Rick James: 10 Essential Tracks

During his five-decade career as a pop libertine, singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, James Ambrose Johnson, Jr., a.k.a. Ricky Matthews or Rick James, was reportedly more of a superfreak than any very kinky girl he didn't take home to mother. When Dave Chappelle and Charlie Murphy hilariously characterized "Slick James" (nickname courtesy of P-Funk's George Clinton) as a goofball with a mean streak who spouted koan-like non sequiturs ("I'm Rick James, bitch!") and pithy reflections ("Cocaine is a hell of a drug!"), there was little need for hyperbole. Yet despite all the decadence, James was an undeniably formidable song-maker who created......