Ridiculous crime. It's a production of iHeartRadio.
Hey Elizabeth, what are you doing?
I'm just hanging out.
So I got another question for you. Yeah, Hey, are those new shoes?
No?
No, I got another question for you. You know it's ridiculous.
Yeah, I have an answer for that one. Okay, what now, quick question before I get into it. Are you like me where you don't show up empty handed when you go to someone's house?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, guess.
And you have to bring like a hostess gift or you know, or a host gift, depending on who you know who you're visiting. But the thing is is that sometimes it's hard to figure out what to bring. You know, flowers is always good.
You can't go with the old standard of wine anymore because not a lot of people drink as much people drink.
And sometimes people feel the obligation if they've already come up with this meal, that they have a wine pairing, and they feel the obligation to open. But I have I have a solution for you, and it does involve wine.
Okay, I'm listening to.
You bring this very special wine and it's you stop it.
Why I walk right into every time? Go ahead?
It is called mayonnaise blanc and it comes from Helman's. And if you're thinking like mayonnaise.
Wine, no, I'm not thinking anything right now.
What in the heck I mean that sounds like toilet wine or pruno.
Like pretty much it sounds like something which yeah.
No, no zaren the good folks at Unilever North America.
Oh they came up with this.
It's actually it's actually really clever. It makes so yeah, yeah, and mayonnaise. But what I love the most is just how clever this is. So you show up and you have this bottle of wine, yes, and it says zero percent ABV so no alcohol by volume, one hundred percent Mayo Mayonnaise Blanc nineteen fifteen.
You know, but you I supposed to believe this maynas from nineteen fifteen or just like the house.
Ever since hel then my glasses on, I'm trying to look at this picture, any of you. Yeah, so what it is is what it is. What had happened was you hand them this bottle and they're like, oh my wait, mayonnaise wine. What's wrong with you? Before they can hit you.
Over the hease, they ask me to leave their house.
You demonstrate that the bottom of the bottle, unscrews worse and come it comes out of it is a little jar of mayonnaise. So that's how you gift mayonnaise. But it comes in like the trojan horse of a wine bottle. I think it's super cute. I think mayonnaise is great.
I would empty the mayonnaise jar out, fill that with like, I don't know, something good, chocolate, wead honey, something, and then put that in the mannaise.
Oh that's clever.
Right.
Then it's like, hey, look, you thought it was gonna be crappy, no, wait to unscrew it. And they're like, oh, even crappier.
Look I was.
Gonna make you some deviled eggs and they open it. Oh it's just weird.
Yeah, just.
So a bunch of people sent this to us. It's pretty incredible. I would love a bunch.
Of people did. Yeah, thank you, a bunch of people. And I see what you think of it.
I'd love to get a jar, Elizabeth, let's get him. I would love to get a jar of classic mayo disguised as a fine line.
Okay, I'll keep that my holiday gift.
For youful twist on gifting. Yeah, it is so that is.
Twist on gifting.
Don't you want like a turkey with that other?
No? I don't even like manna.
Is you know that?
I'm sorry for your loss.
I learned that it makes a good grilled cheese sandwich. You taught me that.
Yeah on the outside.
Yeah, that's that's what I'm about that life now hell yeah?
Oh good?
Good to rub on like a roast chicken, to roast it.
I think it's good for but like does people slather it on?
Like?
Anyway? I'm not going to get into manage Elizabeth, And I have a question for you, Yes, sir, Well it's not about being ridiculous. Well it is, but you you know the Okay, I think you watched this show? You do? You must have?
Which one?
Elizabeth? I have four words for you. I'm Rick James bitch.
Oh yeah right.
Davis Chappelle made that quote famous, but it was Rick James who.
Made it real.
Oh yeah yeah.
And for some folks, those same magic for words are also their ticket to jail.
Oh.
This is Ridiculous Crime a podcast about absurd and outrageous capers, heist and cons. It's always ninety nine percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculous. Oh yeah, it is Elizabeth Rick James one of your people.
Is he agent of chaos?
Right?
See you were like, how was he problematic? But yeah, a little.
There's obviously a very ugly chapter of his life. Oh yeah, we're not going to get into that now, are we going to pretend it didn't happen? Okay, which is why I want to focus on the younger, more innocent, pre mega fame Rick James. Yeah, yeah, he is criminally ridiculous.
Okay.
Obviously, you know, most folks younger than say, my parents only really know Rick James from the Dave Chappelle's show, right, And obviously the more you know the skits with Charlie Murphy aka Murphy's brother. Now you know Charlie Murphy told these Atlandis stories. I would be hanging out with Rick James, and this is at the peak of Rick james fame back in the early to mid eighties. And also, as you know, Charlie Murphy incredible storyteller.
Like one of the best.
