He was flat mates with Joni Mitchell and Neil Young at the same time?

He and Neil Young had a band together and was trying to get signed to Motown?

He was related to Melvin Franklin of the Temptations?

Standing on the Top is the only record with All 7 Temps?

He brought them back together?

He once had Stevie Wonder in the studio and Stevie was ... as Rick put it... "being Stevie and playing all over the record" and the engineer says "Man, you better stop him or it's gonna be a Stevie Wonder record featuring Rick James" so he leans into the mic and says

"Stevie, stop playing that bullshit. STFU and listen to my guide."

He then says he learned something - now matter how big a star you become you can stil become intimidated by greatness.

(Check Questo's post on working with Al Green for details)

When he won the American Music Awards R&B album of the year (I think it may have been 81) he accepted the award via satellite from his house with his dog "Ganja", pulls out a mini casio - turns on the drums of the casio - and sings his welcome and thank you while playing guitar).

He at some point was homeless in Canada, London, Buffalo, and LA.

Man... his original press photo he rocked his hair like Elvis complete with perm????

He was once booed at the Grammy's for leaning into the mic and saying to Stevie Wonder "Stevie you should see this". People were unware of their fondness for one another.

Often times P is credited with bringing synths to black music - but that simply isn't true - Bernie Worrell should get that credit and Sun Ra before him but... Rick was just as important.

people like to laugh @ his criminal escapades and his funny stories

but when it came to music, Rick was no joke

I can be critical of Rick as anyone, but I think he did well not to embarrass himself -musically- throughout his career. THROWIN DOWN is one of the best Rick James albums out there.

one song was important for the early 80's in "Super Freak" and then fast forward almost a decade later and "U can't touch" this becomes one of the most important songs ever in hip hop. now that is genius and rare 1)

was going to work with diana ross and then flips the script and works with Teena Marie, teaches her things in the studio and the rest is history 2)

has a huge hit with Eddie Murphy and don't act like "party all the time" still don't get some folks hyped? 3)

in the Most sampled and Looped category Ever and He won a Lifetime Ascap award back in 04 because his work has been sampled and looped so much 4)

Bro Man brought SMokey RObinson back with "Ebony Eyes" and that song was gospel. Bro Man had Grace Slick singing the hook on "69 times" 5)

Rick with Street songs went triple platinum with no MTV and just radio play,word of mouth and his live show. 6)

his stuff with Roy Ayers were always on point. Rick tried many diffeent musical styles. 7)

Rick was the last Funkateer who made his Band swing and yet when he switched to Synth Based funk he didn't lose a thing. 8)

even though the Mary Jane girls only made a couple of albums, "In my House" and a few other hits still hold up really strongly. he got the best out of acts he produced and wrote for. 9)

Berry Gordy gave rick a million up front because he knew Rick could always bring the cuts and Rick did for a very long time. 10)

a whole lot of acts bit Rick's thing and he called them out on it. he ain't never gotten his full due for the Punk funk and also for his musical stew. Bro Man sang like Eddie Levert and had a SLy Stone vibe and yet had a street thing going on in between with polish. incredible combination. 11)

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

Bro Man brought SMokey RObinson back with "Ebony Eyes" and that song was gospel.

---- Yeah he really did and if you think about it he did that for most of the Motown legends. Hitting them off with comeback success. Ironically the video for Ebony Eyes is still solid. Rick was also one of the few successful black artists to feature real black women in his video. I STILL can’t get over how fine that woman was in “Give It To Me Baby”.

Bro Man had Grace Slick singing the hook on "69 times" 5)

----- Man you did it to me with this. I had no idea. Cot dayum.

Rick with Street songs went triple platinum with no MTV and just radio play,word of mouth and his live show. 6)

----- Yep. Started with a Dj in Atlanta and as Rick put it in his 88 interview with the BBC - it was moving slowly and he got worried. After this cat exposed this record it started selling hundreds of thousands per week.

his stuff with Roy Ayers were always on point. Rick tried many diffeent musical styles. 7)

--- Amen.

Rick was the last Funkateer who made his Band swing and yet when he switched to Synth Based funk he didn't lose a thing. 8)

---- This is true. This is amazingly true when you consider Party All the Time or Cold Blooded.

even though the Mary Jane girls only made a couple of albums, "In my House" and a few other hits still hold up really strongly. he got the best out of acts he produced and wrote for. 9)

---- and this is something that most folks are just not considering. His music, despite having markings of the 70’s and 80’s (dependent upon which album) aged remarkably well.

Berry Gordy gave rick a million up front because he knew Rick could always bring the cuts and Rick did for a very long time. 10)

a whole lot of acts bit Rick's thing and he called them out on it. he ain't never gotten his full due for the Punk funk and also for his musical stew. Bro Man sang like Eddie Levert and had a SLy Stone vibe and yet had a street thing going on in between with polish. incredible combination. 11)

---- Yeah he did. Let’s not forget the fact that he also promoted natural hair, beautiful darkskinned women, and sang songs about ‘Brown skin’ at the height of the Debarge “lightskinned” complex thang era. Most ppl don’t realize that by 81 Rick James WAS Motown and arguably gave it a facelift. He also takes credit for Buffalo Springfield and the success of Joni by default. Once the band he and Neil had broke up – it ended up being a blessing in disguise. He went on to record his first album with the Stone City band (in a barn mind you), declared it a rock album, and Neil went to Cali to start Buffalo. Joni went to Napa valley to … well become Joni Mitchell.

I had NO idea he did an album with Roy Ayers. I gotta check that out asap!

>his stuff with Roy Ayers were always on point. Rick tried many
>diffeent musical styles. 7)
>

http://i54.tinypic.com/2j51hj4.jpg

Respect for that one.

Taking shots in the dark/that's a bad call
Going straight for your head/ gotta saw it off

@MAX.....you are 100% correct. Rick was great. You pretty much hit it on the head.

