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Super Freak

January 20, 2023

This article is about the Rick James song. For "De Super Freek Show", the Belgian TV show, see Evi Hanssen. For "Super Freek", the song from the soundtrack of Observe and Report, see Observe and Report.

"Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, Street Songs (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "Freak" is a slang term for the sexually adventurous, as described in the song's lyrics, "She's a very kinky girl / The kind you don't take home to mother". Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 477 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004,[5] number 481 in 2010, and number 153 in an updated list in 2021.[6] The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammys.[7] The song has been sampled by MC Hammer in 1990, the Black Eyed Peas in 2020, and by Nicki Minaj in 2022.[8]

"Super Freak"
French 7" cover art
Single by Rick James
from the album Street Songs
B-side"Super Freak (instrumental)"
ReleasedAugust 1981[1]
Recorded1980-1981
Genre
Length
  • 3:24 (album/7" version)
  • 7:05 (12" version)
LabelGordy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick James
Rick James singles chronology
"Give It to Me Baby"
(1981) 		"Super Freak"
(1981) 		"Ghetto Life"
(1981)
Music video
"Super Freak" on YouTube
Audio sample
"Super Freak"

Recording

"Super Freak" was recorded with other tracks for the Street Songs album between December 1980 – January 1981 at the Record Plant, in Sausalito, California and Motown / Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios, Hollywood, California. It features background vocals from James' Motown labelmates The Temptations—in which the bassist was Greg "Big Money" Brown, Melvin Franklin—and Canadian singer Taborah Johnson. The tenor saxophone solo is by Stone City Band member Daniel LeMelle. James' improvised lyrics were later toned down by Los Angeles DJ Alonzo Miller, who received co-writing credit. James apparently was not particularly excited about the song, but reputedly wanted to have something on the album that "white folks could dance to."[9]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 400,000 
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
  Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Beatfreakz version

"Superfreak"
 
Single by Beatfreakz
Released2006
Studio
GenreHouse
Length3:25
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Beatfreakz
Beatfreakz singles chronology
"Somebody's Watching Me"
(2006) 		"Superfreak"
(2006) 		"Bring the Ghost"
(2007)

In 2006, Dutch music group Beatfreakz covered the song as "Superfreak" and released it as a single. This cover reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number six in Finland and Hungary.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Dutch and UK CD1 liner notes.[23][25]

Studios

  • Recorded at Beatfreakz Studios (Weesp, Netherlands)
  • Sample replays recorded at Scorccio.com Studio (Barcelona, Spain)

Personnel

  • Rick James, Alonzo Miller – writing
  • Sandro – vocals
  • Jassy Tamar Husk – additional vocals
  • Beatfreakz – production
  • Hal Ritson – vocal production
  • Mark Summers – sample replay production
  • Ben Cook – executive production
  • Dipesh Parmar – executive production assistant
  • Antonio Petronzio – photography

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Netherlands 2006 CD Spinnin' [23]
United Kingdom October 9, 2006 (2006-10-09)
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Data [44]

