My teacher said I would either be a hoodlum, or a great entertainer.

I'm really not tailored for responsibility.

I decided to build up my band in Buffalo because Buffalo was where I had originally built up my own musical strength.

I'm still James Johnson. Rick James is a stage name. James Johnson keeps Rick James on the ground... Kind of sort of.

I mean, Rick James was just a man-made image, the image I created. Just trying to live Rick James almost killed me.

You can't have rock and roll without drugs, you can't have rock and roll without sex.

Funkers are people who dig the funk; Little funkers, Big funkers, Old funkers, Young funkers, Foxy funkers, Mother funkers, Papa funkers.