"Highly developed spirits often encounter resistance from mediocre minds."-Albert Einstein

http://twitter.com/#!/TonyHanesPoetry

there are diehard funkateers who seem to say no that it stopped with Parliament and the Ohio Players. I could never understand that personally and I seem to think its cause of a change in sound from Horns to dominant synths. Plus the new wave vibe - like Roger, Rick, Prince.

They claim they watered it down so that the crossover effect was achieved - I dunno, maybe its a time period thing?

I wonder how they feel about Atomic Dog tho?

Or Erotic City?

That begs the question - where do bands like Slave, The Dazz band (who toured with Pfunk), Midnight Star & Cameo fall in the equation?

Cameo maybe runs that borderline of R&B and funk, but when they grooved you can't tell me it wasnt as hot as the Ohio Players.

>That begs the question - where do bands like Slave, The Dazz
>band (who toured with Pfunk), Midnight Star & Cameo fall in
>the equation?
>
>Cameo maybe runs that borderline of R&B and funk, but when
>they grooved you can't tell me it wasnt as hot as the Ohio
>Players.
>


Slave had built up their own sound with the trademarks of Steve Arrington's voice and the late Mark Leslie Adams' monsterbass thrown in the mix. And they had a legacy of groups and solo-artists evolving from them such as Steve Arrington's Hall Of Fame, Legion, Steve Washington who also started the groups Aurra, Civil Attack and he produced for George Clinton later. Those jam-patrol elements of Mark Adam's bass and Steve Arrington's voice (continued by guitarist Danny Webster) kept being essential in their sound while the vibe as a whole became somewhat more electronic. Vocally, i guess that Steve Arrington might've influenced Keith Sweat.

The Dazz Band's history goes back to earlier formations of Bell Telefunk and Kinsman Dazz. I think founder/saxophonist Bobby Harris wanted to create a sort of mix of danceable jazz (dazz). They occasionally included instrumental jams on their albums (Beyond The Horizon, T.Mata). Their horn-included work went more electronic from their Joystick album and onwards + receiving a Grammy and charting well with "Let It All Blow" a year later.

Midnight Star had some hard funk jams with horns on earlier tracks such as "Tuff" and "Hot Spot" (featuring Bootsy), and continued with electro-funk work like "Freak-A-Zoid", "Electricity" and "Operator". The sound of the mellow groove "Wet My Whistle" was continued with "Midas Touch" which had wider chart success. Brothers Reggie and Vincent Calloway wrote and produced for various artists including Solar-mates The Deele, and both appeared years later as horn-section on Bootsy's released live recording "Keepin Dah Funk Alive 4-1995".

Cameo actually broke through with the disco-flavoured track "Find My Way" which also appears on the soundtrack of "Thank God It's Friday". The track "Funk Funk" from their first album was a nod to P-Funk, but other than that, they slowly builded their own sound. Until 1981 it was the big-band and horn-driven sound which changed to a new wave-ish electronic vibe, and Larry Blackmon adopted of course Sugarfoot's yowl-growl (as did The Bar-Kays' Larry Dodson and Con Funk Shun's Michael Cooper). Horns were occasionally recorded on their albums after 1981 (Soul Army, Talking Out The Side Of Your Neck, Love You Anyway, I've Got Your Image, Word Up, Candy, You Make Me Work, Emotional Violence, Front Street, Slyde, etc).

The overall sound in funk became more electronic because of the instruments which companies designed, fabricated and provided for the music industry, and because the synth-sound became a popular fashion.


Cats i can think of who resemble the punk-funk sound:


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdu18o_80s-boogie-funky-sekou-bunch-can-t_music

^ Sekou's jam has all the ingredients: horns, synths, voice ^



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rCkYwb_c18

^ Donnie Sterling's voice comes close to Rick's. The instrumentation here is less in the punk funk style though ^



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTteWTIil0c

^ Same thing as with the Donnie Sterling example ^



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jweoJ2HMF6Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc8EdFNqq-I

I always felt that QQ's "Disco Nights" approaced that sound of Slick Rick ^

this is what I"m talking about!

thank you bro

>this is what I"m talking about!
>
>thank you bro


Anytime man

Keep on keepin on

I actually made a sloppy mistake. "Rigor Mortis" was Cameo's breakthrough hit,
aired for the first time back then by radio jock Frankie Crocker. Larry explains it in the video below, around 2:09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqD9Hnmmmm8

for years?....

Prince used to come to that mofo shows on the back of his bodyguard, Chic, and instantly steal all the attention from him.

Rick alwasy maintained that Prince bit several of his ideas, including the all girl group. Rick had the "Mary Jane Girls" of course and Prince had "Vanity 6" and later "Appolonia 6."

but Rick was a bad boy no doubt...

grassrootsphilosopher

The Great White Cane album is a must have for people who are interesting seenig what Rick James was really about. I've always said that if you listen to that album....and then check out Prince's early work...Rick James during the very earliest parts of his career was more musically advanced than Prince was in his early career particularly from a songwriting and production perspective.

Rick does not get the credit he's due.

I'll post more later.

see I never took it that way - I just felt Rick always had pure direction. P on the other hand didnt truly find his direction until Dirty Mind - his third album. In terms of proficiency - no way around it P had him beat. But Rick was a travelled man - P was not so direction, connection to scenes, understanding trends was probably more of his feature. I mean Neil Young? Lol. SMH. Amazing.

kind of correcting the myth that some young folks may believe in that Prince in every way and on every level surpassed Rick James. I mean there is no question Prince achieved a level of success that Rick was not able to ...but old foggies like me can remember a time when Rick James was THE Black male R&B/Funk superstar...a time when he was actually bigger than Prince AND Michael Jackson..... Rick opened a lot of doors..even though he was not allowed to enter those doors (mtv).... He was a torch bearer in a lot of ways....

Great White Cane shows a lot of talent....and yes vision and direction..... The other thing too.... Rick James first official A-side / B-side release was You and I and Mary Jane....now...I mean you'd have to do a lot of searching to find an artist who came out the box that strong with their first release....

Rick knew what he wanted and knew how to put it on record...and was a huge success at that..