Sampling

The predominant riff of the song was most popularly sampled in 1990 by MC Hammer in "U Can't Touch This".[45] The song would then be sampled by American musical group Black Eyed Peas in their 2020 single “Vida Loca", and was later sampled by Nicki Minaj in her 2022 single, "Super Freaky Girl".[8] Minaj previously appeared in the remix of Big Sean's "Dance (A$$)" (2011), which sampled "U Can't Touch This".[46]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Rick James – Super Freak" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  2. ^ "Super Freaky Bluegrass". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 13. March 31, 2007. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. ^ "New Dance Central Songs Hit Tomorrow from Missy Elliott and Rick James". IGN. February 14, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  4. ^ Lowenthal, Steve. "'Super Freak': The Story Behind Rick James' Punk-Funk Hit". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ^ . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006.
  6. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Roling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Grammy Awards 1982". Awards and Shows. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Billboard Fans Choose Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" as This Week's Favorite New Music". Yahoo. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  9. ^ Christian, Margena A. (February 2011). . Ebony. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Chart Positions Pre 1989 Part 4". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  11. ^ "Rick James – Super Freak" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0460." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  13. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  14. ^ "Rick James – Super Freak". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c . AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  16. ^ . Cash Box. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012.
  17. ^ "Record World Singles" (PDF). Record World. October 24, 1981. p. 31. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  18. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1981" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  19. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  20. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Rick James – Super Freak". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  22. ^ "American single certifications – Rick James – Super Freak (Part 1)". Recording Industry Association of America.
  23. ^ a b c Superfreak (Dutch CD single liner notes). Beatfreakz. Spinnin' Records. 2006. SPCDS10124.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Superfreak (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Beatfreakz. Data Records. 2006. DATA135T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ a b Superfreak (UK CD1 liner notes). Beatfreakz. Data Records. 2006. DATA135CDS.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ Superfreak (UK CD2 liner notes). Beatfreakz. Data Records. 2006. DATA 135CDX.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ a b "Beatfreakz – Superfreak" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  28. ^ Beatfreakz — Superfreakz. TopHit. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  29. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200645 into search. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  30. ^ "Beatfreakz: Superfreak" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  31. ^ "Beatfreakz – Superfreak" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  32. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  33. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  34. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Superfreak". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  35. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 41, 2006" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  36. ^ "Beatfreakz – Superfreak" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  37. ^ (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. See last week peak position. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  39. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  40. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  41. ^ "Лучшие песни и музыка за 2006 год" (in Russian). TopHit. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  42. ^ "ChartsPlus Year-End 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  43. ^ "Лучшие песни и музыка за 2007 год" (in Russian). TopHit. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  44. ^ "Reviews: Singles". Music Week. September 30, 2006. p. 28.
  45. ^ "Rick James Mourned at Services in Buffalo, NY, and Los Angeles". Jet. Vol. 106, no. 9. Johnson Publishing Company. August 30, 2004. p. 64. ISSN 0021-5996.
  46. ^ . Archived from the original on November 19, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2022.