Oh my god, he has a natural inclination, but then he also knows it, so he tries to reach for fruits that he can barely touch himself. So it's like, oh R. In his stories, he always makes Rick James come alive, and his tales of you know, getting in fights with him and like when you when your battle and a man nicknamed super Freak, you know what's gonna
be interesting now. Also, even from the very first moment of their friendship, when he first meets Rick James, Charlie Murphy, he recounts seeing how Rick James had this bright, vibrating aura, and Charlie Murphy said, and I quote, and here he comes out of the room and I look at him and I'm not I seen like an orange his aura
or whatever I've seen it, it was orange. I love that this is not somebody who talks about him to even say that, that means it's real all of a sudden, exactly, It's like this confession he's got to tell you, man, I wouldn't normally say this, so obviously this guy. He
also has one of my favorite lines in word Conjugations. Ever, like he talks about okay, well, back to Charlie quote, things escalated to the point that my man got too familiar and I ended up having to whip his ass because he would step across the line habitually he was habitual line stepper. I love that habitual line stepper. I mean that whole time as an habitual line stepper. I finally saw myself. I was like, that's what it is.
You know that I've told you about how in my family it's really not a gathering until I cross the line in what I say and someone or many people go, oh, line stepper. I know that.
I think that's what we have in common now. Of course, obviously there's Dave Chappelle's whole impression of Rick James, which I haven't even mentioned yet. Yeah, and that's what gave us the most memorable line from the skit. I'm Rick James, bitch. Enjoy yourself. I added that, but it's actually in the skit, but he says a lot of other things anyway, Yeah, the key is I'm Rick James bitch. Those four words.
And this this Rick James were talking about. As I keep saying this was like, you know, this is a post disco super freak, think Studio fifty four into the seventies early eighties, Like, Elizabeth, what hold do you know about Rick James and his pre fame days? Do you know any of these stories you ever heard any of these things about him? No, okay, here's a fun fact. Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gay they gave him his name.
Oh really, not his mama.
No, no, Rick James is not his mama's given or government name.
WHOA Yeah.
When he was coming up, Rick James was in Detroit, home of Motown, and one night he meets Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gay and they were already stars on the Motown label and after seeing Rick James perform, they're impressed. Right, So they're like, hey, man, what's your name?
Brother?
And he tells them my name is Rick, Ricky James, Matthews. And Stevie Wonder's like, wait, wait, hold up, are you planning on killing the president? Why do you have three names?
Right?
And Rick James like, no, no, I'm not planning on becoming a presidential assassin. You got a problem with my name? And Robbia guys like, yeah, brother, we do. That name has no show business to it, right, So they think for a moment and they're like, okay, Now, I don't know which one of them actually came up with it, but it's always been said that it was Stevie Wonder, and Stevie Wonder, who's like, you know, I got it, brother, you need to call yourself Ricky James. That's a show
biz name, right. Hearing that from Stevie Wonder, the former Ricky James Matthew changed his name and didn't look back.
Hey, Stevie Wonder gives you that kind of advice, you take it, you do it immediately.
Anything Stevie Wonder gives me, I'm keeping exactly pretty much. That's smart rule, right Herpes, guys, I got I should have some condossels. I knew you would test my theories. Habitual linestepper. Now this is the kind of strange look Rick James will continue to have in his life.
Right.
So, also, by the way, Ricky James Matthews still not his government name.
Oh really that stage name correct.
Yes, because the reason he had that name was he was on the lamb from the law. No. Oh yeah, we'll get all into all of this, Elizabeth. So this cat who would eventually become Rick James, he was born James Ambrose Johnson Junior. I love that name. He first dropped onto this scene in the world in Buffalo, New York, nineteen forty eight. Just classic baby Boomer Man or you know baby boomer Cat in his case.
Yeah.
Now, his father worked in the auto industry as a factory worker. His mother show business hopeful. You know, back in her day she was a dancer, and when Rick James was a little boy, she was a cleaning lady. So, as I said, show business hopeful.
She was one of those Buffalo gals.
Don't she come up so to get a little extra coin in her purse. She was also a numbers runner for the leading crime family in Buffalo. Love that that was her night job. So this like lawlessness and show business drive, they kind of get funneled into young Rick.
Yeah.
Now by the time he's a teenager, Rick James, he's got himself a little band, right, they're playing around the Buffalo area and across the border in Canada. And he gets old enough, you know, about sixteen, you know, the government starts eyeballing him to draft him into Vietnam War. And you know he's like, oh, Joseph Forestall all that. So Rick James is like, oh, I'll join the naval reserve, you know, that way he can control he doesn't get
drafted into the army and shit Vietnam. He'll be on the boat.
You know.
He's like, yeah, I can cook. What's going on right now? His plan doesn't exactly work out, Elizabeth, because James Ambrose Johnson Junior has to change his name to Ricky James Matthews just to get out and be on the run. He's like, you know what, this whole naval reserve thing. He tries signing up, but it's not for him, right, So he goes on the run from Select Services, but his plans are full on draft division, right, So he flees across the border to Canada because Detroit ain't enough.
And this is at this point, we're in nineteen sixty four. As I said, the man is sixteen years old, maybe seventeen if if the month is right now, he moves by himself to Toronto.
Oh wow, yep.