Not to front on Prince...you know I'm a huge fan...but if we were to compare timelines and what each one could do, and was accomplishing at similar points on their timelines...Rick James was a mad muthafukka.....lol. No question....

and I'm pretty sure that if Prince were really really candid.... He would say that him coming into a game where Rick James was doing his thing pushed Prince to go even further ....he was a great competative motivation for Prince...

"Great White Cane shows a lot of talent....and yes vision and direction..... The other thing too.... Rick James first official A-side / B-side release was You and I and Mary Jane....now...I mean you'd have to do a lot of searching to find an artist who came out the box that strong with their first release...."

I had no idea that was the first single. Good lawd.

haha... wow. It was odd too cause Rick was on Dinah Shore, he was Letterman, SNL, the Tonight Show - he did some really huge things in the name of funk - yet stated he wasn't a funk artist (cause as he put it his albums showed you flashes of rock, funk, R&b, soul, disco, and even folk). My only issue with Rick was that he really took the images of funk (Bootsy in particular), it's sound, timing, and magnified it and made it palatable if not radio friendly. My uncles hate Rick - they consider themselves funketeers in the truest sense and have all stated Rick was the beginning of the end with Funk - he sold it out to the white masses. I have always said that Pfunk took cue from Rick with One Nation and Flashlight cause he was in the truest since a funkrock/punkfunk star. I also understand that using Punk Funk was more of a marketing ploy. When he defines it to Dinah Shore it made zero sense. Lol. But it didn't matter. You are dead on the money.

I think Rick was as a mulitinstrumentalist - marginal at best. His truest strength wasn't instrumentation - it was being a fantastic song writer (single friendly songs in particular) and... a band leader. He had a great way of pulling out the best in Stone City. Prince didn't find his direction until living in New York with his half sister and hanging out at the height of the Glam Rock, new wave funk movement.

I remember a story of the New York Dolls saying they were almost positive that Prince would come see them night after night cause of his height and his fro at the time. lol.

Wanna know something wierd? Joni Mitchell told that same story. About a kid with an Afro always sitting in the front row of all her shows.

walked the line between the 2 as well as anyone could have done it... I'd say he did both as bout as well or better than any other person... Super funk and Black soul R&B meeting together in a close to perfect fit..

Rick really wasn't denying the funk as much as he wanted to distinguish himself as doing funk and then some.... coining Punk Funk..that type of thing...

As I've said many times on here...those Balanced albums of that era really show you the true talent of artists and groups..and Rick had that on lock.... Street Songs is looked at as his pennacle, but to me Throwin down showed that he had perfected the formula...

to get the respect Street Songs got. Street songs was also a pretty short album so it's impact was stronger. I agree totally.

I think what's crazy is how Rick might have been the first to fuse all these elements (like you pointed out) long before most Black Stars were considering crossing over or tapping into the mainstream. Even when they did it was normally through re-working a cover - something that was an already proven hit. Rick carved his own lane in that regard. The interesting part about Rick is he was able to achieve this while never losing his sensibilities and funk roots.

Massive achievement. Even James couldn't do this with Living in America being his biggest single ever and James going his entire career without every having a number one song.

Also the worst song out of his entire catalogue. A mockery of what he'd created and a soundtrack song. SMH.

to handle both worlds.... when we say crossover today..or in the 90's it meant a certain thing but in the 70's and 80's you could cross over doing pretty much straight R&B ...there was enough going on in R&B to make moves wherever....Stevie Wonder...Earth Wind and Fire ..artists like that were making huge R&B records that were perfect for radio formats back then that played whatever the hip music at the time was happening.....whether it be pop/rock/R&B or even disco....

Rick coming out of that era ..the climate was right for him to hit big, and he had the talent to do it.

I'll compare him to Sly Stone in that he was a super funky artist who also made an in-road to another sub-genre without really compromising the funkiness.... Sly I think stands alone as far as making Funky music and making pop music....a super innovator in both....Prince came on later to do it but Sly had it mastered first... Rick did a similar thing with Funk and R&B.... he had powerful R&B vocals..I mean he was basiclly Eddie Levert on his vocals..making funk that could reach towards Pfunk, and R&B that was as cold as the Ojays and the like...

and I don't think many people realized this.

That back then you could cross over doing R&B - take Aretha, the Tempts and Marvin as examples. It didn't have to be about crossing your sound over... that's a pretty powerful punch you have there sir cause that's a huge illuminating fact.

That and comparing him to Sly - I get that all day. Hmm.. wow.

Thanks for that - see that's why having you cats around is so needed.

Learn em man.

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.

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


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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

I miss Rick.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

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.

for "sign o the times". I thought and still think Around the world in a day and parade were back to back pure corn and corny aside from a few tracks.

listen to Rick james's "garden of Love" album, Rick flowery as well, it was the album right before "street songs" and it had a few jams. however it wasn't happening IMO.

Prince always nicked and picked things and that worked for him,however i never felt the big band thing in his music, that cold robotic Synth funk is where Prince best thrived IMO.

to me Dirty Mind,Controversy and 1999 are his prince's trinity if you will and yet you saw creative growth in all 3 of them,however iMO 1999 is where his legend was truly born and fully established.

rick knew what worked and yet he did embrace trying other things.

he had full arrangements. go back and listen to "Jefferson Ball" or "fool on the street" from the "Bustin out" album.

Mr Policeman reggae.


rick had a musical stew going on that is often overlooked IMO.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

yeah his relationship with Stevie and Bob had a huge influence on his sound. Not to mention other greats like Mtume, Miles. Rick was the musicians musician both on stage and off.

I hear you about Prince - I think what makes your statement even more interesting is his electro funk was purely of his concoction. As in total control from start to finish and I think Prince somehow really shined in this area.

Although I don't discount Purple Rain at all. Around the World In A Day was really nothing short of an outtakes album and even he stated he felt Parade was rushed. However Sign O the Times and Lovesexy (now, not then) are both really fantastic works. I think the problem with Around the World In A Day and Parade was that he was being pushed by Wendy to include more influence in his sound. I doubt that she realized this - considering her brother played on the album as well. This is also Prince's fault as he would construct basic beats or ideas and leave them to do the rest. Perhaps his need for pop success fueled this, not sure but that process changed alot for the better and for the worse.