External links

  • Super Freak at Discogs

January 20, 2023
super, freak, this, article, about, rick, james, song, super, freek, show, belgian, show, hanssen, super, freek, song, from, soundtrack, observe, report, observe, report, 1981, single, produced, performed, american, singer, rick, james, song, written, james, a. This article is about the Rick James song For De Super Freek Show the Belgian TV show see Evi Hanssen For Super Freek the song from the soundtrack of Observe and Report see Observe and Report Super Freak is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James The song co written by James and Alonzo Miller was first released on James fifth album Street Songs 1981 and became one of James signature songs Freak is a slang term for the sexually adventurous as described in the song s lyrics She s a very kinky girl The kind you don t take home to mother Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 477 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004 5 number 481 in 2010 and number 153 in an updated list in 2021 6 The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammys 7 The song has been sampled by MC Hammer in 1990 the Black Eyed Peas in 2020 and by Nicki Minaj in 2022 8 Super Freak French 7 cover artSingle by Rick Jamesfrom the album Street SongsB side Super Freak instrumental ReleasedAugust 1981 1 Recorded1980 1981GenreFunk 2 3 new wave 4 Length3 24 album 7 version 7 05 12 version LabelGordySongwriter s Rick James Alonzo MillerProducer s Rick JamesRick James singles chronology Give It to Me Baby 1981 Super Freak 1981 Ghetto Life 1981 Music video Super Freak on YouTubeAudio sample source source Super Freak filehelp Contents 1 Recording 2 Charts 2 1 Weekly charts 2 2 Year end charts 3 Certifications 4 Beatfreakz version 4 1 Track listings 4 2 Credits and personnel 4 3 Charts 4 3 1 Weekly charts 4 3 2 Year end charts 4 4 Release history 5 Sampling 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksRecording Edit Super Freak was recorded with other tracks for the Street Songs album between December 1980 January 1981 at the Record Plant in Sausalito California and Motown Hitsville U S A Recording Studios Hollywood California It features background vocals from James Motown labelmates The Temptations in which the bassist was Greg Big Money Brown Melvin Franklin and Canadian singer Taborah Johnson The tenor saxophone solo is by Stone City Band member Daniel LeMelle James improvised lyrics were later toned down by Los Angeles DJ Alonzo Miller who received co writing credit James apparently was not particularly excited about the song but reputedly wanted to have something on the album that white folks could dance to 9 Charts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1981 1982 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 10 26Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 11 2Canada Top Singles RPM 12 40Netherlands Dutch Top 40 13 2Netherlands Single Top 100 1 3New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 14 4US Billboard Hot 100 15 16US Hot Dance Club Play Billboard 15 1US Hot Soul Singles Billboard 15 3US Cash Box Top 100 16 17US Record World Singles 17 14 Year end charts Edit Chart 1981 PositionBelgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 18 54Netherlands Dutch Top 40 19 24Netherlands Single Top 100 20 26Certifications EditRegion Certification Certified units salesUnited Kingdom BPI 21 Gold 400 000 United States RIAA 22 Gold 500 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Sales streaming figures based on certification alone Beatfreakz version Edit Superfreak Single by BeatfreakzReleased2006StudioBeatfreakz Weesp Netherlands Scorccio com Barcelona Spain GenreHouseLength3 25LabelSpinnin Data UK Songwriter s Rick JamesAlonzo MillerProducer s BeatfreakzBeatfreakz singles chronology Somebody s Watching Me 2006 Superfreak 2006 Bring the Ghost 2007 In 2006 Dutch music group Beatfreakz covered the song as Superfreak and released it as a single This cover reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number six in Finland and Hungary Track listings Edit Dutch CD single 23 Superfreak radio edit Superfreak club mix Superfreak Fonzerelli remix Superfreak Dennis Christopher De Electro remix Streetgirl album version UK 12 inch single 24 A1 Superfreak Beatfreakz club mix A2 Superfreak Fonzerelli remix B1 Superfreak Dennis Christopher De Electro remix B2 Superfreak Friday Night Posse remix UK CD1 25 Superfreak radio edit Superfreak Beatfreakz club mix UK CD2 26 Superfreak radio edit Superfreak Fonzerelli remix Superfreak Dennis Christopher De Electro remix Superfreak Verdez remix Extended interactive CD ROM Credits and personnel Edit Credits are lifted from the Dutch and UK CD1 liner notes 23 25 Studios Recorded at Beatfreakz Studios Weesp Netherlands Sample replays recorded at Scorccio com Studio Barcelona Spain Personnel Rick James Alonzo Miller writing Sandro vocals Jassy Tamar Husk additional vocals Beatfreakz production Hal Ritson vocal production Mark Summers sample replay production Ben Cook executive production Dipesh Parmar executive production assistant Antonio Petronzio photographyCharts Edit Weekly charts Edit Chart 2006 2007 PeakpositionBelgium Ultratip Flanders 27 5Belgium Ultratop 50 Dance Flanders 27 8CIS TopHit 28 20Czech Republic Radio Top 100 29 34Finland Suomen virallinen lista 30 6France SNEP 31 56Hungary Dance Top 40 32 6Hungary Single Top 40 33 6Ireland IRMA 34 20Netherlands Dutch Top 40 35 34Netherlands Single Top 100 36 26Romania Romanian Top 100 37 66Scotland OCC 38 6UK Singles OCC 39 7UK Dance OCC 40 5 Year