"Super Freak" Rick James Dead

By Joal Ryan

Rick James lived the rock 'n' roll life to excess--right up until he faced a life sentence in prison.
The influential but troubled funkmeister, known for his 1981 hit "Super Freak (Part 1)" and a two-year stint in prison on cocaine-fueled assaults, was found dead of apparent natural causes at 9:45 a.m. Friday morning in his Los Angeles home. He was 56. The rocker and producer had been busy of late, working on a new album, and an autobiography to be called Memoirs of a Super Freak. Comic Dave Chappelle was in talks to portray James in a planned biopic based on the book, the Hollywood Reporter said in June.
Last month, James told BET.com that the new album would feature as many as 30 songs.
"Music is a universal language, every color, every creed, every race," James told the Website. "I want everybody to enjoy my [stuff]."
In June, he was presented with ASCAP's Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, credited by the organization for being the father of "punk-funk" in hits such as "Mary Jane," "Give It to Me Baby" and his signature tune, "Super Freak."
In 1998, James suffered a stroke, which his management blamed on "rock 'n' roll neck," or blood vessels weakened as the result of too much neck-bobbing during shows.
That year James also underwent hip-replacement surgery. That injury was blamed on years of performing--as well as years of substance abuse.
It was cocaine that landed James in his most serious trouble.
In 1991, he was arrested for singeing a woman with a hot crack pipe. In 1992, while out on bail, he was arrested for beating up another woman at a West Hollywood hotel.
In 1993, he was convicted of assault in the two arrests, but he was cleared of a torture charge in the crack-pipe incident that could have put him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Born Feb. 1, 1948, in Buffalo, New York, James' other hits include "You and I" and "Mary Jane."