Street Songs (album)

For other albums, see Street Song.
Street Songs
Studio album by Rick James
Released April 7, 1981
Recorded December 1980 - January 1981
at the Record Plant,
in Sausalito, California
and
Motown / Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios,
Hollywood, CA
Genre Funk,[1] soul[2]
Length 34:46
Label Gordy
Producer Rick James
Rick James chronology
Garden of Love
(1980)		 Street Songs
(1981)		 Throwin' Down
(1982)
Singles from Street Songs
  1. "Give It to Me Baby"
    Released: February 20, 1981
  2. "Super Freak"
    Released: July 10, 1981
  3. "Ghetto Life"
    Released: 1982

Street Songs is the fifth album by American musician Rick James, released in April 1981 via Gordy Records. "Give It to Me Baby", the lead song and single from the album, became James' second number one single on the R&B chart. It spent five weeks at the top spot. The fifth song on the album, "Super Freak", was also one of James' biggest hits. A Deluxe Edition was released in 2001 containing an additional 17 mixes and live versions of the album tracks. Although the song "Fire and Desire" (a duet he performed with singer Teena Marie) was not originally released as a single, the song itself received much airplay on R&B radio stations and has since become a classic hit. (James and Marie would reunite to perform the song at the 2004 BET Awards a few months before James' death.)
"Super Freak"
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The song "Ghetto Life" was featured in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later sampled in both Busta Rhymes' song "In the Ghetto" & Tha Eastsidaz's song "Ghetto". "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby" are also featured on the soundtrack of the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. The song "Give It To Me Baby" is featured on EA's Skate, Activison's DJ Hero and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V.

Reception

The album became an immediate success upon its release, eventually reaching number three on the US Pop chart and spending twenty weeks at number one on the US R&B chart. The album was certified platinum in the US in July 1981.[3] By 1983, the album had sold nearly 4 million copies worldwide.[4] At the 1982 Grammys, James was nominated for Best Male Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance for the album while being the first African American male artist to be nominated in the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance category for the song "Super Freak".[5]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by Rick James, except where noted.

Side A
  1. "Give It to Me Baby" (4:08)
  2. "Ghetto Life" (4:20)
  3. "Make Love to Me" (4:48)
  4. "Mr. Policeman" (4:17)
Side B
  1. "Super Freak" (James, Alonzo Miller) (3:24)
  2. "Fire and Desire" (duet with Teena Marie) (7:17)
  3. "Call Me Up" (3:53)
  4. "Below the Funk (Pass the J)" (2:36)

2001 Deluxe edition

Disc One
9. "Give It to Me Baby" (12" Version) (5:42)
10. "Give It to Me Baby" (Instrumental) (6:48)
11. "Super Freak" (12" Version) (7:05)
12. "Super Freak" (Instrumental) (3:33)
Disc Two (Recorded Live at Long Beach, California, July 30, 1981)
  1. "Introduction" (1:46)
  2. "Ghetto Life" (4:21)
  3. "Big Time" (7:08)
  4. "Come Into My Life" (4:14)
  5. "I'm a Sucker for Love" (8:28)
  6. "Square Biz" (7:01)
  7. "Fire It Up" (3:35)
  8. "Love Gun" (5:42)
  9. "Do You Want Some Funk (Interlude)" (2:22)
  10. "Mary Jane" (10:39)
  11. "Super Freak" (4:21)
  12. "You and I" (11:48)
  13. "Give It to Me Baby" (6:05)

2002 Remastered edition

9. "Give It to Me Baby" (12" Version) (5:42)
10. "Super Freak" (12" Version) (7:05)

Charts

Year Album Chart positions[6]
US US
R&B
1981 Street Songs 3 1

Singles

Year Single Chart positions[7]
US US
R&B		 US
Dance
1981 "Give It to Me Baby" 40 1 1
"Super Freak" 16 3 —
1982 "Ghetto Life" — 38 —

Later samples

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10188/review
  2. ↑ Discogs - Street Songs - 2002 reMastered CD; Motown / Chronicles (440 064 023-2) US
  3. ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Database
  4. ↑ Newsweek: Volume 101, Part 2; Volume 101, Part 2, page 81. Newsweek. 1983. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  5. ↑ "Grammy Award Nominees 1982 - Grammy Award Winners 1982". Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Rick James US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
  7. ↑ "Rick James US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
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