Glow: The Autobiography of Rick James

Not a bad book, but I thought this was another Rick James autobiography. I thought that he covered everything in The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak and there was no way he had wrote another before his passing and this was the case. This book is simply an edited version of Memoirs of a Super Freak. If you read the other years ago, there is no need to read this one. Great book written in Rick's words, but it's more tame and doesn't go into every little detail. There was no need for me to finish reading this book, because I read the other. You can't go wrong with either one of them though.--EDITUpon further review, I give the book a 3 out of 5. The book is good, but the problem I have with it is that i compared this with my copy of Memoirs of a Super Freak and David Ritz destroyed a good book. Memoirs was raw and pulled no punches. This book seems to tone it down as if Ritz did not want to hurt anyone's feelings. In the original book, Rick James really let Prince have it. He even uses the "f word" that refers to gays when he talks about why Eddie Murphy didn't want prince to produce his next album. The sequence of events with Anita Baker is missing and details as small as the song he said he sang in prison to the racist guards is edited. Ritz turned a rated r book into a pg-13 book. Glow is still a great read, but having so many of Rick's words deleted was not good.

I just started reading this book, about halfway through. It's enlightening that Rick James didn't take music lessons and that he was a signed artist at Motown 2 times. His mother comes off as an interesting character and I wish we had more mom. He rarely writes about his other brothers and sisters so I assume they were not close. James does a lot of name-dropping and it gets a bit tedious. It's in the first person, and he comes off as in love with himself too much, but he also drops opinion about other musicians and their musicianship. He holds himself in a better light music-wise than his (white) peers and admits that he wanted to be a rock star ala Jimi Hendrix instead of a r&b star. He comes off as a non-stop sex machine, admits to his love of drugs, and living an extreme life. He kicks around the country from Canada to New York to California before he becomes a big star. He does give credit where it's due. The most interesting parts of the book are his faithful and loyal mother who never gave up on him, though he landed in prison enough times for a mother to give up. And his short times at Motown, the conversations he had with the producers and writers. There needed to be more of that. But he glides over those times like he glides over other moments. He was definitely living a fast fast life.

Rick James’ autobiography is both smart and honest. Rick was a man of his time - he knew and/or worked with literally everyone involved in the music scene in the 70’s and 80’s. He is open about the chaos in his life and the “me-monster” that ruled him. As result, bad decisions were made that prevented him from greater success. He takes responsibility for his decisions without rancor or excuses. Well told, I felt I was talking with Rick throughout the book.

This book deserves nothing but resounding applause for being one of the most interesting autobiographies ever written. I could not stop reading it! From start to finish, Rick kept you wanting more and cringing at what would evolve next. I loved how raw, enigmatic, enlightening and jarring it was. His life was truly one of complete indulgence and almost everything you could encompass in one lifetime plus more. Written through his words and thoughts alone, I could absolutely feel each syllable. He was just who he was and he spoke to that with complete confidence and unparalleled arrogance. Love or hate him, Rick was a cold-blooded brotha and I would have loved to see him perform in his true essence one last time. On that same note, we all possess a Me-Monster within us but through self-discovery and balance, we can cope with it. Rick made that clear. I thank him for his genuine words and strong voice. What a revelation!

This book was very upfront, Slick Rick pulled no punches and talked about his life from childhood all the way to the end. I enjoyed it, especially his rivalry with Prince, I didn't realize at the time when Prince was just getting famous that he copied a whole lot of stuff from Rick, well in Rick's opinion anyway. His encounters with other musicians such as George Clinton, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were entertaining as well as his working with Berry Gordy and Motown. His relationship with Teena Marie he also talks about, of course he talks about some of the women he had in his life and his mother was the most important woman in his life by far. I thought he was from Toronto, Canada, and was surprised to find out he actually was from Buffalo, N.Y. He was and is an influence in soul and funk music and deserves all the credit he gets, once you get past the drugs and jail time, Rick was a great artist.

The book was certainly a page turner! Only thing, with Rick being so high all the time you really don't know what's true and what's not. Being an avid fan of Rick James I can honestly say he was a brilliant singer, songwriter, and musician. I'm just sad his life ended so young with so much more to give!

One of the best Autobiography books I ever read on a Musician/Songwriter/Producer. His talent and gift is infinite. People talk about his battle with drugs more than focusing on his talent 🎹🎸🥁🔥💣🔥💣🧨🎧🎤🌎🚀👀. One of the best ever!

Pages were yellowish so difficult to read. Thought there would be some pictures but not many. Not impressed. Am returning.

There was so much potential with this book, too much wasted potential.Storytelling at its worse. Would not recommend

good book recomended

Fantastic read. Well written. Really enjoyed it.

This book is honest and deep, Rick James who wrote the book mainly has words that deserve to be highlighted, he tells his life in shocking details, details of his good and bad experiences, this book is worth reading!

Apparemment il y a eu une autre bio du Punk Funk artist, vraiment écrite par lui, celle-là vaut le détour en tout cas, des tas d'anecdotes, de révélations...à quand une réédition pour tous de "Bustin out of L Seven" et "Garden Of Love"?