The King of Punk Funk! Ripped off by Prince and ifleunced many others! After forming the Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown's Gordy Records, releasing the album, Come Get It!, in April 1978, where the hits "You & I" and "Mary Jane", were released, helping the album go platinum and selling over two million records. After three more subsequent successes, James reached the pinnacle of his career with his fifth album, Street Songs, in 1981, which included career-defining hits such as "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak", the latter song becoming his signature song and his biggest crossover single, he was often called the "king of punk funk" for mixing elements of funk, disco, rock and new wave. James was also known for his soulful ballads such as "Fire & Desire" and "Ebony Eyes". In addition, James also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists including Teena Marie, The Mary Jane Girls, The Temptations, Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson.

James' mainstream success peaked by the release of the Glow album in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show, The A-Team. James' subsequent albums failed to find an audience and James virtually disappeared until rapper MC Hammer sampled James' "Super Freak" for his 1990 hit, "U Can't Touch This", which James sued for back royalties. After being credited, James became the 1991 recipient of a Best R&B Song Grammy for composing the song. J