Within days of crossing the border, he starts his new life as a draft dodging musician, Ricky James Matthews, and he meets another future famous musician. So the story goes, he's outside his nightclub and I assume he had performed that night, but I don't know for certain. Anyway, Ricky James Matthews outside this club, he gets into it with these three drunk dudes or are like just talking loud because he dressed funny and he's up there in Canada and they're like, yo, man, this a good show, but
why you're wearing that ladies at whatever? And this is nineteen sixty four, So Rick James is an agent of chaos and he's not afraid of people, so they didn't matter if he was wearing a lady's wig or not. He goes popping off. They get into it right now. So there's a fight and these fights, you know, turned to shouts. Shouts turned to shove. Shoves turned into actual punches. They got a full on drunk fight, three against one. He doesn't really stand that good of a chance. He
is still sixteen years old or seventeen. He gets his ass kicked right, so he's knocked down. Things are looking bad for old Ricky James Matthews. Three musicians come out of the club. They see this kid down on the ground about it get stomped out. They recognized he was just inside playing. He's all right, so they run over to help him. One of the men who reaches down to help pick him up is Levon Helm.
No, yes, I did not know that I feel like, did you do this as are what's ridiculous ones?
No, but you're getting close to one.
I did, Okay, yeah, yeah, there's something.
Percolating the memory.
Yeah.
So I like to imagine Rick James. He's looking up and there's Levon Helm offering him a hand.
And that's like help God. Yeah.
So after helps Rick James up and he's like, Hey, we're playing a gig tonight. You wonder you should come through, Right, So Rick James he does indeed go with them to their gig, and he even gets up on stage and he performs with Ronnie Hawkins and Levon Helm. Yeah that's awesome. Right, So that's his introduction to like the Toronto scene, right, Ricky James, Matthews at this point he starts his own band, right, so he's been own band is called the Minor Birds.
Their sound is rock. It's heavily influenced by the combined new sounds of soul music but also folk music. They're mixing and matching.
And making their own thing, right.
Yeah, this at this.
Point is like nineteen sixty five.
Okay.
By the next year, Ricky James and Matthews, he's got this band sounded so good they are able to sign a deal with Motown Records. Whoa, that's in sixty six. If they signed the deal right now, this is what brings him into the orbit of Stevie Wonder Marvin Gay. And then they convince him to go from Ricky James Matthews to Ricky James and then eventually the why he gets dropped in Rick James. Right now, just before the Minor Birds record their album on Motown Records, a band
member drops out. His replacement is, of course, another future famous musicians. You want to guess who Elizabeth Hicky. Yes, that's right, Neil Young.
Oh I love him so much.
So, accorded Neil Young's biographer, this cat Jimmy McDonough. The band, the Minor Birds had a very distinctive, very mid sixties look. And to picture Rick James Neil Young on stage. Oh yeah, quote the Minor Birds in black leather jackets, yellow turtlenecks and boots had quite a surreal scene going on.
I love so.
Not only were they bandmates, they were also flatmates. They lived together in sixty six Young Neil Young, And that's funny, Young Neil Young and Rick James. They share a small apartment. Like, what was that like? Well, we do know from Neil Young's perspective what it was like, because Neil Young once told Howard Stern we did some wild things. It was all very hazy to me. Now, I'm glad I made it through that stage. It got a little dicey. There were some drugs going on. I remember singing one song
for about a day and a half. That's more than some drugs going on. Neil, that's all the drugs going on.
See you that half?
How many drugs were going on? Elizabeth. See I've told you I can hang with psychedelics, and I had my time in nearly every street drug you can name. But you could not pay me to hang in this small apartment with these two on some drugs.
Oh no, what were some drugs?
Oh, it's just basically what you would think of psychedelics, random street drugs. And I'm you're talking to somebody who's hung out with Terrence Howard in a small room and he were smoking joints and that was enough. Like I was redlining there anyway. Nineteen sixty six, Rick James Neil Young, as I said, they have this band together, they're living together, making a racket up in Toronto. Things are going well for them. They put a single out on Columbia Records
that gets them deal with Motown. Now they just need to record their debut album, and that, of course, is when the bottom suddenly drops out, Otherwise it wouldn't be an interesting story. The manager for the Miner Birds tells the band, hey man about that advance we got from Motown. They're like, what'd you do with They say, hey man's about that money's gone, right. They have no money now to record their album and they owe the money to Motown because it's an advance against record sales and they
have no record to sell. They got two problems, right, So rick James goes after the manager. Things get heated. Manager gets fired, right, but the manager knows a dirty little secret. He goes to Otown Records. He shares what he knows with Motown Records, and Barry Gordy is like, h mmmmmm because he this manager. He tells that Ricky James, their new young star, is actually James Ambrose Johnson Jr. And he's not from Canada and he's hiding out from the Armed Forces because he went a wall from the
US Navy in wartime. So Motown is like, oh no, no, Son, We're not about to play with the US government. We got all sorts of tax issues we're trying to dodge, so we don't need a draft dodger messing up a game. So you haven't even recorded the album.
Yet, So yeah, I think that's the biggest.
So they tell Ricky James he needs to go do what he needs to do with Uncle Sam and gets square, and so Rick James contacts the FBI turns himself in as a fugitive from the law.
