Rick James (42)

Rick James
1950-2004
Lycra-jumpsuited satyr
Cause of Death: Enlarged heart, pneumonia, effects of multiple drugs.
He Knew From Superfreaks: James' off-stage adventures included a $10,000-a-week coke habit and holding women hostage on two occasions, torturing one with a hot crack pipe. Unfortunately, his musical life was less sensational in later years. While his death brought some interest in the catalogue--including the hits "Super Freak" and Hammer's rap doppelganger "U Can't Touch This," both of which make money for James's daughter Ty and sons Rick Jr. and Tazman--all James's later albums tanked, and the double CD he'd been working on with Kanye West among others is as yet unreleased.
Saved by Chappelle: Comedian Dave Chappelle singlehandedly rehabilitated James's badass image with a Falstaffian characterization that made "I'm Rick James, bitch" the tagline of 2004, fueling DVD sales of Chappelle's comedy show to well over $50 million and bringing James back into the public eye. Paramount optioned James's unpublished autobiography, Memoirs of a Super Freak, as a starring vehicle for Chappelle. But if neither book, film nor double CD come out, some posthumous lean years may follow James's legendary high times.