Ghetto Life - Rick James

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Ghetto Life Lyrics

When I was a young boy
Growing up in the ghetto
Hanging out on corners
Singin' with the fellas
Lookin' for the Gypsy
Trying to find a bit of fun
Looking for some trouble
Or anyone who'll give me some

I was young and crazy
In the ghetto
Didn't know what my life would be
In the ghetto
I was dumb and oh so lazy
In the ghetto
Something had a spell on me
In the ghetto

You wanna know what I'm talkin' bout?
Talkin' 'bout ghetto life
Ghetto Liiiiiiiiiiiife
You wanna know what I'm singin' 'bout?
Talkin' 'bout ghetto life
Ghetto Liiiiiiiiiiiife

When I was a young man
Kind of free and fancy
Met this little cute girl
She said her name was Nancy
She had pigtails to her shoulders
She couldn't have been much older
She taught me what I had to know
To make a girl not want to go

She was very kinky
In the ghetto
She laid her pigtails down on me
In the ghetto
And I was feeling oh so sneaky
In the ghetto
I had to see what love could be
In the ghetto

I knew it all along
That my game was strong
But I was wrong that time
I knew I had to pray
And give myself away
Did you think I was man enough?
Yeah
Did you think I was smart enough?
Yeah
Did you think I was strong enough?
Yeah
Did you think I'd work it out?

The Ghetto Life

Sing it to ya, hit it baby baby
Talkin 'bout ghetto life
You got to get on over
Talkin 'bout ghetto life

When I was a young boy
Tenements, slums and corner bums
Playing tag with winos
The only way to have some fun
One thing 'bout the ghetto
You don't have to hurry
It'll be there tommorow
So brother don't you worry

Ghetto Life
Talking 'bout ghetto life
Talking 'bout Ghettoo Liiiiiiiiife
Ghetto Life, baby
Talkin' 'bout ghetto life

Life

Life
(Talkin' 'bout ghetto life)
Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop, Shoop be doop in the ghetto
People we got to get over
Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop, Shoop be doop in the ghetto
Talkin' 'bout the life
Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop, Shoop be doop in the ghetto
Life

Where's the place we funk?
Ghetto Land that's the place we funk
The place we like to funk
Ghetto Land that's the place where we funk
Say where the place we funk
Ghetto Land that's the place where we funk
The place we like to funk
Ghetto Land that's the place where we funk
Ho!
The place we like to funk

Ghetto Land, we like to funk
Where the place, we like to funk

Ghetto Land, that's the place
Where we funk from day to day
Ghetto Land Ghetto Land

Lyrics provided by LyricsEver.com

Rick James

Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr; February 1, 1948 - August 6, 2004) was an American funk and soul musician from Buffalo New York, who worked as a singer, keyboardist, bassist, record producer, arranger, and composer during his long career. One of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s, James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark cornrow braids. As time went on, James was given the unofficial title The King of Punk-Funk.

After dropping out of high school and joining the US Naval Reserve, he eventually went AWOL to concentrate on music. He fled to Canada in 1964 and started using the name Ricky Matthews. In Toronto, he led various incarnations of mynah birds, some of which included Neil Young and Bruce Palmer (who would go on to form buffalo springfield) and Nick St. Nicholas (later of steppenwolf). After scoring a deal with Motown, the band was swindled by their manager and the label discovered James was on the lam, and the band split up.

After serving time for desertion, James tried to rekindle the Mynah Birds, but eventually found a role as a writer and producer at Motown, using the name Terry Johnson on tunes for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers and The Spinners. He moved to California in 1969 and formed Salt 'n' Pepper (not to be confused with Salt-N-Pepa) and worked with a number of bands (Heaven and Earth, Great White Cane, and Stone City Band) before returning to Motown, where he developed the gritty funk sound that would bring him hits and notoriety. "Super Freak" in 1981, from the Street Songs album, was his biggest hit. During this period, he also helped launch the careers of R&B singer Teena Marie and the Mary Jane Girls as well as producing Eddie Murphy's hit, Party All the Time.

After remaining moderately successful through the 80s, his popularity waned in the 90s and he succumbed to drugs, having frequent run-ins with the law, one of which resulted in a prison term. After an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 1997 and suffering a stroke, James retired. He died in 2004 from heart failure with multiple contributing factors.
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