For those who can remember the golden era of R&B during the 1980s, it didn’t get much better than DeBarge. Although an all-too-brief run on the charts that ended early due to personal turmoils and run-ins with the law, the group’s musical legacy carried on as one of the most-sampled musicians in both contemporary R&B and hip-hop, including by late rap legends The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac with “One More Chance” and “I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” respectively, Blackstreet topping the airplay charts in 1997 with “Don’t Leave Me,” Ashanti piggybacking off Biggie to get a debut number one hit with “Foolish” in 2002 and Rich Boy flipping it completely with his 2007 hood classic, “Throw Some D’s.”
You’d think based on royalties and sampling alone, each member in the family act would be set up in a lucrative situation in these current days of retirement. Instead, a recent look into their lives today candidly shows a reality that you might not expect by a long shot with an upcoming documentary titled DeBarge.
The brief clip shows brothers James and Randy, now 61 and 66, respectively, living in what appears to be RV homes on the streets of LA. It’s worth noting that DeBarge, directed by Matthew Siretta, was filmed over the span of a few years back and wrapped sometime in 2021 following the death of brother and member of the funk band Switch, Tommy DeBarge.
According to a synopsis provided by Slamdance Film Festival, where the the doc is set to debut this week, the description reads, “From Detroit, the DeBarge family is a group of talented musicians often compared to the Jacksons. Discovered by Motown, they quickly rose to fame in the early ’80s at a young age, producing chart-topping hits like ‘All This Love,’ ‘I Like It,’ and ‘Rhythm of the Night.’ Focusing on youngest sibling James DeBarge—Janet Jackson’s first husband—’DeBarge’ explores the family’s struggles with fame and addiction while residing together in RVs on the streets of Los Angeles.”
The documentary will also include appearances from fellow DeBarge members El and Bunny, including archived footage of the late Tommy and their mother, Etterlene Louise-Rodriguez, who remarried in 1980 before her tragic death last February. As of now, the only confirmed screenings include one that occurred this past Sunday (Feb 23) at the Panasonic LUMIX Theater and earlier today (Feb 24) at the LA Times Theater. A link has already been created for streaming service Plex, but nothing confirmed as of yet.
We’ll keep you all updated if there’s a wider release of this seemingly-revealing DeBarge documentary, but check out some of our favorite hits from the group below to reminisce on much better days:
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Disclaimer:
For Education and discussion purposes. Please note no copyright infringement is intended, was recorded on BlkCosmo’s own equipment, and we do not own nor claim to own any of the original recordings used in this video and intend to use this as ‘fair use’.
