Rick James was a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who left his mark in the R&B genre. And though it’s been over 15 years since his unfortunate passing, his legacy is continued by millions of people who adore him all around the globe and his children. 

Here’s a look at the legendary musician’s kids and personal life.

Rick James Has 4 Children

James has four children, two of whom he had with former singer and songwriter Syville Morgan — daughter Tyenza and son Rick James Jr. After his split with Morgan, he dated actress Linda Blair from 1982 to 1984.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Ty James (@thisistyjames)

The two met up after he read an interview where she called him sexy, and he reached out to her. Unfortunately, after they got together, she became pregnant but got an abortion. It was a decision that hurt James, and he wrote about it in his memoir.

I loved Linda and it hurt me that she would choose to abort our child without even wanting to talk to me about it first. I still look back on her choice with sadness and wonder about our baby, and how that child might have changed my life.

James later dated Tanya Hijazi, whom he met in 1989. They welcomed their one and only child together, son Tazman in 1993. The pair tied the knot in 1996 and separated in 2002 after six years of marriage.

The legendary musician also has another son named Trey Hardesty James, but it’s unclear who his mother is.

Teena Marie Helped Raise Rick James Jr.

Though it’s not clear when James and Teena Marie dated, their friendship and frequent collaborations spoke of their closeness. The two were engaged for two weeks, and their professional partnership lasted into 2004 when she released her album La Doña, which included her and James’s duet, ‘I Got You.'

However, Marie and James’s relationship was much deeper than that, and she even raised his son Rick James Jr. She recounted the story of how she ended up looking after Rick Jr.

Rick was a funny cat, he couldn’t find his kids. Cocaine is a helluva drug... So his sister and I, we went looking for Ty and lil’ Rick… Rick looked at me and penny and said, ‘I can’t take both of em!... Listen I can’t take both of them T, you gotta take one… I’ll take the girl. And I was like, ‘I’ll take the boy.’

Tyenza Took Over Rick James’ Estate After His Death

Among the four of James’ children, his oldest daughter, Tyenza, serves as his estate president. Like her father, she also dabbled in music despite her father wanting her to stay away from it.

On top of looking after her father’s estate, Tyenza is also the CEO of Stone City Brand.

Tyenza also has two daughters of her own — Charisma and Jasmine. Among the two, Charisma is already the mother of two kids named Harmony and Zy’aire.