Warner Bros. in 1988,people were expecting a big showdown with Prince.It never happened.In fact,according to Rick,the two of them met up and sat down and ironed out their differences.Rick only did one album for Warners---1988's 'Wonderful'CD---and he scored a Number One R&B hit with "Loosey's Rap",featuring rapper Roxanne Shante.He actually recorded a second album for Warners in 1989---a mysterious project known as 'Kickin'---but it was never released.

DavidEye said:

Yes, I remember that Glow video...a shameful ripoff of Purple Rain. The very man he criticized, he turns around and shoot a video based on his movie. He obviously learned from a pro...LOL!!!

It was so funny seeing all the copycats after 'Purple Rain' came out.Remember The System's 1985 video "Pleasure Seekers"? The lead singer (Mic Murphy) is shown riding a motorcycle,with long hair and dark shades on!! LOL...

Rick has copied Prince long before 'Purple Rain' too.The first song on his 1983 album 'Cold Blooded' is titled "U Bring The Freak Out",and there is another song called "1,2,3 (U,Her and Me)".Wonder where he got the idea to use the "U" instead of "you"?

DavidEye said:

Well, it seems that both of these guys, Rick and Prince, were copyingeach other's ideas and concepts throughout the early 80s.

That's interesting that they supposedly had a meeting in the late 80s and ironed out their differences, but it seems like Rick still has a chip on his shoulder about Prince.

After reading what all went on, the concert showdowns, the taking of the movie idea, the taking of the girl group idea, and Vanity leaving Rick for Prince, Rick's bitterness does start to make sense. There have been plenty of other people who say that Prince is a sponge who soaks up other people's ideas.

I thought I read somewhere that Rick is working on a book. It will be interesting to see what Rick's going to say about Prince in his book.

wow...the article said: "After doing hard time for ASSAULT and kicking a drug habit..."

That's the nicest description of kidnapping and rape i've ever seen.

NikkiDarling said:

Every artist is a sponge.

Gee I want to express sympathy for Rick, but he sounds very upset and pissed off.

Bladerunner said:

AMEN BROTHER! Rick's "DreamMaker" Pre-Dated Prince's Slow Jams like "Do Me baby" by 3 Years.Not TO Mention the Vibe on "Jefferson Ball" from the "Bustin Out" Album pre-dated Prince's "3 Chains o Gold" Song Years.Everybody got something off the other.Show Me Somebody that is a 100% Original in that Business or hasn't bit hard off of People&I got some Property for you Outside Trump Towers?? Rick&Prince are really only different in Age but these Cats have alot more in Common than it's lead to be believed.

DavidEye said:

as Important as Any Artist is in there Commerical&Peak time the Record Companys also believe in Clones.then&Now.alot of Acts are forced into it as well.Bar-Kays were forced into doing a MJ,Prince,Rick,Cameo thing to hang in there.the Industry believes in "if It ain't broke don't try ot fix it.then 20 Years back MJ,Prince Clones nowadays 2Pac&Pearl Jam ones.

mistermaxxx said:

AMEN BROTHER! Rick's "DreamMaker" Pre-Dated Prince's Slow Jams like "Do Me baby" by 3 Years.Not TO Mention the Vibe on "Jefferson Ball" from the "Bustin Out" Album pre-dated Prince's "3 Chains o Gold" Song Years.Everybody got something off the other.Show Me Somebody that is a 100% Original in that Business or hasn't bit hard off of People&I got some Property for you Outside Trump Towers?? Rick&Prince are really only different in Age but these Cats have alot more in Common than it's lead to be believed.[/quote]

theC
this pisses me off,i been screamin about dreammaker and
got no props,ask supernova no1 supported me
i think prince got that style from him

I doubt Rick truly has any malice behind these statements. He's just playing the media game and giving us a few entertaining headlines as promotion for his current tour and 2CD best Of set.

Rick had a serious battle going on with P-Funk back in the day. He used to dog George and Bootsy something seriously. When the Mothership came in for a crash landing Rick took over the funk crown. Stealing the P-Funk concepts and sound like most acts at that time. Then Prince came along and snatched it from Rick and he couldn't handle it. Basically Rick was an imitator and Prince was more original with what he came with that's why his place in history has more credibility.

Rick's punk funk ruled the day for about nine months after. George Clinton's FUNK went to the bathroom with a bad case of the runs. So Rick towed the Mothership behind Motown Hollywood offices and busted out. "Cept he didn't see the little Purple mutha-funka hiding in Vanity's bush. Rick's shit got hi-jacked and he never made it back until he did time.