What makes Prince so special is his best work never saw light of day.

The Dream Factory album - best P&the Revolution album.
The Purple Rain Outtakes - long version of Computer Blue, Let's Go Crazy (which did see light both in the film and on 12inch), the bsides during that era, Electric Intercourse, Possesed... I mean Prince was on point.
The Original Crystal Ball album
The Black Album.

The Black album did see light, but pulling it and replacing it with Lovesexy to me was never a good move. That album could have restored the trinity affect coming right after SOTT.

I agree - Rick had range. Way more range than he was given credit for and it's largely due to the fact that he the person was such a larger than life figure.

about wendy and Lisa. yeah they were charming and added there own thing here and there, however he was responsible for his own thing and the bottom line he got seduced into a sound and style and it got old in a hurry.

he stopped writing out songs and he tried to be something he wasn't.

i ain't never cared for no Around the world in a day or parade. IMO the best songs he gave away. that is why the revolution had to go. that sound was cold and it worked, but then it felt frost bitten. problem with Prince he wanted to go back and get the R&B Soulman respect and til this day he still is trying to show how down he is and its been average at best.

Prince was a smart Hybrid artist and that is his Greatness, but he has been set on trying to play directly into R&B and its not been anywhere close to what he had between 80-87 IMO.

or b sides for those two projects.

make an EP or album out of

a Love Bizarre,

the dance eletric

shes always in my hair

pop life

the screams of Passion

Kiss

the Original Old friends 4 sales


and that is cool right there.

those 7 tracks and its a good look IMO.



Sign o the times i respect,though there are some things i do skip on it.

Lovesexy i like parts of it and then other parts are over produced and the songs ain't got much but alot of over layering.

Prince IMO was always his best when he stripped things down.

that to me is what made him stand out, less is best but also he got alot out of it.

Black Album is vastly overrated IMO and imo he made a joke album there.

when you are in your prime and peak you should never have to say this is my Black album unless you are faking the funk??

Rick James kept it moving and then he just ran out of steam and didn't have any new energy to guide him for a while and it happens to alot of cats.

but when Rick was at his best, he could hang with anybody and alot of folks took notes.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

> "...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..."




Process and The Doo Rags their image might approach The Time, but their sound (especially their debut single) was inspired by doo-wop groups, hence their group name lol. That debut single, "Stomp And Shout" starts with them chanting "...Shoop-shoop-shoop-shoop...", and they're doing the trademark street singing at the beginning of their video:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/80653431/

Sort of Temptations-inspired doo-wop with a touch of punk funk. "Standing On The Top" would make a solid back-to-back mix with "Stomp And Shout". My fave rotation by them is "Searching For Love":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6fRp-hWEBM

but you see the Time's dress code was from the Doo Wop era.

Baggy pants
conks
long chains
doo rags
stacey adams
big caddys

the difference of course was the sound.

Process and the Doo rags were his response... but... smh lol

no question bout that

http://www.soul-patrol.net/greatwhitecane1.ram

Rick James is easily one of the most "underrated" stars from the late 70s/early 80's era....Underrated songwriter, bassist, arranger, and talent broker (the spin off acts, his outside production)...


Rick was carrying funk and straight ahead R&B during much of his prime...He is the bridge to Prince....Speaking of the Purple Dude...He got his ass handed to him night in and night out while opening for Rick...And to me P should thank Rick in his prayers...because clearly he gave him the kick in the ass he needed to become GREAT...

Rick is an Unsung Superstar, if that makes sense...The last music outlaw who lived like a rock star but wasn't afraid to stand up to the segregated music industry...

The crazy part is you have ever had the honor to hang out with Rick, you find out that he really was a larger than life dude....No bullshit with Rick. Straight-no-chaser...Dude tricked me into buying dinner for his 3 man crew...And I wasn't even mad at him...lol

He was a charming cad...A dude that had demons but was born to make music...He should be in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame (I'll debate this with anyone...)

That's how great he was...in and out the studio....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are in the HOF and Rick isn't?

See what I'm saying?

Why we keep supporting their ish is beyond me. Their ish meaning their system and their accolades. It's so defeating.

>The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are in the HOF and Rick isn't?
>
>See what I'm saying?
>
>Why we keep supporting their ish is beyond me. Their ish
>meaning their system and their accolades. It's so defeating.


In all fairness to the Peppers, those dudes stayed relevant for more than 20 years...So it's their longevity that has aided them...

My issue with the Hall is they have placed people like Tom Waits in, who I respect immensely for his songwriting...But outside of the music industry, the public cannot hum many of his tunes...

If Jackson Browne got in (had a limited hit making run), Rick should get in...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

a novelty band at best. George gave them the direction but c'mon.

Rick had a long tenure of releases, hits, and producing.

Add his legacy with other musicians and it totally trumps them.

They are celebrated as a funk band when in reality they raped funk, marginalized it and resold it to the MTV generation under the disguise of original music. See Mac Miller for details.

Rick Rubin and George Clinton were the best parts of that equation.

SMH.

>a novelty band at best. George gave them the direction but
>c'mon.
>
>Rick had a long tenure of releases, hits, and producing.
>
>Add his legacy with other musicians and it totally trumps
>them.
>
>They are celebrated as a funk band when in reality they raped
>funk.
>
>SMH.


To me culture vultures are people who take someone else's sound, groove and swag and pass it off as their own or gets praised like they re-invented the wheel...The Peppers never did that...

In fact, not only did they work with many of their funk heroes and cover many of their funk favorites and played with many of those musicians, they have given countless testimonies about their heroes...

But here's what I really dig about the Peppers: They didn't stay in that rock-funk box...They started giving nods to everyone from the Beach Boys to Zappa...Hell, "Under The Bridge" is a mix up of rock, reggae and folk...

Add the fact that in their prime they were a MONEY live act, and you get the Hall pass...

Again, it's the likes of Jackson Browne you should be looking at with a sideeye when Rick was on the outside looking in...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

and yeah live they gave it up.