No way.
At this point, Motown shelves the minor bird record that they are, you know, like whatever, it's future tracks they have recorded. They all get shelved. This leaves Rick James and his bandmates totally in the lurks. They got nothing to show for their time. So what did Neil Young do?
It drove him into the arms of Stephen Still's.
Practically Elizabeth Is. He and his fellow band mate Bruce Paul. They decide to get the hell out of Toronto. They head down to la they make the scene, they join up in the Laurel Canyon scene we've talked about, and they start a band called Buffalo Springfield. Meanwhile, Rick James gets tried for draft evasion, convicted, sentenced to five months hard labor for going a well from the US. Now he is just eighteen years old, Oh my god, but being stubborn, full of himself as only a Rick James
can be. With a month and a half of being locked up in the Naval brig Rick James is like, this ain't working for me, so he stages a prison breakout. Good for him, He successfully escapes military imprisonment. He manages to stay on the lamb for six months.
Wow.
Then he runs out of energy to stay on the lamb and he turns himself back. So at this point, Rick James is facing a court martial in five years in military prison. He fights the case and he gets his original sentence reinstated. He has to do the remaining five months hard labor on a sentence. Finally, August sixty seven, Rick James is a free man. He steps out of Portsmouth Naval Prison, freeze in a big breath of that free, clean, fresh air, this thing that tastes like freedom, right, and
he sides, I'm going back to Canada. I don't blame him, right, And that's where he will also Elizabeth meet another future famous musician who will change the course of his life on his way to be coming Rick James.
Bitch.
Okay, let's take a break and listen to some ads and then we'll be back into and too.
Okay, Elizabeth, alright, Saren, we're back, Yes, we are.
So Neil Young you love him? You love him right? You know you know his nickname Stevie Wonder Marvin Gayeah right here giving them too. Who is the next future famous musician to change the course of young Rick james life.
That I don't know.
I'll give you a hint. Okay, he also loves drugs.
Well, that narrows it down.
His hair looks like he loves drugs. You won't guess it. I don't think it's gonna be a tough one. I didn't give you good hints.
Hair looks like he loves drugs.
Hendrix the Atomic dog himself, Oh that is you see. After Rick James gets out of prison in sixty seven, he does indeed go back to Toronto, and that's where he becomes George Clinton's drug dealer.
Oh my god, that's a busy.
Job, right, You've got hours.
I saw George Clinton walking down the street in La once and from behind it totally looks like a muppet.
Oh yeah, yeah, completely.
He's just had like.
Big coat and like, yeah, he's just popping along.
And also his hair, he had all his extensions in there.
Yeah, so he has ropy hair and yeah, it's incredible.
He's gone now though he's reduced that look. Anyway, back then sixty seven, these two men naturally they hit it off. They become friends, fellow drug abusers. Now, admittedly, I would want to be in this small room as the two of them got high ast maybe draft eyebrows. I think I would want to be in that room. Yeah, yeah, I think that'd be fun. I mean a little wild for a lot of people. I think I can hang in.
I think they managed to record some songs together through all of this, and but none of those songs ever saw the light of day.
Oh really, yeah, same.
But the charms of Toronto could not hold Rick James. Soon enough, he follows Neil Young down to Los Angeles to seek his fame and fortune. In the scene, when he gets to LA he hooks up with his old friend Neil Young and Neil Young's new friends, and that's how Rick James ends up crashing at Steven Steele's place.
I love Stephen Still the old tree.
Top flyer exactly now. While Rick James is there in his first few days in LA He's staying on Steven Still's couch. He's not alone in this apartment though, right there's other people coming to it. Took a crash pad almost now. Eventually, one morning, I could be an afternoon, I don't know. He waked up and there's another future famous young musician seated on the floor who looks to be meditating. Do you want to take a guess who he was?
Elizabeth, As Rick James colorfully remembered in his own autobiography, quote, I woke to see a young dude sitting on the floor in.
The lotus position. Stone doesn't nothing unusual about that, except for the blood dripping from his wrists. What Elizabeth the young man was Jim Morrison Lisa of the Blood, the byronic poet Jim Morrison, right, his area is. As Rick James recalls it, he was quote saying things like, isn't the blood beautiful? Isn't that the deepest red you've ever seen?
Yeah, he's all looking.
At me.
At this point Richard Torture.
He's freaked out by this crazy white boy who's out of his arms. Yeah, exactly Young you know that as well. So Rick James goes up and he wakes Steven Stills up right and he's like, man, come, you get your friend bleeding on your view of couch.
So Steven Stills is like, for what it's worth.
Now he does come to. His first words are is he doing it again again?
Yeah?
So he gets out of bed and he goes and he bandages up Jim Morrison. Now, a little while later, Rick James and Jim Morrison are at the Whiskey a Go Go on Sunset Boulevard, the doors opening act for Neil Young's band Buffalo Springfield. After the doors perform, and you know Buffalo Springfield is ostensibly on stage, Jim Morrison hooks up backstage with Rick James and he tricks Rick
James into dropping acid with him. And that's like Rick James's introduction to like, hey man, this is like what a real acid?
