Street Songs

Street Songs, the fifth album from Rick James, was released on April 7, 1981 through Motown’s subsidiary label Gordy Records and is his biggest album to date. Street Songs is the pinnacle of his style he labeled “punk funk” on songs such as the smash hit single “Super Freak,” which gained more attention years later after MC Hammer sampled it on his own smash hit “U Can’t Touch This” in 1990. “Give It To Me” was another hit single from the album that has also been sampled numerous times over the years. “Ghetto Life” was also released as a single and featured on the Fever 105 radio station in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Another impact song is the slow jam “Fire and Desire,” Rick’s duet with Teena Marie, which wasn’t officially released as a single but still received radio airplay. Rick even tackled police brutality on “Mr. Policeman” with fellow Motown superstar Stevie Wonder on harmonica.

The album was certified platinum within three months of its release and sold over four million copies worldwide within two years. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and topped the R&B Albums chart for 20 weeks thanks to the #1 dance hits “Give It To Me Baby” and “Super Freak,” which received a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, making Rick James the first African-American man to be nominated in the category. A deluxe version of the album was released with live performances at Long Beach Arena from 1981.