I was being a bit hard on them and in truth - if George and Rick Rubin (aka the greatest producer of maybe our last two generations) saw the need in the RHCP, then maybe I should rethink my position.

See, this is why I love OKP.

*Daps*

and they still ain't as good as fishbone. but they had the hits.

they have talent and are good, however hall of fame worthy? naw not even close Rick James should easily be in.

War should have been in way before RHCP. however there is a segement of these record comapny brass that is feeling sfer with a white lead band who has some funk in them getting in than a all Black Band doing the same thing and it is racial though the Peppers aren't bandits. IMO. however quiet as its kept and it ain't quiet Anothony Kedis is your next Steven tyler and what i mean is watch dude be hosting some music show or getting a push at something, because i can just see it in the stars.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

and they are a funny business Man. Rick James should have been in there long ago, but Politics and hating turkeys who still hold things over certain acts ain't going to let it happen, though that industry has made hundreds of millions of dollars off of Rick James beleive that.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

like The Flag and Wonderful and those two albums are really overlooked in my opinion. Rick James was very much his own person and stayed bringing something interesting to the table and game. I really like those two albums though.

Sure Blondie tapped into the hiphop/rapper inclusion in a non-rap single, but I think Rick nailed it. To me to even pull Roxanne Shante was just... genius. Both albums have serious flashes of greatness. It's odd cause Glow would have been a MUCH bigger single if he had stayed away from the obvious Purple Rain story line - P was a monster at that point.

The whole packaging of the Flag with the Red, Black and Green just showed you how connected to the streets Rick was.

He also dropped alot of 5 percent intellect (as well as PFunk and George) with lines about L7 and staying out of the square. The man was the SHIT.

>It's odd cause Glow would have
>been a MUCH bigger single if he had stayed away from the
>obvious Purple Rain story line - P was a monster at that
>point.

It was more pop-influenced than anything else he had released, but compared to the rather "cold" sounds of "Cold Blooded", Rick taking it back live was really a daring move for 1985 IMO.

"Moonchild" is one of Rick's best songs that doesn't really get mentioned outside of his truest and bluest fans.

that video totally did two things for me -

it proved that Rick was a fantastic actor.

That and his scene in the film Life proves this. he stole that part, he stole that scene. How he plays into the camera in the Give It To Me Baby video - incredible. He IS the video, just seeing him do anything is entertaining and his comfort on film is just sheer star power. To me the fact that Hollywood didn't reach out to him to further his card just shows you how racist they are.

However that video was too much of a PR rip off but I LOVED the fact that outside of Superfreak (hmmm.. now that I think about it) he ALWAYS featured beautiful black women. Clearly beautiful women of color. Man I'm missing Rick more and more as I read this post. lol.

he was told to release " the Greatest hits album in 84, but "Can't stop" the single was used in Beverly Hills cop.

the sound and vibe were all cut from the same time.

i dig the "Glow" video because that was some get back after all of the years Prince had been jacking his thing. prince ain't never told the truth.

Rick was in love when Glow dropped i use to live in Virginia and there was a chick he was seeing and he wrote about it on the song 'Somebody the girls's got" which was my cut from "Glow, love that groove and vibe.

RIck had a tight album with Glow,however he was trying to be accessible and I mean after all he did have a pretty big year already in 85 with party all time being huge for Eddie Murphy and the mary jane girls with "In my house" and there album doing big business.

85 was also to have been the launch of "Mary Jane Records" but him and the motown brass fell out and that is why the third Mary Jane girls project never saw the light of day.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

Wow. I honestly think tho that Prince jocking Rick is a bit overstated. I think the only thing P got from Rj was his live show. How to really work the crowd and interact. His need for newwave funk almost directly relates to his time in Ny - as noted on the song Sister. Party Up we know is a Morris song so I think it's a bit of an overstatment, especially when you consider the fact that Controversy his next album - was completely different from DM.

I think the issue Rick had with P was being upstaged on tour - Rick had NEVER had that happen. Then add the fact that P was not the friendliest cat during that period and Rick was down to party.

Rick was a druggie, P wasn't (at that point). Rick was wild, Prince was very sterile in his personal life.

I think P represented the future and Rick, a man's man didn't like what he saw.

Add Prince stealing Vanity from Rick and boom. Explosion.

Rick's statement about the Mary jane girls? Truth. I think Prince learned the more work you have floatling, the more bread you have coming in. Rick produced many - P would too - but that logic wasn't exclusive to Rick.

Now the inclusion of new wave funk - debateable.
P's first album had flashes of funk but pretty stereotypical 70's funk - Average White Band, Sly etc.

>Wow. I honestly think tho that Prince jocking Rick is a bit
>overstated. I think the only thing P got from Rj was his live
>show. How to really work the crowd and interact. His need
>for newwave funk almost directly relates to his time in Ny -
>as noted on the song Sister. Party Up we know is a Morris
>song so I think it's a bit of an overstatment, especially when
>you consider the fact that Controversy his next album - was
>completely different from DM.




Yes...you get it...Rick's true influence on P was his stage show...Before Rick, P's stage show was more like a rock show...His movement was a combination of Jagger and Iggy Pop...Rick made P look at his stage show and make it BETTER...More animated, more fluid and more interactive and BLACKER to an extent...

Musically though? Prince was on his own genre-mixing, sound creating shit...


>I think the issue Rick had with P was being upstaged on tour -
>Rick had NEVER had that happen. Then add the fact that P was
>not the friendliest cat during that period and Rick was down
>to party.
>
>Rick was a druggie, P wasn't (at that point). Rick was wild,
>Prince was very sterile in his personal life.
>
>I think P represented the future and Rick, a man's man didn't
>like what he saw.


Very true...



>Add Prince stealing Vanity from Rick and boom. Explosion.

Yep...

>
>Rick's statement about the Mary jane girls? Truth. I think
>Prince learned the more work you have floatling, the more
>bread you have coming in. Rick produced many - P would too -
>but that logic wasn't exclusive to Rick.
>
>Now the inclusion of new wave funk - debateable.
>P's first album had flashes of funk but pretty stereotypical
>70's funk - Average White Band, Sly etc.

