Analysis of “Super Freak”

Though Rick James enjoyed several top hits on the R&B charts in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, his most notorious song continues to be “Super Freak.” The song is influenced by a multitude of genres. From soul music, it has The Temptations as background vocals, a saxophone solo, and some call-and-response with lyrics like “that girl is pretty wild now (that girl’s a super freak).” The song borrows elements from rock, like the use of guitars and male-dominant lead vocals. “Super Freak” also mimics funk music with the emphasis placed on the bass line – making the song more danceable – as well as the use of synthesizers. “Super Freak” is the only song on Street Songs in which Rick James isn’t the only lyrical credit. That’s because Alonzo Miller, a music director of a popular LA radio station at the time, heard James recording an early version of the song and told him that the lyrics were too risque for radio play. Miller helped James tweak the lyrics to make them more suitable for the radio, earning Miller a partial writing credit for the track.^[1]Classic Motown. “Rick James – ‘Super Freak.’ https://classic.motown.com/story/rick-james-super-freak-part-1 Behind James’s vocals in the song was his backing band, the Stone City Band (SCB). SCB Keyboardist and childhood friend of James, Levi Ruffin, recollected that none of them thought the song “would be a big hit,” and that James only added “Super Freak” onto Street Songs to have a song that “white folks could dance to.” In a 2011 article for Ebony, Ruffin recalled that “it was basically a throwaway song. We weren’t afraid to experiment with a new sound, a new vibe. That’s what made ‘Super Freak’ work” ^[2]Christian, Margena A. “The Super Freak Diaries.” Ebony Magazine Vol. 66 No. 4, February 2011..  

The song begins with a heavy texture, starting with punchy percussion, a bass guitar riff, and a synthesized keyboard harmony. The beat is not four-on-the-floor like most disco songs; rather, the danceability is derived mainly from the syncopation of the bass riff with the synthesized keyboard. Around 0:15, James enters the first verse with a sensual timbre. He holds several notes at the end of phrases like “girl,” “mother,” “down,” and “band.” At 0:26 and 0:42, James sensually ad-libs “oh girl” and “oh please” – a precursor to a theme in prominent rap music today. A new synthesizer is introduced and the chorus begins at 0:43; after every phrase from Rick James, a male and female chorus adds a call-and-response behind him, a tool used in soul music and 1960s Motown pop. Starting at 0:58, James and the chorus both harmonize on “she’s all right,” and the texture thins as the tempo slows down as James sings “that girl’s alright with me” and ad-libs “yeah…hey hey hey!”. Then, the original mixture from the beginning of the song starts again, and James sings the notorious hook “she’s a super freak! Super freak! She’s super freaky…yeah.” 1:24 starts the second verse, which is almost identical in form to the first verse – except for the male harmonization after some lines. The chorus happens again, but at the end James shouts “Temptations, sing!” and three of Motown’s Temptations – Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin (James’s uncle!), and Richard Street –  sing a harmony as James repeats the hook. James then repeats the first four lines from verse 1 and shouts “blow, Danny!” as a virtuosic saxophone solo by Daniel LeMelle takes the forefront of the song and eventually, the texture fades out completely. 

“Super Freak” peaked on the Billboard Charts Top 100 at #3 for 17 weeks.^[3]Billboard. “Chart History: Rick James.” Accessed April 7, 2020. https://www.billboard.com/music/rick-james/chart-history/HSI/song/574637 It made Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time at 481.^[4]Rolling Stone. “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” Rolling Stone, April 7, 2011.  … Continue reading Because of its original beat and use of combining multiple genres, “Super Freak” went on to influence other musicians, including MC Hammer who sampled “Super Freak” into his 1990 song “U Can’t Touch This.”

The music video for “Super Freak” shows off  Rick James’s eccentricity and the “freakiness” of the song. It starts with a close-up of James, glitter in his hair and looking at the camera. It then shows four women who are presumably some of the “very freaky” girls. James’s entire outfit is revealed: a tight, black jumpsuit with a bedazzled sequin top with a v-neck cut to below his belly button; knee-high black boots; and of course, gold rings and bracelets, one gold hoop, a gold cross necklace, and a gold watch. The multiple girls are begging for Rick but he whisks one of them away as he “makes [his] move to her room.” During the chorus starting at 0:43, there are close-ups of James and each of the girls singing along sensually. Next, a larger group of men and women sing and dance along while James plays a bass in front of them. When the next verse starts, James follows a few of the girls into a limousine, reflecting the lyrics. In the limo, three of the ‘super freaks’ caress James while he reciprocates, including a playful bite of one of the girls’ legs. The next chorus repeats with James’ bass, close-ups of the girls dancing and singing, and the large crowd also dancing and singing along. At 2:33, when he shouts “Temptations, sing!”, it cuts to a presumably old video of the Temptations performing to signify their background vocals in “Super Freak.” The girls then recreate the moves from Temptations video. Next, as James says “Blow, Danny!”, the brass solo finishes out the song as James plays his bass and the girls around him dance vigorously. The video fades out right after an extreme close-up of James saying “oh no” into the camera. The sexuality of the video – seen by the way James interacts with the girls as well as the lyrics – had MTV view the video as too “inappropriate” for their channel. The highly sexualized imagery was the basis of MTV’s argument as to why the video did not count as “rock” and why it was not aired. 

Click here to get a more in-depth look at the history of MTV and its racial exclusion.