SUPERFREAK, OR "GLOW" BY RICK JAMES

Even if you never heard a note of Rick James' music (Wait, did you live in a cave? You never heard Superfreak?) you'd know him from the Chappelle's Show sketches.

The sketches portrayed James at the height of his popularity in the '80s where he was almost like a cartoon character disrupting whatever situation he found himself in at the time, dispensing slaps, taking tons of drugs, or destroying people's property, just for laffs. 

So do the sketches match up with James life recounted in his memoir? Pretty much. James began as a juvenile delinquent in Buffalo, where the only thing he liked better than petty crime was music. The phrases "I got into deeper devilment" and "The danger excited me" are relatable, and could be used throughout his life. 

As a kid, James would steal money from his mother to go to New York City, where he gorged on music, wanting to combine the serious musicianship of John Coltrane with the excitement of Jackie Wilson. Mostly self-taught, he sat in with Thelonious Monk, and sang in some doo-wop groups. He also goes AWOL from the Naval reserves, fleeing to Canada where he meets Neil Young and Joni Mitchell,  watches his friends get famous, and smuggles drugs from India, waiting for his break. 

And when he broke, he broke big. James was a superstar and ready to live that way. Along the way there's ODs, rehab, lawsuits, jailbreaks, and a cast of characters encompassing everyone from Salvador Dali, Charles Manson, Jim Morrison, and Ronald Reagan. Oh - and a long-standing feud with Prince which is totally worth getting the book to find out about.

"Glow" is a quick read, and it's full of all the drugs and sex you'd expect from a Rick James biography. James' tone is conversational, and you'll eagerly turn the pages to see what famous person shows up next or what orgy of sex and drugs James describes. 

Sex/Drugs/Bad Behavior
9/10. James loooved the cocaine, at one point spending $5000 a week on his habit. And if there's anything he loved more than coke, it was sex. Lots and lots of details about both - including the fact that he had relationships with Linda Blair, which I knew, and Daisy Duke, which I never would have thought of. If he could have squeezed Lynda Carter and Debbie Harry in there, I think President Carter would have given him a medal of awesomeness. Understatement of the book - "sexual loyalty was not my strong suit."

Opens in Media res?
Yep. Although instead of opening on stage, it opens in prison with James telling his story to Brother Guru, who gives him advice and counseling. Did Brother Guru really exist? Who knows, but it gives a chance for James to reflect a bit. 

Percentage of Music in the Bio
Surprisingly it's in there, squeezed in between all the drugs and sex. James compares funk to the big band era, where musicians were constantly trying to inspire and top each other. 

Buy, Borrow from the Library, or Pass 
Definitely borrow. Buy it if you can find it cheap, but it's definitely worth a read.