Rick James and Jim Morris.
That's like the plot of the best drug movie never made, but you would never see. I would watch it. Around this same time, Buffalo's Springfield. They break up, and Neil Young joins a new group. That's right, Elizabeth, this supergroup Crosby, Stills.
And sometimes Young.
Now there's Rick James, really love exactly. Rick James was hanging out with all of them. He's friends with all of them. He's a qualified musician, and it's, you know, kind of fun to imagine if you're me and you and you're fans of chaos. But at this point, you know, he almost was in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
Rick James and James.
No not, he wouldn't have been a front name. He would have been a backing musician, all the way front. Rick James and Crosby still smash, and.
Crosby still smash. James and sometimes Young Neil can't always hang.
So it's his sixties were ending. Rick James has one more brush with a future famous musician. Only this guy wouldn't get famous for his music. Instead, he become famous for his cult of thrill killers.
No WHOA.
The year was sixty nine and Rick James was still in Hollywood, bouncing around the Laurel Canyon music scene, and he was also getting along partying with the young stars in Hollywood. Who had made their name on the silver screen.
Right.
So he was friends with one famous hairstylist, this guy named Jay Sebring, and he was hopelessly in love with one of his best friends, Sharon Tate. And one night in sixty nine, j Seabring invited Rick James to come over to his friend's house and party with them. But being Rick James, he had party way too hard the night before. He was hung over. He's like, man, I can't come through there. Who over there?
Right?
So he chose to stay home and lay about. And so later that same night, Charles Manson's followers showed up at Charon Tate's home made bloody History, which would be the one percent of the story. So we will skip past that now.
The next Rick James was supposed to be there.
He was supposed to be there that night, so I don't know if he would have fought them off or just like.
Actually been a victims.
Rick going wild on people get down in my face with that. The next day, Rick James he reads about his near miss with history in the La Times and he's like, oh man, and then moves on to now I got one more pre famed Rick James ready for you, Elizabeth, just because I love this one. Do you know who Salvador Dhali is?
Yes, he too.
I thought you did now since you know who he was and you also know how he was. Yeah, now can you imagine him and Rick James hanging out?
Oh no, he Rick James is like this chaos magnet and.
In the society draw this.
So the story goes. The two men read a party in Hawaii in the nineteen seventies. Now by this point, Rick James is coming up, but he's not quite world famous yet. Anyway, Salvador Dali is at this dinner party in Hawaii and he's wonderfully charmed by Rick James, his whole look, his vibe. Yeah, and the Spanish surrealist painter. He's like, you know, he's transfixed. He's key staring at him. He cannot take his eyes. Rick James like, yeah, appreciate it.
I enjoy it, you know, you know. Rick James, though, eventually notices Salvador Dolly come even closer and he's like, what's this about? And he explains to him that he says, anti quote, I am mad about the way you look. Please allow me to sketch you, all right? And Rick James is like, okay, Rother, go for it. So he just sits there and he lets Dolly adore him. He whips out his materials, gets to sketching. He stares at Rick James right until he gets it all right, and
he draws a little more. Twenty minutes later he's done. Dolly hands Rick James the sketch. It's drawn on like a napkin. Right, Rick James is, He's totally impressed. He loves it. He's showing people he's got this rare momento. Yeah, but it must not have made enough of an impression on Rick James because the next morning he got up and went swimming, never changed his short when he got out of the water. The Salvador Dolly drawn napkin was just a mess.
In his pocket.
Elizabet, Yes, exactly, and I'm sure Salvador Dolly would appreciate it. Now we've reached the early eighties when Rick James really is a worldwide famous person, right, and this is when he's releasing a string of hits. Give it to Me Baby, super Freak.
Sure.
Okay, Now that second song that's his big hit, that's the one that set the old for how people think of Rick James.
Super freak guy.
You know.
You don't pay to mother.
Now, following on the hit of that super freaky vibe, Rick James becomes Rick James because at this point he's been Rick James, but now he has turned loose on the world. You know that.
I once met him really.
Oh yeah, I was at the Lenox Mall in Atlanta, and I was a kid. I was like with my pop, just the two of us exactly. So I go, he's got the white coat and he's like, I was like, that's Rick James. And he has me go over and get an autograph. And we have the same name, so really it's an autograph for him, but I swear your father name, not Rick James. My father and I have the same name, and so I got the autograph for my father and had his name on it because that's
my name. So essentially he just used his son. He you know, he just child labored me into getting him a momento. Yeah. Anyway, but uh, Rick James, he does have an aura. I gotta say, Charlie Murphy is range. No, I mean it didn't. It moved, Elizabeth. It was like a very depending on the white blue, it was very impressive. Yes, but all right, Elizabeth where it was all right. I've met a lot of celebrities though, so I don't mean like brag about it. I just bumped into a crazy.
Really, you know, I have a very limited number of celebrities I've met, very limited And you know, I saw Tyne Daily once in real life from across the street, and then that old George Clinton walking down the street.
