Houston, get ready to groove to the rhythm of funk as the legendary Rick James is set to come to life in a spectacular musical production, “Super Freak: The Rick James Story,” with the nationwide debut starting in Houston on Mar. 14 – 17 at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts.
The brainchild, playwright and producer Je’Caryous Johnson, in collaboration with Ty James, daughter of the funk icon, and featuring the mesmerizing vocals of Stokley, formerly of Mint Condition, this musical promises an electrifying journey through the tumultuous yet extraordinary life of the King of Punk-Funk.
Houston audiences can expect to witness Stokley’s exceptional talent as he steps into the colossal shoes of Rick James, delivering renditions of chart-topping hits like “Super Freak” and “Give It To Me Baby.”
The Defender spoke with Johnson to discuss the intricate process of bringing Rick James’ legacy to life. From the challenges faced during production to the inspiration behind the musical, Johnson provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of this spectacular show.
Defender: What inspired you and Ty James to collaborate on creating “Super Freak: The Rick James Story,” and how did the idea for this musical come about?
Je’Caryous Johnson: Many people knew some of Rick’s story or thought they did from the Dave Chappelle parody. But when I was reading the book “Memoirs of a Super Freak,” I realized that we had no idea of the magnitude and impact that this man had made on culture. And then I said, who else would tell the story? Something that has been a disservice to the Black community is that we don’t have any place to get our stories told. Where do we go to get it sold, and in what medium will it be told? I enjoyed meeting Ty James, Rick James’ only daughter.
I wanted to cement, build, and introduce his craft and genius to generations that may not have known who he was except for the Dave Chappelle skit. It was just a personal opportunity to go on this journey to say, look, everybody has a dream, right? Like any artist, it starts with a dream, but how do you go from a dream to building Rick James? And that’s what I got to experience in the book. We don’t know anything about the impact that this man has had. He was fashion-forward. He was a pioneer in how he toured. He was one of the pioneers of funk-punk and taught Prince how to tour.
Prince was his opening act. So, when you think about Prince being his opening act, he was the first crossover artist of Motown. And it wasn’t Marvin [Gaye], it was Rick James. And he saved Motown. Motown was down and out and had been considered washed up in the sense that the sound of the culture had started to shift away from the Motown sound. Rick returned with a new sound that completely revitalized Motown. He created the sound of some giant white groups, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
To say that he is a bass player, a pianist, a lead guitar player, a drummer, all these different things; we didn’t understand the magnitude of who he was. But instead, it was being settled for the mockery of the laughter of kind of spoof that Dave Chappelle did. You’re going to get the whole gamut in this.
Defender: Can you share insights into your collaborative process in bringing Rick James’ story to the stage? How did you ensure authenticity and respect for the legacy of this iconic artist?
Johnson: It was a give and take. I was doing a lot of research. There’s a fact and fiction in some way in between all of that, and it is a kernel of truth on both sides. Ty gave invaluable feedback about how life was with him as a father and husband and living with a rockstar.
The beautiful thing about Ty is that she embraced the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding her father. She’s not like, “Don’t say this about him.” He is who he is. She knows who he is. She accepts him for who he is. And unlike other estates who may say, “I want you to censor the story this way or that way,” she said, “If I even censored myself, [I had to remind myself], my dad wouldn’t do that.” That’s a daughter who accepts her father for who he is. That made the process smooth because we were just dealing with the truth.
Defender: How did you approach curating the soundtrack for the production, and what aspects of Rick James’ music do you think will resonate the most with the audience?
Johnson: It takes about six months to think about it, research it, and understand it, but it takes about three months to write it. So, it was written in about three months, but that’s the first draft. It’s still being written right now every day in rehearsals.
We have every hit in this show, but we also have music that you didn’t even know he did or didn’t even know he had any influence over. We also have his rivals. So, you’re going get a little bit of Prince, you’re going get some Marvin Gaye, you’re going to get some Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. It is Rick James’ story, but musically, the environment he was in and who he was competing against were a bunch of icons and legends.
Defender: What do you hope audiences will take away from “Super Freak: The Rick James Story”? Are there specific messages or emotions you aim to evoke through this musical?
Johnson: There’s quite a few messages. Rick is more than sex, drugs, and rock and roll. If you have a dream, don’t give up on it no matter what because Rick was much older when he became successful. He’s been doing it since he was 16, but he got it in his thirties. So, for anyone with a dream, be willing and relentless about your fight and ambition. And most of all, we’ve all got to face our demons. If we can face them, we can conquer them instead of running from them. When you get to the end of this play, you will cry. You would’ve laughed. You would’ve jumped up and danced. You would’ve hugged, and you would’ve seen the journey of a human being who started as just a boy with a dream who did a bunch of great things for other people and then had to come up with his style, sound, and alter ego called Rick James to become a bigger than life personality.
It would take that type of personality to handle the type of life and lifestyle that he lived, but to affect and change culture, to defy the rules and regulations, and to stand his ground on what he believed in, which is his talent, his craft, his sound, his audience and his fans. People will walk away with a renewed love for Rick James and understanding like none other, but most of all, they will have a super freaky good time in that theater. And I can’t wait to see the smiles on people’s faces.
Defender: Are there any other updates you’d like to share?
Johnson: I just want people to know that as a creative, I appreciate the love and support that Houston and the rest of this country have always given me and that I don’t take that lightly. We’re behind the scenes working long days, fighting and falling back in love with each other, just to deliver a masterpiece to you as a fan.
We will not settle for anything less than the best. So understand that when we bring it to you, and we’re gonna give it to you baby, and when we give it to you, know that there’s a lot of sweat, blood, and tears that have been put in this and a lot of love just to give you the best of us. I look forward to your continued support.
