I was thinking about this earlier today.

Before Chappelle's show, what was Rick James known for? What had he done? Behind the music? Was he the "Superfreak" guy? Or the "Give It To Me Baby" guy? etc? Was he known mainly for his music or was his lifestyle THAT big of a deal?

I know Chappelle's show is funny and the "I'm Rick James..bitch" thing really took off into orbit. But, did it help Rick James legacy? Did it turn the kids onto his music at all? Or was it just....a joke? Perhaps it did nothing to help or hurt his career.

R.I.P. Rick James
[Edited 3/8/08 13:24pm]
[Edited 3/8/08 13:25pm]

I don't think Dave Chapelle hurt Rick James Career, he was an outstanding singer and performer. He understood and represented very wellthe Funk era.
It maybe pushed people to check his music out. A lot of the new generation think that Superfreak instrumental belongs to MCHammer
I see Chapelle's actions as an hommage to him.
He did one on Prince too (which is hilarious by the way), Prince does not hold any grudge against him, they went to see a few basket ball games together

I remember reading an interview w/ Teena Marie in S2smagazine and she talked about how much she disliked that skit and thought it somewhat damaged Rick's legacy and I agree with her to a certain extent. I mean sure, that skit made the younger genration aware of who he was, but most of them don't know anything about Rick's career or how talented he was. They only know of him as a punchline on Dave Chappelle's show. Kinda sad I think because he was so much more than that.
[Edited 3/8/08 13:44pm]
[Edited 3/8/08 13:45pm]

That Chappelle skit was performed in 2004, Rick James passed away in 2005, his music career hasn't been relevant since the late 80's.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Hasn't been relevent? Well, don't tell Marry J that. I think his music will stand the test of time. He single handedly created his own genre of music, "Punk Funk". I don't think many artist can say that. As for whether or not that skit helped or hurt his career...I would say that it helped in the sense that it made him a household name especially with a new generation. It also showed that he had a sense of humor and did not mind make fun of himself.

Hard to tell. He died so soon after (far too soon) and while I don't think that labels should "jump" on the death of one of their stars, it seemed like the label in charge of his last album really dropped the ball with shifting release dates. Motown should probably make sure that at least all of his studio albums are in print, not to exploiate his death but for fans old and new. They should NOT RELEASE ANOTHER HITS SET (they probably did though...probably would have done so if he was alive).

I think it would have helped him if he was alive. After all, he was a part of the bit.

VinnyM27 said:

yup..

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Nope. Both happened in 2004. I think it was early 2004 when the Chapelle skit debuted and probably by summer or so was a sensation. You have to consider it's Comedy Central which is notorious for repeats so it's not like everyone caught it the first time (or maybe it did....I do remember seeing Rick James when it first happened but had to catch the Prince episode which was underrated in comparison after).

Rick died in August 2004. I remember that Chapelle (who had yet to go off the deep end with his success) did a short appearance on the unhosted MTV awards of that year and made a brief mention of it. They probably would have both been there had Rick been alive. It might not have revived his career but who knows. Couldn't hurt. The label might have gotten their shit together and realized Rick James might be able to sell some records to kids or at the very least capture his possible audience (of people like us that post on Prince boards). His days of selling millions (half millions....I don't know what Rick's numbers were) probably would not have come back but he could have had a decent seller and like stated below, he would have gotten love from those inspired by him. He could have done well touring...satellite radio (who would not like to listen to an uncensored Rick James show even if he is just spinning records!) or some other gigs. Who knows.
[Edited 3/8/08 16:08pm]

funkpill said:

It's funny that people forget that. He was being interview and laughing alone with these memories (or what he remembered of them). Yes, Rick was a notorious party animal but he did make great music. Again, I think if he had an uncensored radio show, he could have done a great thing by combing his humor and personality with his music. I was a big fan of the skit (like the Prince skit before it) but also love Rick's music. You got to realize who he is. Hopefully he could have benefited from it in a good way (in other words....not becoming a reality star but someone who managed to entertain his fans in some way). It's sad and tragic for some many reasons. The least might be the promise of his future, but that is one thing.

I obivouly put a lot of thought into this. Gotta take a break from the Janet threads sometime!
[Edited 3/8/08 16:09pm]

I doubt it since he WAS part of the skit. It revived it for some because they almost had no idea who he was until Dave Chappelle did the skit.

Don't forget at the BET Awards when he told the woman backstage:

Never mind who you thought I was.....I'm Rick James Bitch!!!

That was a true BET moment

Rick was an established artist. The Chappelle bit was good for a chuckle. But that's kind of like asking whether SNL's jokes about Elizabeth Taylor hurt her career.

Not in the slightest.

ThreadBare said:

Thank you!! Folks who only know Rick for that skit need they ass whooped anyway... if anything it hurt Dave. It got way too popular & brought him way too much attention. Had things been a little more low key for him he might still have a show

Vanilli said:

Gee, how 'bout.. FUCKING GREAT RECORDS.

/thread