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

I get some letters from girls that if their mothers knew what they were writing me in these letters, they'd get their butts whipped.

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

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

Off stage it's cool-out time. You can't funk and roll ALL the time.

I had $20 million in the bank, girls are following me all over the f - place, people call my name everywhere I go. What would I change? And then one day you get onstage and you see two little girls who look like they are 11 years old sticking their tongues out and pulling their bras down and you quit touring. That's what happened to me.

If I told you Jesus Christ was black you're going to be afraid of me because I'm telling you the truth. That's where I always come from.