James died at 9:45 a.m. at a residence near Universal City, said Police Department spokeswoman Esther Reyes.
''We learned of his death after responding to a radio call,'' Reyes said.
After his big hit, James' fame began to fade as he became embroiled in drugs, legal problems and health issues.
James was convicted in 1993 of assaulting two women. The first attack occurred in 1991 when he restrained and burned a young woman with a hot pipe during a cocaine binge at his house in West Hollywood. He was free on bail when the second assault occurred in 1992 in James' hotel room.
James was sentenced to more than two years in state prison.In 1997, he released a new album, but a year later he suffered a stroke while performing at Denver's Mammoth Events Center, derailing a comeback tour. In 1998 he also underwent hip replacement surgery.
With his trademark Jheri curl, James was one of the biggest R&B stars of the 1980s, using danceable rhythms and passionate ballads to gain a wide following. Aside from ''Super Freak'' - which MC Hammer used a decade later as the backing track for his monster hit ''U Can't Touch This'' - James' hits included ''Mary Jane,'' ''Ebony Eyes'' and ''Fire and Desire,'' a stirring duet with Teena Marie.
Ambient music: De La Soul's "Me, Myself, & I"
1 comment:
I'll just quote from the Chappelle story you posted over at Stratusfaction.
"We were eating lunch, and Charlie Murphy always talks about these crazy things," Chappelle said, explaining the already legendary "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" sketch. "He said 'I fought Rick James like 12 times.' And everyone just kind of dropped their forks like, 'What?' He told us the story. We were dying laughing. And he was like, 'You know, I probably can get Rick.' And we were like, 'Great, get him.'
"It kind of took on a life of its own until it became what everybody sees now. And now, I can't go anywhere without hearing it.
Rick was secure enough in himself to laugh at the Chappelle sketch at the end. After all, he was in it.
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