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Rick James, R.I.P.
If Los Angeles is the city where stars are made and dreams realized, sadly it’s also where many talented individuals meet their untimely fate. Rick James died this morning at his home in the Universal City area as a result of “existing medical conditions.” The man embodied the glam of the post-disco transition era, and L.A. was the place to live it up. His decadence and distinctive personal style rounded out a run of fantastic hits. James’s death is an unfortunate end to his great yet sagging career and troubled life. The last decade-plus found James plagued with health problems and infamous run-ins with the law, including two years in Folsom Prison.
For us kids who grew up in the 80s, his tunes and beats helped us learn to dance while the grown ups could enjoy the abundance of double entendres that escaped our comprehension. The next generation was introduced to Rick via M.C. Hammer’s sampling of James’s biggest hit “Super Freak,” to which LAist says: better late than never. And Rick James continues to provide pop culture with awesome material used for unexpected purposes. Sounds bites from Dave Chappelle’s brilliant comic salute to the legacy of Rick James has recently become one of the most widely-quoted bits around; the timing of this trend has now proven to be uncanny.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
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