And I think, you know, I had Gary Coleman once cooked beef for me at a Korean restaurant. Wait, yeah, you know the Korean barbecues are a stove on the on your table. He's like standing on his seat cooking the beef and he's like putting it on my plate. I was tripping out. Now, I've seen, like I said, a lot of celebrities had weird moments. None of them were like Rick James in terms of just the presence. It was incredible. Immediately I was a boy.
But have you seen Tyne Daily from across the street?
No, you got me there, I like, I've never experienced the full time.
There you go.
Now the scenes when Charlie Murphy is talking about bent in the Aura earlier, right, yeah, and then he also has the times, like the talk about getting in fights. You know, there's the whole thing about ruining the couch, right, and then he has the very classic thing where it's like, I'm Rick James bitch. Right, that's the line that he says all the time that excuses all this bad behavior. Sure, now that's what really seems to stick with people from
that skit, that attitude I'm Rick James bitch. Now this brings us to the crimers. I promised you up top of Rick James inspired criminals.
Well, and it's like that was like pre meme era, and so that was like what people would just shout for no reason.
Yes, that was essentially verbal means.
Frat boys in particular. Oh yeah, I loved that completely. And then it kind of led into like theuzzier. So it was like there were catchphrases that people would yell for absolutely no reason.
Yes, totally, and also from random shows is one lines. And then then you'd also get like your Lebowski's like the weather just over and over. But yeah, this was like something transcendent even amongst that.
Tradition apropos of nothing. Yeah, that's what I loved about it.
So other crimers, Yes, September nineteenth, twenty fifteen, just a little after noon, two men walk into a bank in Indianapolis. Well, technically it's a credit union, the indian Anna members credit Union and quote. According to witnesses, two black males wearing all black entered the bank armed with handguns. Both suspects approached the Tayler counter and demanded money. The suspects fled on foot in an unknown direction with an undisclosed amount
of money. Where's the Rick James and all this? A well, they didn't mention what they looked like. Right now, the suspects descriptions, the ones that are given by the cops are straightforward. Suspect one black hat, long dark hair, sunglasses, all black clothing five eight to five ten armed. Suspect two, long hair, dreads, all black clothing five eight to five
ten armed. What they leave out is that the two men redressed as Rick James and young blood priest the Harlem Koch there the main character of the seventies black sploitation flick Superfly.
Right yright right right, yeah, So imagine they didn't.
They left that out. They told why, I don't know if they didn't recognize the characters they like. I no one fella kind of resembles Rick James.
Fella, I don't know about the platform.
Shoot, oh you better believe yeah, like the coats, it's amazing. Now, imagine you're Elizabeth are in a bank in Indianapolis in twenty fifteen. All of a sudden, two seventies super pimps come in and stick up the joint, right, Like, what would you even think was happening? Would you think that maybe maybe they're shooting a movie around?
Yeah?
Know, honestly that's what you would know.
Way this is real?
Yeah? Or just I don't know that. I'm like, have I been hanging out with Rick James and now I'm just hallucinating?
How I am?
I am? I Rick James?
Well, this robbery wasn't there first or their last? Oh the super Freak and Superfly bank robbers. They went on a spree. They started in September twenty fifteen. They first hit the Advanced America check Cashing service in Indianapolis. Next they hit the Indiana Members Credit Union. You can probably hear they're hitting small chapters or small branches.
I imagine they're not grabbing a whole lot.
I don't know. They didn't get numbers. I said no, the mounse were undisclosed.
It is so large they don't want anyone.
I think they're getting like rent because it seems like they hit like in the middle of a month, and then it's like in November nineteenth they hit a month later, So yeah, November nineteenth, twenty fifteen, they hit another Indiana Members Credit Union, this time in the neighboring town of Avon. Nearly a month later, on December twelfth, once again middle of the month, it's Rent Money twenty fifteen, Super Freak
and Superfly they hit again. They go into a branch of the Indiana Members Credit Union in the town of Carmel, Indiana, but this time Rick James's whole vibe of untouchability it fails them and they have to flee. That leads to a high speed chase that goes tearing through three counties. Boone Hamilton Marion the getaway driver. He's good, but not good enough because the death despite going over one hundred miles an hour and running red lights, crossing oncoming traffic
the whole nine. In the end, Super Freak and super Fly they get caught and busted. Five day trial, thirty eight year old dupries Jet and thirty eight year old Damien mckissic and thirty eight year old Earl Lee Walker all found guilty.
I went to school together.
I'm guessing all exactly the exact same age, or there are their cousins, many in the hood next to each other. Now, what was what was it like for this gang known in the press as the Rick James Robbers? Well, the getaway driver you got six years, the super Freak and Superfly bank robbers themselves, they each caught sentences of twenty
four years in prison. Four yes, right, do not play yep? Okay, Elizabeth, Let's take another little break, and after these delightfully persuasive ads, I'll be back for some more of who made I'm Rick James bitch into a criminal mantra? We're back, Elizabeth, We're back. You haven't found so far?
Oh my gosh, So I.
Got a little more Rick James inspired lunacy for this please. This next story also takes place in twenty fifteen in Springfield, Massachusetts.
I was just a young girl then, I know, weren't you just said, just out of kindergarten, barely.
