Nicki Minaj’s ‘Super Freaky Girl,’ MC Hammer’s ‘U Can’t Touch This,’ and Other Songs That Sample Rick James’ ‘Super Freak’
Rick James’ hit 1981 single “Super Freak” has one of the most recognizable riffs in music to this day. Artists from MC Hammer to Nicki Minaj have sampled “Super Freak” in their own music, and given new life to the beloved song in the process.
Nicki Minaj sampled Rick James’ ‘Super Freak’ in her song ‘Super Freaky Girl’
In 2022, Minaj released her single “Super Freaky Girl” to much fanfare. She first previewed the song on TikTok to show that she was flipping Rick James’ classic song for her own track.
MC Hammer sampled ‘Super Freak’ on ‘U Can’t Touch This’
Perhaps the most recognizable use of “Super Freak” in pop culture is in MC Hammer‘s 1990 smash single “U Can’t Touch This.” The song ended up becoming MC Hammer’s signature song. It won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. It was also the first rap song to be nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
Big Daddy Kane sampled ‘Super Freak’
Big Daddy Kane was a widely respected rapper by some of the biggest names in hip-hop; The Notorious B.I.G., for example, counted him as his favorite rapper.
In 1991, a decade after “Super Freak”‘s release and after MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” took over the music world, Big Daddy Kane sampled the track in his own music. His song “Ooh, Aah, Nah-Nah-Nah” from his album Prince of Darkness samples the Rick James hit.
Jeezy and 2 Chainz sampled it on their song ‘SupaFreak’
In 2011, Jeezy and 2 Chainz teamed up for “SupaFreak” from Jeezy’s album TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition. Like other songs that make use of “Super Freak,” Rick James is credited as a songwriter on the track. The song’s chorus repeats the phrase “Super Freak,” as does the original.
Gucci Mane sampled it
Gucci Mane first released his song “Freaky Gurl” for his 2006 album Hard to Kill as well as his album Trap-a-Thon the following year.
The remix of the song featured guest verses from Lil’ Kim and Ludacris. In 2008, up-and-coming rapper Nicki Minaj remixed the song on her mixtape Sucka Free in the song “Wanna Minaj?”
Jay-Z sampled it on ‘Kingdom Come’
In 2006, Jay-Z released his highly-anticipated album Kingdom Come. The album’s title track contained elements of “Super Freak” in its production by longtime collaborator Just Blaze.
Other songs that sample Rick James’ ‘Super Freak’
- “The Kink Panther” – Necro
- “Bogoss” – Disiz La Peste
- “Je Dance Le Mia” – IAM
- “Choo Choo” – Truxton
- “Let Me C U Pop” – DJ Assault
- “Xereta” – Claudinho & Buchecha
- “Kinky” – Saigon
- “Super Freak” – Mr. Mitch
- “Rock It Baby” – P-Man
- “Superkiller” – Neil Cicierega
- “Piep Piep” – Kubus and Rico
- “8-Beat-Inspection” – Osymyso
- “Don’t Stop” – Doc of Rock and Cuttin’ Sutton
- “1981” – The Hood Internet
- “He Aight” – Billy Danze
- “Supafreakz” – Black Shadow
- “I’ll Make Everything Alright” – Squirt D and CRS
- “Need Someone” – Superfreaks
- “Girls Get Ill” – Kool Slic
- “She’s So Cute” – MessyPandas
- “Down Low” – Bruneaux
- “Freak” – JoeyVFX
- “Super Freaks on Film” – Bass211
- “Freaky” – De Lite and MC Young
- “Freak” – Rhythm Smashers
- “I Touched It” – Tricky Nikki
