Rick James - The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Superfreak

The Confessions of Rick James

Memoirs of a Super Freak

The Confessions of Rick James

Memoirs of a Super Freak

By

Rick James

Colossus Books

A Division of Amber Communications Group, Inc.

Phoenix

New York Los Angeles

The Confessions of Rick James

Memoirs of a Super Freak

By Rick James

Published by:

Colossus Books

A Division of Amber Communications Group, Inc.

1334 East Chandler Boulevard,

Suite 5-D67 Phoenix, Z 85048

amberbk@aol.com

WWW.AMBERBOOKS.COM

Pittershawn Palmer, Copy Editor

The Printed Page, Inte rior Design & Layout

TR & YR, Photo Concept

Tony Rose, Publisher/Editorial Director

Yvonne Rose, Associate Publisher/Senior Editor

Yvonne Rose, Cover Design

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieved system without written permission from the authors, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

The publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

AMBER BOOKS are available at special discounts for bulk purchases, sales promotions, fund raising or educational purposes.

Copyright 2010 by Amber Communications Group, Inc.

ISBN#: 978-0-9790976-3-8/0-9790976-3-0

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007920322

Yvonne Rose 2007 Front & Back Cover Design

This book is dedicated to my beloved mother,

Mable Betty Gladden and to all the musicians in the world.

God bless and keep you, to my family, my friends,

my fans and my foes, God bless you.

I praise God. If not for his grace and mercy
I would not have made it this far.

To all the Super Freaks, Super Geeks, and Super Tweaks, keep on tryin, and to the Brothers and the Sisters who say they just cant stop, stop your lyin...

All the names and events in this book are true.

It is about 7:30 Friday evening, October 22, 1993, in my six by eight cell in the Los Angeles County Jail. There are no windows here, just dismal grey iron and concrete, and I dont know if the day was filled with rain or sun. The reason or reasons for my incarceration are of no importance at this time. What is important is that by writing my lifes story I might help change or make a difference in someone elses life. Then my purpose on this planet would have been fulfilled.

Rick James

Introduction

There is no modern myth more potent or seductive. The dream of rock stardom, of unlimited adulation and unbridled excess, exerts a fascination that has sold countless books, sparked scores of movie and television productions and fueled endless speculation: is the scene backstage, in the back of the limo and back at the hotel suite really as wild, as shocking and as scandalous as the whispered rumors suggest?

The answer to hear Rick James tell it, can be simply summed up You aint heard nothin yet. While the superstars customized version of the old saying might be sex and drugs and funk & soul, the fact remains that no rock icon, no overnight sensation, no rags to riches tale or saga of sin and redemption can come close to the incredible life, lived to the hilt of James Ambrose Johnson, Jr.

Simply put, in the super freaky world of Rick James the sex is steamier, the drugs more potent, the consumption more conspicuous and the music more explosive than any of a dozen other celebrities, dead or alive.

To fans of sassy and savvy urban music, the name Rick James will forever be associated with the mainstream emergence of Funkthat bottom heavy blend of rock and soul that sparked a multi-racial musical revolution in the 80s and continues to be a prime component in everything from rap to raves, punk to progressive rock. In direct line of decent from James Brown and Motown, Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix, Rick James almost single handedly pioneered a Funk fusion that reached across racial boundaries and united a massive international audience in a get down celebration that resonates to this day.

Its a claim backed up by his extraordinary track record a dozen Top Ten hits; ten albums with Motown, advances of more than one million dollars per album; twenty five Top Forty singles; six gold platinum and multi-platinum albums; a musical family that included such major hit acts as The Mary Jane Girls, The Stone City Band, Teena Marie and others, all masterminded by this diversely talented and multi-faceted artist. Rick James live act set new standards for showmanship and spectacle and his prodigious creativity in the studio puts him among a handful of popular musics true innovators. Everyone from Michael Jackson to Prince to any of a dozen of todays gangsta rap poets owes an artistic debt to this true original. You And I, Mary Jane, Bustin Out, Give it To Me Baby, Super Freak, Cold Blooded, 17, Ebony Eyes, the catalog of Rick James hits reads like a highlighted history of popular music over the past two decades. Small wonder that among the numerous trophies that adorned his mantle was the music industrys prestigious Grammy Award.

But Rick James reputation revolves around much more than his incredible recorded output. At a time when pops biggest stars were known as much for over the top lifestyles as top of the chart hits, Rick James went further and faster, with more flash and panache than virtually anyone else in the checkered history of the music scene. A legendary sexual athlete, a brazen drug user, a celebrity constantly at the center of conflict and controversy, Rick James lived the rock roll lifestyle with a vengeance. And paid the price.

For the millions who know Rick James through his music, there still are more who only know his name from the lurid headlines generated by his 1993 criminal trialsheadlines that screamed charges of assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated mayhem, kidnapping, drug possession and even torture. As with every other aspect of his outrageous saga, when Ricks karma finally caught up with him, it was under the relentless glare of public scrutiny. With his personal demons on display for the whole world to see, Ricks fall from grace was as steep and dizzying as his climb to the top.

A stiff prison sentence followed his felony convictions and Rick James seemed to have crashed and burned once and for all. The horrific details of his crack cocaine addiction, his insatiable appetite for kinky sex and his penchant for making powerful music business enemiesfrom MTV to Motown Recordswere all magnified under the pitiless media microscope and, his proven talents notwithstanding, his career had careened uncontrollably into oblivion.