Able to walk. There's around two fifty in the morning when patrol officers on Eastern Avenue spot a Blue Infinity rolling around right, that's like suspicious right away. The trouble was the car had already been reported stolen, so the cops give chase. They catch up to the blue Infinity. Driver pulls over. When the cops approach and they speak with the driver of the stolen Blue Infinity, he tells the Springfield police that his name is wait for it,
Rick James. The police are like, well, mister James, can we see your driver's license? The self appointed Rick James tells the cops he doesn't have his lescens on him at the moment. Officer Now, The cops are like, well, mister James, would you politely and police kindly step out of the car. Turns out this was definitely not Rick James, because this is twenty fifteen and Rick James at this point had been dead for eleven years, right and more than that, the driver of this stolen car was actually
named Scott. Now, after the police finger printed Scott, they found out that his full name was Scott Taylor of Springfield. The thirty year old was charged.
With receiving his full name was like, hi, Scott, Taylor Springfield. A nice he was receiving a stolen motor vehicle, driving with a revoked license, giving a false name to a police officer.
Outstanding warrants, the full slate. Nice little raption you got, now, Scott, this brings us to the cherry on this Rick James flavored pie. Elizabeth. I'm happy to report that this guy, he's a Florida man and he's super freak a the story goes, his name is Paul, but Paul Kidgik. He's fifty years old, and he was at the Back Bar and Lounge in Saint Petersburg, Florida, at around four am
on a Sunday morning, after a Saturday night out. Obviously, he decided he'd had enough to drink and it was time to go home, so he walked out and got in his car to drive home. No, Luckily, there were a few people, multiple people in the parking lot outside this Florida bar, and they all saw how drunk this dude kill Jack was. Yeah, and he was quote kept from driving by multiple witnesses due to his level of intoxication.
Good for them, that was notable since this Florida man, Elizabeth was six foot three and three hundred pounds an easy person to persuade.
It doesn't matter.
Oh they should, I totally agree, But they had to stand up and you know, get loud. Maybe who see if someone though felt we should probably call the police. And so they did. And the police arrived on the scene at backbar in Saint Pete and they see this drunk man who wants to drive home or whatever. And the cops were like, buddy, let's just call you a taxi. So they call a taxi for kill Jack. When the cab arrives, the drunk Florida man gets in and the
drivers are like, Ferry may home or whatever. But he doesn't make it, Elizabeth, Why why doesn't he make it?
Well?
Rather than me tell you about it, Elizabeth, I like you to close your eyes, eyesac close. I like you to picture it. It's late on a Saturday night, and you are standing outside of the back bar and lounge in the parking lot of a suburban style mall complex in Saint Petersburg, Florida. At the moment, it's about four am. So clearly you're not making the best life choices. But there's a man here in the parking lot who's making
far worse life choices than you. He looks to be about fifty years old and five sheets to the wind. The man is drunk, and he's thrashing about like a tranquilized elephant who refuses to go down. This is strange since there are cops on the scene talking to him. They've been talking with the drunk for quite some time now. In fact, they're trying to get him into a taxi. You're betting against the cops getting him in the back seat, but they're stubborn, Elizabeth, and they managed to get him
in the back and shut the door. The cops turn back to you in the small crowd standing near you. The cops panami, ma, look like, get a load of this guy. As the taxi pulls away, your attention fall the car. Soon enough, the cops turn to look too, because all of you can hear shouting and yelling coming from inside the taxi. They're not even out of the
parking lot. But it's not just shouting and yelling. It looks like, yep, the drunk in the back seat is punching the cab driver in the face from the back seat.
Oh my god.
The taxi cabs breake, lights flash the car comes to a screeching stuff. The back door bus open. The drunk man hops out. His mood has now violently swung in the opposite direction. He's now laughing and dancing in the parking lot. The cops look at you and the crowd again and they pantomime a new look that seems to say, I guess we got to do something.
Huh.
The dancing drunk is now gleefully insulting anyone, and everyone is watching him. He shouts in the direction of you and the small crowd standing near you and the two cops. He yells you you wait, and he follows that up with I'm Rick James. Betch that cuts it. The cops now have to rush the six but three three hundred pound drunk man dancing around and doing his best Dave Chappelle impression. You are not impressed with its accuracy. Neither
are the police, Elizabeth. They arrested drunk Kiljick for battery and disorderly intoxication. And your cheap evenings entertainment is over. So you asked the cab driver if you can get a ride home. He looks at you like, are you kidding? I'm going home?
I hope.
So this is what happens when you spend time in the Tampa's eight Peenede area at four am.
Oh my god, Elizabeth.
