When a friend told him he could avoid the draft by joining the reserves, 15-year-old James lied about his age and enlisted in the Navy reserves. Uncle Sam was coming for him, and James, empowered by the leaders of the Black Power movement, wanted nothing to do with it. military who began drafting young men to serve in the Vietnam War right as James was coming of age. But his wariness meant little to the U.S. Rick James the Draft Dodgerīy the time he was a teenager in the mid-60s, Rick James, who was born James Ambrose Johnson, had experienced enough racism and run-ins with the law in his hometown of Buffalo to make him leery of white American authority. It turns out funk music’s greatest gonzo experienced more highs and lows by the time he turned 18, than most of us do in a lifetime. In its most interesting moments, Bitchin’ reminds its viewers that James’s life extended well beyond the outrageous allegations that came to define his legacy.
It’s hard to picture him like that, isn’t it? That’s because somewhere between signature lyrics like, “She's a very kinky girl // the kind you don't take home to mother” and the viral catchphrase “I’m Rick James, bitch!” James, morphed from man to myth his life reduced to a cautionary tale about excess and addiction.īitchin, a new documentary about the artist that airs tonight on Showtime, revisits in tremendous detail Rick James’s early years as a draft-dodging teenager in Buffalo, New York and Toronto, Canada. The 75 Best Documentaries on Netflix To Stream Now
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