Which is why Rick def. deserved more credit for his contributions...Dude held it down for a nice minute, carrying a genre on his back before Prince started to "get it" in the early '80s...

In short, Rick in his prime was as big as advertised...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

all that existed in the 70's, into the 80's, into Prince.

That's a excellent observation.

I mean some would say the same of Steveland Wunderkind but I think the difference is in that Rick represented being a true rock star to Stevie's matyr/almost angelic/slash political presence. Making Rick a much more exciting figure to watch at any point in his life. Rick was just... open.

I also find it odd how much Rick notes Hollywood in his lyrics - almost a strange tie of art imitating life or vice versa.

I do think it's a travesty that Rick's use of genre bending songwriting has yet to be discovered and celebrated. The song he did on Dinah Shore (the second number) started off like Zepp's Ocean Song. lol. Just incredible!

To me Rick was the king of the Sunset Strip before the heavy metal heads...But he could back it up with the music...

That was the greatness of dude...He was a wildman who had the songs...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

Rick James & Richard Pryor?

I got high just typing it. lol.

>Rick James & Richard Pryor?
>
>I got high just typing it. lol.


Dude...it was crazier than anything you could imagine...lol...Rick told me stories FOR DAYS on how it used to be....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

I imagine between

Rick James, Eddie Murphy, and Richard Pryor - man... the stories. Whew.

Paul Mooney's auto kinda went into these, but I'm saying... haha.

did he ever share anything on P?

>I imagine between
>
>Rick James, Eddie Murphy, and Richard Pryor - man... the
>stories. Whew.
>
>Paul Mooney's auto kinda went into these, but I'm saying...
>haha.
>
>did he ever share anything on P?


I'll share one...

One time Rick was at a very upscale LA restaurant with some celebrity friends...As I was told Eddie was with him....So Rick has this white chick with him...bad ass broad...And they are all seated at different tables in the far end of the room. And Rick decides to have sex with the chick right then and there...He places two tables together, get's his 3 bodyguards to block everyone's view and fucks ol girl right then and there...

Needless to say Eddie and the crew are SHOCKED...Of course, the whole crew are thrown out of the restaurant...But one of Rick's handlers comes back to the guy running the place and gives him a shit load of money to stay quiet about it...This was during Rick's "Super Freak" period when he was getting a $1 million advance ( not including money made for sales and his outside projects) per album...Rick was CAKED up...

Anyway Eddie just does the Eddie laugh and says, "U r a crazy motherfucker...you are going to get me in trouble"....lol

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

I am dying over here! Yeah man... mf-ing ROCKSTAR! hahaha...

Thank you thank you thank for sharing. Jesus - unreal. It's like his life was a movie in person. That makes Jim Morrison look like Mr. Rogers in comparison. lol.

Slick appeared as "Spanky Johnson" in "Life" with Murphy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123964/fullcredits#cast

in that scene and would have been a terrific actor.

>in that scene and would have been a terrific actor.

Oh, i missed to see that part you posted. I guess i skimmed too fast over the topic and thought that it wasn't mentioned yet lol. Tried to find and post here a scene with Rick from that movie, which was once on youtube.

>Musically though? Prince was on his own genre-mixing, sound creating shit...

Gary Numan's work was an inspiration for his direction towards the new wave sound. During an interview Prince once explained that he still was analyzing and figuring out how Gary recorded some tracks.

Prince's debut album sounded like a Broke MJ, Broke EWF, broke Steive,broke Bee Gee, broke Sylvers, etc.. he was a cat with talent, but no direction and a dime a dozen act.

it wasn't until "dirty Mind" that Prince found his voice, because he wasn't that kind of artist that he would ultimately become. Prince was very Green until "dirty Mind" and then he got polished with controversy and then found his Groove with 1999.

however he checked out Rick's sound and stylings and Rick had already talked about his own "uptown" on the song "jefferson ball" jefferson avenue in buffalo wa the place to hang.

listen to "cop and blow" and don't act like prince wasn't listening?

listen to "dream maker" and tell me prince wasn't listening.

the truth is it was a older brother little brother thang going on.

prince was younger and played the game, but tell me when Prince started calling himself a "Slave" and dissing the industry if he didn't sound like you Know who Rick James?


act like Prince didn't hear "garden of Love" which was out before "Around the world in a day?

Vanity was industry Property and FYI after she left the purple camp in 83 guess which label she went to and signed with? Motown.

so it ain't like she left Rick and went with Prince forever and ever and FYI Rick got over her, but Prince never did because all his female proteges practically all looked like her in some form or fashion another "L" for Prince.


Rick made Prince step up his studio game as did Michael Jackson.

but in different ways. Rick made Prince step up the funk

Michael made Prince step up his versatility on record. act like "purple rain" wasn't Prince's attempt at a "thriller"??

Prince took a while before he got his sound and voice together. that turkey took about 5 years before he got the Perm right and the dance steps right.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

>Prince's debut album sounded like a Broke MJ, Broke EWF,
>broke Steive,broke Bee Gee, broke Sylvers, etc.. he was a cat
>with talent, but no direction and a dime a dozen act.
>it wasn't until "dirty Mind" that Prince found his voice,
>because he wasn't that kind of artist that he would ultimately
>become.

Why do you bring up stuff as if you are making an illuminating statement, Maxx? We all know this....We've all talked about this a million times...We know, we know...Slow down...


>Prince was very Green until "dirty Mind" and then he
>got polished with controversy and then found his Groove with
>1999.


Again, we know homie...We all agree with this...It has nothing to do with u claiming Prince took something from Rick's sound...Because it's just not true...He took a little of his stage show...he took a little of his showmanship...hell Rick even made some of P's stage show blacker...But sound? Nah...Prince was a shit load of genres and what came out was the Prince sound...


