other inmates and, in turn, started an all out race riot between the Black supporters and the White supporters: The Crips, Bloods, and Mexicans were on Rick’s side and the Aryan Nations members were on the White guy’s side. The prison guards were able to step in and shut the war down before things got really ugly though.

James eventually got transferred to another prison, Folsom, although we’re not sure if the fight had anything to do with that. Maybe the word about Rick beating the breaks off of that Aryan Nations dude got around quick, because when he stepped into the new prison, he got mixed reviews: When he was walking through the Folsom prison yard, over two thousand inmates stopped talking and lifting weights when they saw James. They started singing his songs, cheering him and asking about the Mary Jane Girls.

But also on his first day there, James told the sergeant that he needed to make a phone call, the sergeant replied, “Well, boy, if you want to make a phone call, you’ll have to sing for it.” Then he tried to pass it off like he was joking and said, “OK, you can make the call.” A few other tense moments with prison guards occurred there after that, but overall Rick was loved in prison.

That didn’t put an ended to his prison woes though, because the day before he was being released, his fiance’ Tanya’s, mother informed him that Tanya was being sent back to prison for probation violation after she’d gotten busted for stealing a pair of shoes to wear to her bridal shower. James was crushed.
[Source: “Memoirs Of A Super Freak,” by Rick James]

We always say there was never a dull moment with Rick James and this proves to be yet another non-dull moment. Rick may have been many things- some good, some bad -but he was a phenomenal musician, song writer, producer and artist, and that’s something that can never be erased from his legacy. This prison incident was not Rick’s doing, but he was definitely going to make sure that he finished it, so we can’t knock him for that. I bet that other dude learned his lesson that day though: don’t mess with the guy who rocks spandex pants, thigh high boots, and long braids in his videos, he will mess you up!

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