end charts Edit Chart 2006 PositionCIS TopHit 41 195UK Singles OCC 42 189Chart 2007 PositionCIS TopHit 43 128 Release history Edit Region Date Format s Label s Ref Netherlands 2006 CD Spinnin 23 United Kingdom October 9 2006 2006 10 09 12 inch vinylCD Data 44 Sampling EditThe predominant riff of the song was most popularly sampled in 1990 by MC Hammer in U Can t Touch This 45 The song would then be sampled by American musical group Black Eyed Peas in their 2020 single Vida Loca and was later sampled by Nicki Minaj in her 2022 single Super Freaky Girl 8 Minaj previously appeared in the remix of Big Sean s Dance A 2011 which sampled U Can t Touch This 46 See also EditList of number one dance singles of 1981 U S References Edit a b Rick James Super Freak in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved July 14 2013 Super Freaky Bluegrass Billboard Vol 119 no 13 March 31 2007 p 48 ISSN 0006 2510 New Dance Central Songs Hit Tomorrow from Missy Elliott and Rick James IGN February 14 2011 Retrieved May 10 2015 Lowenthal Steve Super Freak The Story Behind Rick James Punk Funk Hit uDiscoverMusic Retrieved 14 October 2022 The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 1 500 Rolling Stone Archived from the original on October 25 2006 The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Roling Stone September 15 2021 Retrieved May 2 2022 Grammy Awards 1982 Awards and Shows Retrieved October 18 2016 a b Billboard Fans Choose Nicki Minaj s Super Freaky Girl as This Week s Favorite New Music Yahoo Retrieved August 15 2022 Christian Margena A February 2011 I m Rick M F James Ebony Archived from the original on April 28 2018 Retrieved April 28 2018 Forum ARIA Charts Special Occasion Charts Chart Positions Pre 1989 Part 4 Australian charts com Hung Medien Retrieved July 11 2014 Rick James Super Freak in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved July 14 2013 Top RPM Singles Issue 0460 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved July 14 2013 Nederlandse Top 40 week 45 1981 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved July 14 2013 Rick James Super Freak Top 40 Singles Retrieved July 14 2013 a b c Street Songs Awards AllMusic Archived from the original on August 15 2013 Retrieved July 14 2013 CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending OCTOBER 31 1981 Cash Box Archived from the original on May 11 2012 Record World Singles PDF Record World October 24 1981 p 31 Retrieved September 9 2017 Jaaroverzichten 1981 in Dutch Ultratop Hung Medien Retrieved July 11 2014 Top 100 Jaaroverzicht van 1981 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved July 11 2014 Jaaroverzichten Single 1981 in Dutch Single Top 100 Hung Medien Retrieved July 11 2014 British single certifications Rick James Super Freak British Phonographic Industry Retrieved December 16 2022 American single certifications Rick James Super Freak Part 1 Recording Industry Association of America a b c Superfreak Dutch CD single liner notes Beatfreakz Spinnin Records 2006 SPCDS10124 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Superfreak UK 12 inch single sleeve Beatfreakz Data Records 2006 DATA135T a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Superfreak UK CD1 liner notes Beatfreakz Data Records 2006 DATA135CDS a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Superfreak UK CD2 liner notes Beatfreakz Data Records 2006 DATA 135CDX a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Beatfreakz Superfreak in Dutch Ultratip Retrieved July 14 2013 Beatfreakz Superfreakz TopHit Retrieved October 30 2021 CNS IFPI in Czech Hitparada Radio Top 100 Oficialni IFPI Czech Republic Note Change the chart to CZ RADIO TOP 100 and insert 200645 into search Retrieved January 14 2020 Beatfreakz Superfreak in Finnish Musiikkituottajat Retrieved July 14 2013 Beatfreakz Superfreak in French Les classement single Retrieved July 14 2013 Archivum Slagerlistak MAHASZ in Hungarian Dance Top 40 lista Magyar Hanglemezkiadok Szovetsege Retrieved January 14 2020 Archivum Slagerlistak MAHASZ in Hungarian Single track Top 40 lista Magyar Hanglemezkiadok Szovetsege Retrieved January 14 2020 The Irish Charts Search Results Superfreak Irish Singles Chart Retrieved July 14 2013 Nederlandse Top 40 week 41 2006 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved July 14 2013 Beatfreakz Superfreak in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved July 14 2013 Issue nr 48 2006 04 Decembrie 10 Decembrie 2006 in Romanian Romanian Top 100 See last week peak position Archived from the original on December 6 2006 Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved January 14 2020 Official Singles Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved July 14 2013 Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 Official Charts Company Retrieved January 14 2020 Luchshie pesni i muzyka za 2006 god in Russian TopHit Retrieved October 30 2021 ChartsPlus Year End 2006 PDF UKChartsPlus Retrieved November 15 2021 Luchshie pesni i muzyka za 2007 god in Russian TopHit Retrieved October 31 2021 Reviews Singles Music Week September 30 2006 p 28 Rick James Mourned at Services in Buffalo NY and Los Angeles Jet Vol 106 no 9 Johnson Publishing Company August 30 2004 p 64 ISSN 0021 5996 Listen Nicki Minaj remixes Big Sean s Dance A Archived from the original on November 19 2011 Retrieved August 22 2022 External links EditSuper Freak at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Super Freak amp oldid 1133788955, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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