Funk legend Rick James dies at 56

LOS ANGELES -- Rick James, best known for the 1981 funk hit "Super Freak" before his career disintegrated amid drug use and violence that sent him to prison, died Friday. He was 56.

James died in his sleep at his residence near Universal City, said publicist Sujata Murthy. James lived alone and was found dead by his personal assistant, who notified police, she said.

Police and Murthy believe James died of natural causes. The exact cause was not immediately released.

"There'll be an autopsy and we'll find that out shortly," Murthy said.

Publicist Maureen O'Connor, speaking on behalf of James' three children, said they believed he died of heart failure.

"I think he was really fantastic, he was a creator," singer Little Richard told MSNBC.

"He made a lot of people happy, he made a lot of friends and a lot of people got famous through his music," he said, referring to sampling by hip-hop artists such as MC Hammer, who used the "Super Freak" bass line in his hit "U Can't Touch This."

With long hair elaborately styled in braids or Jheri curls, James had hit songs and albums from the 1970s into the 1980s, but by the following decade his fame began to fade as he became embroiled in drugs, legal problems and health troubles.

James was convicted in 1993 of assaulting two women. James served more than two years in prison.

In 1998, he suffered a stroke while performing in Denver, derailing a comeback tour. He also underwent hip replacement surgery that year.

He had lately enjoyed a bit of a revival among a younger generation. Dave Chappelle recently portrayed James as violent and arrogant in a series of darkly humorous skits on his Comedy Central show. James himself also appeared on the "Chappelle's Show" skits, which have become often-quoted cult hits.