Street Songs (Expanded Edition)

the take

Growing up as a Black person in a Black household, Rick James was played throughout the years... but in spurts, though. Only his hits, though (obviously), but never the deep album cuts. A part of me wondered how a full album by Rick James would sound to me, so I naturally went with possibly the most easily accessible of his discography, "Street Songs". (This album is also my mother's favorite of all-time, so that also piqued my interest a bit.) First things first: "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak" are the obvious classics here. Timeless as fuck and can be played at any Black function to get the party a bit hype (for the oldheads and oldheads-in-progress like me). Overall, though... Rick James actually covers more than his freaky sexual desires that are the main focal point on here. "Ghetto Life" is a staple in the hip-hop community, as the vocals still resonate with Black communities throughout the US even today, while the duet "Fire and Desire" with legendary Teena Marie perfectly cptuers the magic those two create together. I consider "Mr. Policeman" a sister track to "Ghetto Life" in terms of speaking on Black issues, and while the former isn't bad, it tries a little too hard to tackle said issues and come off as deep when in actuality it kind of ends up falling flat a bit (still a good song, though). And while the production falls more on the disco side of things, the instrumentation on here is arranged in a way where it lets Rick James become the obvious focal point and becomes its own show during its instrumental sections. Now I see why my mother had this album cover as a poster on her wall back in the day (allegedly... but I kind of believe it); "Street Songs" is just that damn incredible.