Now you have a comparison. lol.

"i mean Teena Marie alone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>all of Prince's female proteges and it ain't even close.

Mary Jane Girls>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Vanity 6 and Appolonia 6.

and the Stone city band from a playing perspective could easily match the time." -----------------------

Stone City were beasts. It always amazes me how much range they showed and I think this only added to his star power.





"i ain't even gonna mention process and the doo rags and Val Young."

Well you see that's where Rick lied. The Time were not in reaction to Stone City as that was Rick's backing band - the Revolution where Prince's. Prince got the jump on Rick with the Time considering Process and the Doo rage didn't show face until after the Time's 3rd album in 84.


"Prince didn't get his voice until "dirty mind" and his sound until "1999" and then he hit his orbit."

Let me reposition that a bit cause I agree - I would say he didn't get his voice until Dirty Mind but his sound right after with Controversy. That's the album where drum machines, electronic drums, and sythns became equally as important as the song itself. Prior to that he used no drum machines.

"however Rick James had it all and he also matched Prince on the Synth Based funk, Prince though ccan't see no Rick on the big Band funk tip, prince with horns and whatnot sounds overblown."

hahaha.. I don't know about that - Sign O the Times is a fine display of this very item. I don't think that's what it is, you see if you listen to Rick's records he often used the same lines over and over. Many of his songs have the the same horn lines, chord progressions, and guitar licks - just slightly reworked. He knew what got the crowd going, what made em dance, and he drained it until those records became huge. That is not to say he didn't have range cause he did... his performance on Dinah Shore proves this (even tho he lypsynched). Prince was more daring in that context if you listen to Parade, Sign O The Times - lifting horn lines from "ATrain", "Now Is The Time", "Round Midnight" and a few Jb licks. His horn lines often times reflected the complexities of Claire Fishcers backing tracks and that caused him to stretch, along with the fact his horn players had extensive jazz backgrounds, whereas Rick knew what made a hot dance single.


"Rick,a s Warren said and I was there, Rick at one time was bigger than MJ,prince and Lionel all put together on the Street tip."

I agree - I love his take on Prince when he says "he lives in a fantasy land, I'm street, I'm reality. I'm that dose of reality he doesn't want." Truth.

"Rick moved me more and he had his own Hybrid thing going and he also played with top flight musicians and yet kept his thing going.
Rick was Street and yet had sphistication in his musical arrangements and Productions."

Agreed - groundbreaking album.

"rick was more hip hop than alot of these corny jive turkey rappers and yet he was smooth to sing and be a playa for real."

Yep. Amen to that Maxx, you nailed it.

"rick was Macking, Thugging and Playing and yet had flavor with it and kept it moving."

Yep... lol. So true.

"Rick had Pimp the Simp, Ebony eyes, cold blooded all on the same album and it all worked. the underrated "Cold Blooded" album. He even had Billy deel Williams on that album, grand master flash on there. Rick did the guest star Hood style on his albums.

had Lawrence Hilton Jacobs and Janet Du Bois from Good times on background vocals on the "street songs" album."

WHATTTTT?!?!?!?!?!?. Just wow.

"Narada Michael Walden played drums on "make love to me". "

WHAT?! Incredible.

"Rick wasn't afraid of working with other big name acts and yet he maintained his thing."

Ya know, that's an exceptional point and feeds right into what I was saying about him as a bandleader. He had charisma. Even when you see the Dinah Shore quick interview you love the guy.

"I miss Rick."

Amen Maxx. Amen.