>however he checked out Rick's sound and stylings and Rick had
> already talked about his own "uptown" on the song
>"jefferson ball" jefferson avenue in buffalo wa the place
>to hang.
>
>listen to "cop and blow" and don't act like prince wasn't
>listening?
>
>listen to "dream maker" and tell me prince wasn't
>listening.
>
>the truth is it was a older brother little brother thang going
>on.
>
>prince was younger and played the game, but tell me when
>Prince started calling himself a "Slave" and dissing the
>industry if he didn't sound like you Know who Rick James?
>
>
>
>act like Prince didn't hear "garden of Love" which was out
>before "Around the world in a day?
>
>Vanity was industry Property and FYI after she left the
>purple camp in 83 guess which label she went to and signed
>with? Motown.
>
>so it ain't like she left Rick and went with Prince forever
>and ever and FYI Rick got over her, but Prince never did
>because all his female proteges practically all looked like
>her in some form or fashion another "L" for Prince.
>
>
>Rick made Prince step up his studio game as did Michael
>Jackson.
>
>but in different ways. Rick made Prince step up the funk
>
>Michael made Prince step up his versatility on record. act
>like "purple rain" wasn't Prince's attempt at a "thriller"??
>
>Prince took a while before he got his sound and voice
>together. that turkey took about 5 years before he got the
>Perm right and the dance steps right.

Do you actually read other people's post, homie? I and other people have made the same point...That Rick made Prince re-work his show and inject more of a "funk" dynamic (i.e. not sound, but showmanship, crowd interaction, stage set up, ect...Prince def. was schooled by Rick in that department...and it made him a better LIVE act...)into his concerts...

What no one will say is Prince jacked a "sound"...Dirty Mind was as far away from Rick as u can get...From the synths actually replacing the basslines much like P-funk to the crazy ass subject matter... What Prince should be thankful for is Rick was the bridge to his success...Rick was holding it down for R&B/funk...carrying it on his back...Prince def. benefited from this...

Bottom line...We are losing everyone...Rick is gone...MJ is gone...We just lost Whitney....The greats are leaving us too soon...

So do me a favor Maxx...While Prince is still alive and kicking, respect that man...You don't have to like him more than say MJ, Lionel, Rick, Freddie Jackson, or anyone else you want to trumpet...But for God's sake, be happy that the man is still alive and kicking...

Because when he's gone, what will you say then?

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

You have made a ton of fine points Maxx, definitely but clearly when it comes to Prince there is a bit of a miss.

Dirty Mind, Controvery, 1999, PR going fwd bare no resemblence to Rick. From a musical perspective Rick had his thing and Prince had his. Who was funkier is even debateable when you consider Prince's work that he gave to the Time, The Family, and Vanity 6 (Nasty girl in particular).

Prince did steal Vanity from Rick - Vanity even acknowledges this. They met at the American Music Awards. Prince spotted her with Rick, waited until she went to the bathroom and walked up to her and said "give me your jacket and try mine on". She was blown away both at the fact it was Prince and that the jacket fit perfectly. She returned to her seat and Rick said "where's the jacket I bought you?" and she said "Prince has it". It was on.

This was POST Dirty Mind - this was the Controversy era and Prince had just ended his relationship with Susan Moonsie - "Baby" was bout her btw. They were living together and she thought she was pregnant. "I Hope our baby has eyes like you" - Susan Moonsie.

You are right tho, Prince would show up at Rick's shows just to create pandemonium but that was about 2 years after the Dirty Mind tour serving as the opening act.

I totally agree with you and Murph that prior to that - P's live show was more rock and a bit bland if not over the top. He was young, he was green, he was learning. However after touring with Rick - he definitely became more comfortable. Running with greatness can do that - however make no mistake about it...

Dirty Mind was already finished by the time they hit the road and songs like Head or even previous numbers like Soft and Wet, Sexy Dancer, and I Wanna Be Your Lover - were great funk/dance numbers.

You also have to consider that in addition to gettin in tour with with Rj-P was doing smaller shows and side shows.

He got better.

There is literally no connection to Rick in the studio cause honestly Rick was not on Prince's level of musicianship. No slight on Rick cause what Rick did was amazing in it's own right.

Let me prove this. You ever see Rick James perform a live guitar solo? Of course not. Bass solo? Barely. Keys? Nope - just the clavs displayign some funk chops (which he def had) and some basic keys for Big Time or a few other numbers.

Rick was a very solid multi-instrumentalist but his genius was in understanding how to really package a hot single and how to lead a band both on stage and in the studio.

that's a great trait to have. To give him that credit I don't have to down Prince cause the whole rivalry has been blown a bit out of proportion. From a stage show perspective - Prince learned from the master. he realized that funk was certainly a good thing - add the Rolling Stones debacle and he was sold.

Now if you want to discuss Prince being influenced in the studio - you wanna discuss ROGER - not Rick. That's who you should focus on cause that was the real funk trinity at that point.

Garden of Love was panned by almost every critic when it was released and Rick - being the great leader that he was - instead of moping he went back and created a masterpiece follow up.

I doubt highly that anyone pulled from Garden of Love. You sorely underestimate the legacy of the Coleman family who was very instrumental in the Around the World album. If anything that album was almost direct response to Lisa and Wendy exposing Prince to the Beatles, Indian music by Ravi Shankur, Coltrane, etc. They exposed Prince to everything he didn't get in Minneapolis - cause Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman - both - their families have one of the longest running musical legacies in Hollywood and beyond.

His original intention was a Magical Mystery Tour - not a Garden of love. MMT was critically accalaimed. Garden of love was considered Rick's worst album - why reference that?

if anything Rick showed Prince that being sexual on stage, being controversial on stage - got ppl amped, hyped, and interested in a show perhaps even more than a guitar solo.

Prince also was heavily inspired by Santana - if you listen to or watch the Controversy tour from either Houston or DC - Prince lifts Santanas Moon Flower solo - NOTE FOR NOTE. However his interplay into the construct of his own song "Head" is just - genius.