This last Rick James inspired legal kerfuffle that I want to tell you about brings this all full circle because we've come back to Dave Chappelle and his famous Charlie Murphy skits. In two thousand and four, the same year that Rick James passed away, Dave Chappelle pulled his first big disappearing act. Not all people know this, because what works out like this. It was in two thousand and four, in December he walked away from the Dave Chappelle Show
for the first time, but it was all quiet. Nobody really heard about it. And then he walked away again in two thousand and five, and that's when he very famously went a wall. So before all of that, back in June of two thousand and four, he was in Sacramento, California. Hey, aka the Big Tomato, aka the Big Easy Chair, aka the City that Always Sleeps Sacramento, and he was there doing a stand up show. Now, he was at the
four thousand seat Memorial Auditory. I'm not sure if you're familiar with them, so he was doing his act and he gets irritated because the fans and Sacramento kept shouting at him. I'm Rick James bitch os, Oh my god, and that's fun. You're trying to do your job and you've got Sacramento yokeles yelling punchlines at you from your TV show. So David gets pissed at him, and he
tells these Sacramento yokels, you people are stupid. Good now, as you know, Elizabeth, I grew up in Davis and Mere twelve miles from Sacramento, so to hear the Dave Chappelle called the stupid delights me in a very ugly regional rivalry kind of way, so forgive me. But the story goes like this, It's a Tuesday night show mid June, should be fun for everyone. Dave Chappelle is about to drop the third season of his show It's the hottest
thing in comedy. But his fans they just well, as Dave put it, shut up and listen like you're supposed to. At one point, Dave Chappelle tells the Sacramento crowd the show is ruining my life. Oh god, he confesses to the audience. That quote, stand up is the most important thing I do is because I'm on TV. You make it hard for me to do it. People can't distinguish between what's real and fake. This ain't a TV show. You're not watching Comedy Central. I'm real up here talking.
At that point, he gave the Sacramental crowd a lesson on how stand up comedy works in case they unfamiliar with the real structures and structures. And he said, and I quote, I say something you mulled over and decide whether you want to laugh or not, and then you do or not. Then I say something else and you think about it. It's worked well all across the country. But you people and knowing them as I do, Elizabeth, I bet when Dave paused here, someone actually shouted I'm
Rick Jags match. I'm just guessing that if he did, they would have missed the insult that Dave was about to drop. Because Dave made sure that they understood it. And this one landed because he was talking to people from Sacramento, so he sold them. Coming to Sacramento to do comedy was probably quote a bad idea, like chocolate covered fish not done. Insulting the Sacramento crowd. Dave Chappelle next tells the same crowd why his TV show is
so funny. He said, and I quote, you know why my show is good because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing. And every day I fight for you, I tell them how smart you are. Turns out I was wrong. You people are stupid. And again, knowing them as I do, Elizabeth, I would bet cash money. Someone yelled back in the response.
Oh, Rick James Batch, this is what drove Dave Chappelle bo.
I'm telling you, Sacramento did it? I recognize this now. At this point, Dave Chappelle tells his fans in Sacramento, you guys are the worst listeners in the country. It's like the silence of the Lambs without the silence. This, too, is the power of Rick James. He can make a whole cowtown lose his camp mind. Elizabeth, Please do remember I'm Rick James bitch. Enjoy yourself. So what's our ridiculous takeaway here?
Oh my goodness. I feel for Chappelle.
And that's that case of just you know, I think any artist who hears those things repeated back to them constantly, And I.
Wonder if Rick James heard super Freak all the time.
You know, it's it's annoying. I would imagine, Oh god. But my takeaway, I think is that Rick James the gift kept giving.
My takeaway, Elizabeth, thank you for asking me. It's ridiculous. I'll share it with you. He's like our idea of a pirate come to life, you know, like the recklessness, the big Yeah. He really is. Like so now I'm going to think of Rick James as a pirate.
His characterization by Chappelle of like holding a like a gobb it gives that pirate aesthetic too, just to.
Something about him. So you in the move for a talk back? Of course, I am all right producing. Could you favor us with one?
Oh my god, I saren.
I had to pause the podcast, the latest one and the name I can't pronounce it because you haven't said it yet. I had to pose it when you said the word serendipity, and you missed a huge opportunity to call it serendipity.
How could you?
I did drop the ball, But I love that.
I'm listening to this now I'm going to pause it and complain about something that maybe has or hasn't happened now luckily it hadn't happen, but still serendipity.
You know, my mother uses that as a nickname, because does she. She's dippy like that. Well, as always, we appreciate y'all's talkback, so please keep them coming. Get the iHeart app downloaded. You can leave yourself a talkback that we will then possibly play here and you can hear your own voice right here now. You can also, obviously, you can catch us on the social media, so you can just look up ridiculous Crime on most of social media's except for that one with X. We have a
website ridiculous Crime dot com. We obviously also have an email account because we mentioned it from time to time. It's also a Ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com. So hit us up and as always, please start the email, dear producer d and as always, thank you for listening. We will catch you next crime. Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Burnette, produced and edited by the Rick to Our James Dave Coustin, and starring Annalise
Rutger as Judath. Research is by our resident miner birds Brissa Brown, and Andrea song Sharpened Tear. Our theme song is by Ricky James Matthews. Cosplayers Thomas Lee and Travis Dutty. The host's wardrobe provided by Botany five hundred, guest Haron makup by Sparkleshot and Mister Andrea. Executive producers are Ben I Wanted to be Rick James Bitch Boland and Note I Am Rick James Bitch.
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