Super Freak

"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,[6] number 481 in 2010, and number 153 in an updated list in 2021.[7] The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammys.[8] The song has been sampled by MC Hammer in 1990, and by Nicki Minaj in 2022.[9]

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"
French 7-inch cover art
Single by Rick James
from the album Street Songs
B-side"Super Freak (instrumental)"
ReleasedAugust 1981[1]
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"
  • file
  • help

Recording

"Super Freak" was recorded with other tracks for the Street Songs album during 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—whose bass singer, Melvin Franklin, was one of James's idols—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."[10]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[24] 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.[25][27]

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' [25]
United Kingdom 9 October 2006
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Data [46]

Sampling

The predominant riff of the song was most popularly sampled in 1990 by MC Hammer in "U Can't Touch This".[47] 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".[9] Minaj previously appeared in the remix of Big Sean's "Dance (A$$)" (2011), which sampled "U Can't Touch This".[48]

See also

References
  1. "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. Molanphy, Chris (September 29, 2017). "The Great War Against the Single Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  6. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006.
  7. "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  8. "Grammy Awards 1982". Awards and Shows. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  9. "Billboard Fans Choose Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" as This Week's Favorite New Music". Yahoo. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  10. Christian, Margena A. (February 2011). "I'm Rick M#!@$^ F@#!%! James!". Ebony. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  11. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Chart Positions Pre 1989 Part 4". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  12. "Rick James – Super Freak" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0460." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  15. "Rick James – Super Freak". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  16. "Street Songs – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  17. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending OCTOBER 31, 1981". Cash Box. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012.
  18. "Record World Singles" (PDF). Record World. October 24, 1981. p. 31. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  19. "Jaaroverzichten 1981" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  20. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  21. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  22. "Canadian single certifications – Rick James – Superfreak". Music Canada. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  23. "British single certifications – Rick James – Super Freak". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  24. "American single certifications – Rick James – Super Freak (Part 1)". Recording Industry Association of America.
  25. Superfreak (Dutch CD single liner notes). Beatfreakz. Spinnin' Records. 2006. SPCDS10124.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. Superfreak (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Beatfreakz. Data Records. 2006. DATA135T.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. Superfreak (UK CD1 liner notes). Beatfreakz. Data Records. 2006. DATA135CDS.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. Superfreak (UK CD2 liner notes). Beatfreakz. Data Records. 2006. DATA 135CDX.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. "Beatfreakz – Superfreak" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  30. Beatfreakz — Superfreakz. TopHit. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  31. "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.
  32. "Beatfreakz: Superfreak" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  33. "Beatfreakz – Superfreak" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  34. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  35. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  36. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Superfreak". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  37. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 41, 2006" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  38. "Beatfreakz – Superfreak" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  39. "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.
  40. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  41. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  42. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  43. "Лучшие песни и музыка за 2006 год" (in Russian). TopHit. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  44. "ChartsPlus Year-End 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  45. "Лучшие песни и музыка за 2007 год" (in Russian). TopHit. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  46. "Reviews: Singles". Music Week. September 30, 2006. p. 28.
  47. "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.
  48. "Listen: Nicki Minaj remixes Big Sean's "Dance (A$$)"". Archived from the original on November 19, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
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