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| I'll never forgive MC Hammer for tampering with Rick James's "Super Freak." I'm not a Hammer hater. His debut remains in my CD changer. But I hate "U Can't Touch This." Hammer's reworking of Rick James's seminal "Super Freak" stripped the song of its ghetto edge, replacing Rick's whooping vocals with Hammer's jumbled, watered down raps. It doesn't matter that "U Can't Touch This" broke sales records, that song simply can't touch the original. "Super Freak" appears on James' 1981 masterwork, Street Songs, which Motown Records has recently reissued in an expanded package, which includes 12" mixes of "Super Freak" and "Give It To Me Baby," as well as an additional CD's worth of material from Rick's 1981 performance at the Long Beach Arena. The prodding bass guitar grooves and upbeat lyrical content of the mega-hit singles "Super" and "Give It To Me Baby" only hint at the depth of the rest of the album. James and the Stone City Band explore their many influences, from reggae on "Mr. Policeman" (which features Stevie Wonder on harmonica) to the sinful bump and grind variety of R&B ballads on "Make Love To Me" and "Fire And Desire." Teena Marie's voice quivers with passionate desperation on "Fire And Desire," as she sings with James about a relationship gone bad. Years later, it was revealed that Teena recorded the song while in the midst of a Mariah Carey-esque mental breakdown. The story goes, when a hospitalized Teena learned that James intended to have another woman sing her part, she fled her hospital bed for the studio, where she quickly recorded her vocals, before returning again to her recovery. Therapy for James, Street Songs gave ample opportunity to vent. He condemns corrupt officers on Mr. Policeman singing, "It's a shame/ It's a disgrace/ Why every time you show yo face/ Somebody dies, man." "Ghetto Life" and "Below The Funk (Pass The J)" reveal in painstaking detail his harrowing experiences growing up in the ghetto of Buffalo, New York. In between taking funky hits of the mary jane on "Below The Funk," James shares his seemingly endless perils, finding his most introspective moment deflecting a dig at his sexuality: "The gossip is so tragic/ They call me a faggot/ And me and all my women laugh at it." As a sixth grader in 1981, I bought the 45" version of "Give It To Me Baby." It was one of the first four records I purchased with my own money (my great-grandmother had given me a gift of $5 for being in her church play). I was intrigued by James' flamboyant brand of disco-funk fusion, his long braids, the Stone City Band's piercing horn section, all the wild leather outfits, and the party feel good vibe. I never realized that these heavily marketed aspects of his image only defined part of the man. Even though my dad had the Street Songs album, it has taken a new listen years later as an adult to appreciate the real wealth of his talent. Back in 1981, songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It To Me Baby" mixed with James' freaky in-your-face personna to make him the early 80s funk poster boy. While his image has dated, the music on Street Songs has certainly passed the test of time. --Billy Johnson, Jr. (email)
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