Rick James, Give It To Me Baby | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 82^nd edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Give It To Me Baby” by the late, great Rick James.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 82^nd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Give It To Me Baby”, performed by the late, great 🎙 Rick James.

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“When you came home last night / You wouldn’t make love to me.” Uh-oh! Did you know that the late, great 🎙 Rick James scored one platinum album during his career? That album was a big one, the breakthrough  💿 Street Songs, released in 1981. A marvelous R&B/funk LP, go down track list, and there are hits after hits.  Earlier, Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 highlighted one of the greatest R&B duets of the 1980s, 🎵 “Fire And Desire”, which appears as the seventh track on Street Songs.  Back up to track number one, and the listener is blessed with the funky masterpiece, 🎵 “Give It To Me Baby”.  “Give It To Me Baby” peaked at no. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981.  We all know this joint deserved much more impact on the pop charts!

“Give It To Me Baby” is giving all things excellence, PERIOD.  The bass line is infectious to the nth degree – ear catching from the very start. It alone implores you to get up and get to the dance floor. Furthermore, the groove is epic too, anchoring things down. In addition to bass and drums, there are some utterly sublime funk cues in play.  The playful nature, with bent notes, synths, and crisp, killer horn riffs easily makes the ears perk up. Beyond the scintillating backdrop, the star of the show is none other than Rick James. Rick was a stellar vocalist with the ability to be incredible expressive and playful in his performances, oozing with personality.  “Give It To Me” screams personality and James does not disappoint.  The chorus is the crowning achievement lyrically – catchy, catchy, CATCHY!

“Give it to me, baby (give it to me, baby)

Give it to me, baby (give it to me, baby)

I betcha, I’ll make you holler you had enough.”

Even though the chorus is arguably the section to beat, the verses are hella fun, and the refrain (or post-chorus), is a blast too: “Give it to me / Give me that stuff, that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff.” The sexy 🎵 “Give It To Me Baby” is essential listening for funk/R&B/soul enthusiasts, and anybody who loves incredibly sick music!

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🎙 Rick James • 💿 Street Songs • 🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 1981

Rick James, “Give It To Me Baby”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 82 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; UMG Recordings, Inc.; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]