I was angry about the fact that my father would beat my mother on a daily basis, that my mother would take it in turn and beat on me. I was an abused child. I was mad about all those things, very bitter and very angry.

The video for the song was banned on MTV and BET for sexual content which James labeled hypocritical. James was extremely close with Teena Marie whom he met in 1979 and began working with that same year. After his 1998 stroke James needed a pacemaker to help him breathe and by his death was dealing with overweight problems which also affected his health.

He would go on to score several popular hits on the pop and R&B charts including four number-one hits on the latter chart. James won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song with Hammer for the song his only Grammy win. James died later that year from heart failure at the age of 56.