Nah Maxx, Prince is no fluke and there is no overblown hype. The man is a beast.

ditto....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

prince did jack sounds and was a smart hybrid artist, he didn't create anything, but he was cleaver at taking other things and making them his own.

i've given prince his due and what he was back in the day. however naw He ain't no Michael Jackson not even close. he ain't no Stevie Wonder, Marvin gaye, Aretha Frankin,Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone,Lionel B.Richie, Bobby Womack,Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston, R.kelly,Rick James,Barry White,Freddie,Luther, EWF, Maze, you see had he slowed his roll and put out more quality instead of quanity things would look better for him IMO.

anyway i respect Prince and he still is worth seeing live,however his studio game been weak for a really long time and i just don't give turkeys a 25 year pass because they keep putting out average to below material dude needs a new sound and producer.

Prince could use a R.Kelly to get some energy in his music IMO

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

>prince did jack sounds and was a smart hybrid artist, he
>didn't create anything, but he was cleaver at taking other
>things and making them his own.
>
>i've given prince his due and what he was back in the day.
>however naw He ain't no Michael Jackson not even close. he
>ain't no Stevie Wonder, Marvin gaye, Aretha Frankin,Marvin
>Gaye, Sly Stone,Lionel B.Richie, Bobby Womack,Gladys Knight,
>Whitney Houston, R.kelly,Rick James,Barry
>White,Freddie,Luther, EWF, Maze, you see had he slowed his
>roll and put out more quality instead of quanity things would
>look better for him IMO.
>
>anyway i respect Prince and he still is worth seeing
>live,however his studio game been weak for a really long time
>and i just don't give turkeys a 25 year pass because they keep
>putting out average to below material dude needs a new sound
>and producer.
>
>Prince could use a R.Kelly to get some energy in his music
>IMO


Man...u singing the same ol' song...lol

God bless u Maxx...I'm sure when Prince leaves this earth you will give it up to one of the last true great ones...

Even MJ had enough sense to respect the man...

"We went and met with Michael, and Kenny said, ‘Michael, you’ve got to stop. We’ve got an incredible show, we don’t need any more vignettes.’ Michael said, ‘But Kenny, God channels this through me at night. I can’t sleep because I’m so supercharged.’ Kenny said, ‘But Michael, we have to finish. Can’t God take a vacation?’ Without missing a beat, Michael said, ‘You don’t understand — if I’m not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince.’"

^^^This is respect

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

and hadn't toured in a decade. MJ was cool and cocky about it, he knew he could take Prince on stage anytime he wanted.

i feel sorry for the Purpel Relics on here, now there is a Guy Named R.kelly who is Prolific and productive, works his Behind off and tours almost yearly and yet you gotta bring up a Relic who ain't mattered since we were kids?? just wow!!!!! glad i ain't stuck in a time warp like that.

if you don't drink and share the purple glass and spoon then you aren't worthy?

there are far more acts that I'll miss believe that and I'm not limited and Prince ain't mattered like that too me really since i was a kid.

he had a great run and whatnot, however nothing would hit me more than if Stevie Wonder leaves or Lionel B.Richie, Smokey RObinson,Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight.

you see when you can expand your horizen beyond Prince get back to me and this ain't the 80's no more and he is just another Has Been Hit less cat who is a Musical Legend and has his importance, however he is far from the last of anything.

just another artist who had a moment when it comes to it.

you keep on drinking that Purple Kool aid and Brother I'll make sure you ger denture Money, because those cavaitys will make you a diabetic and rot your brain.

old Prince was tight, but i don't mess with nothing from dude like that no more.

R.Kelly is the Now get with the Program brother.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

U still don't get it...This is not a pissing contest anymore...People are dying...We losing our greats...The difference between me and you? I don't roll with needless agendas...I would tear up just as I did when MJ and James passed, if it were Stevie, Rev Al, Prince, G. Clinton, Aretha or any other of the true greats...I don't turn people's deaths into a measuring stick in that way...

When Whitney was alive hardly no one was giving heartfelt praise to her...hardly no one was waxing poetic about her once in a lifetime voice...

It took Whitney's death for people to acknowledge her massive contributions to the art of singing and music in general.

So how's this for a switch? Why don't we acknowledge the GREATS while they are still alive and kicking? Prince is still here, along with the likes of Stevie and others who have had profound impacts on our lives, Maxx...Give it up to the man while he's still breathing. Because these great artists won't be here forever...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

the criticism and enjoy the work.

and FYI look it up i always gave it up for Whitney Houston go and ask somebody if you don't know.

i said long ago she was the Queen of Pop and a Mount rushmore Female Artist.

sorry i ain't got nothing more to say about Prince and that is hurting your lil ole feelings because just because i grew up on the dude, doesn't mean i have to talk about him. as i always say he is Past tense with me and that is in the truest sense.

matter of fact in Hindsight while he is a very talented artist, he is also somewhat Overrated to me now, because alot of his stuff ain't aged well and he ain't a singer's singer for me and my ears at this time and point.

in hindsight Luther Vandross>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Prince and Luther moves me far more if i go back like that and more soulful.

i like olr prince stuff and respect the talent however i ain't sweating that turkey and as a consumer who bought his work i got my rights so chill because everybody else ain't trying to drink from that purple Pitcher.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

>matter of fact in Hindsight while he is a very talented
>artist, he is also somewhat Overrated to me now, because alot
>of his stuff ain't aged well and he ain't a singer's singer
>for me and my ears at this time and point.
>
>in hindsight Luther
>Vandross>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Prince
>and Luther moves me far more if i go back like that and more
>soulful.
>
>i like olr prince stuff and respect the talent however i
>ain't sweating that turkey and as a consumer who bought his
>work i got my rights so chill because everybody else ain't
>trying to drink from that purple Pitcher.


I'm not shocked...U think Freddie Jackson is better than Prince...So it is what it is...lol

Basically, it comes down to this...Can u praise the likes of Rick, MJ or whoever without it turning into a diatribe on how Prince is overrated or how he stole from this artist or how he sucks, yada, yada, yada?

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

Maxx... say it aint so.

while I respect everyone's opinion... really?

or is that just speculation cause you like Freddy.

Now if it's true...

what makes Freddy so special? I can't even think of one album by that man.