One would think that Rick James would have at least been flattered that a fast-rising young musician like Prince was taking a few pages from his playbook. But that was not the case at all when Prince was added as an opening act to James' "Fire it Up" tour in early 1980, supposedly because the "punk-funk" innovator wasn't bringing in as many fans as expected. As quoted by Pitchfork, James told Rolling Stone that he "can't believe people are gullible enough to buy Prince's jive records." He also called his supporting act a "mentally disturbed young man" whose sexually explicit songs couldn't be taken seriously and repeatedly accused him of stealing his stage moves.
It was during that tour when Prince and his entourage attended James' 32nd birthday party, not aware that the headliner had something in store for the Purple One. Shortly before his death, James told Vibe's Keith Murphy (then writing for King Magazine) that he "walked up to [Prince], grabbed him by the back of the hair and poured cognac down his throat." He added that Prince spat out the liquor like a "little b****," which he found extremely hilarious.
James also told the same story in his posthumously published memoir, "Glow: The Autobiography of Rick James," where he claimed that Prince was "crying like a baby" after the cognac prank. But that wasn't the last time the two men would get testy with each other during their long-running feud.
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