# Freaky Styley
**Freaky Styley** is the second studio album by the American rock band [Red Hot Chili Peppers](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-hot-chili-peppers), released on August 16, 1985 through EMI America Records and produced by George Clinton, founder of [Parliament-Funkadelic](https://www.edgepedia.org/parliament-funkadelic).[1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/) It is the band's closest approach to straight funk, and the only album they made with Clinton behind the desk.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | August 16, 1985, EMI America Records; the band's second studio album[1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/) |
| Producer | George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic, who also sang backing vocals[1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/) • [3](https://www.amoeba.com/ajax/album_credits.php?id=1030053) |
| Recording | April 8 to May 1985 at United Sound Studios, Detroit, Michigan[4](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/1985-freaky-styley) |
| Lineup | Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (bass), Hillel Slovak (guitar), Cliff Martinez (drums)[4](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/1985-freaky-styley) |
| Length | 39:11 across 14 tracks[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669) |
| Singles | "Jungle Man", "Catholic School Girls Rule", and "Hollywood (Africa)"[1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/) |
## Background and recording
The band's 1984 self-titled debut had been produced by Andy Gill of [Gang of Four](https://www.edgepedia.org/gang-of-four-band), and the sessions went badly; AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier describes Gill's production as cold and tinny, draining the life from the music.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669) Guitarist Jack Sherman, who played on the debut and co-wrote the bulk of the songs on Freaky Styley, left the band, and founding guitarist [Hillel Slovak](https://www.edgepedia.org/hillel-slovak), who had missed the debut during a stint with the band [What Is This?](https://www.edgepedia.org/what-is-this), returned in time for the second album.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669) • [5](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/red-hot-chili-peppers/) When their label asked who they could get to produce the follow-up, the band chose Clinton.[6](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/flea-honora/)
The album was recorded at United Sound Studios in Detroit between April 8 and May 1985, with an MTV session filmed on April 24.[4](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/1985-freaky-styley) Clinton later recalled that the band stayed in a house in Michigan for about a month getting to know each other, and described the recording as being like a party.[7](https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/hindsight-20-20-george-clinton-reflects-on-his-storied-discography) Flea said that "George was a fifth member of the band when we recorded the album, no doubt about it, but he didn't do anything we wouldn't have done completely on our own."[8](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/nme-091985)
## Music and personnel
The album mixes funk, punk, and rock, and is widely described as the funkiest record the band ever made.[9](https://www.groovespin.com/album/red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley-1985-9884) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669) AllMusic characterizes it as the quirkiest, loosest, and most playful album in the band's catalog, with Slovak playing straight funk rather than the funk-metal of the band's next album, [The Uplift Mofo Party Plan](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-uplift-mofo-party-plan).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669) Trouser Press calls it "a ton of raunchy, funky fun", noting that a version of [Sly Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sly-stone)'s "If You Want Me to Stay" shows the band can play it straight while "Yertle the Turtle", based on [Dr. Seuss](https://www.edgepedia.org/dr-seuss), keeps their unhinged sensibilities in force.[5](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/red-hot-chili-peppers/)
Two tracks are covers: "Hollywood (Africa)", from [The Meters](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-meters)' song "Africa", and "If You Want Me to Stay", written by Sylvester Stewart.[10](https://rhcplivearchive.com/album/freaky-styley-2) Clinton brought in P-Funk horn players, including [Fred Wesley](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-wesley) on trombone, [Maceo Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/maceo-parker) on saxophone, and Benny Cowan on trumpet, along with percussionist Larry Fratangelo and a large group of backing singers.[3](https://www.amoeba.com/ajax/album_credits.php?id=1030053) • [11](https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu//bitstreams/c2b1df28-ddd4-4037-8950-adcd9d3d3c2b/download) Most songs are credited to Kiedis, Flea, Martinez, and Sherman, with "Nevermind" and "Sex Rap" credited to Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, and Jack Irons.[10](https://rhcplivearchive.com/album/freaky-styley-2)
Freaky Styley is the last album to feature drummer [Cliff Martinez](https://www.edgepedia.org/cliff-martinez).[1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/) It is also founding guitarist Hillel Slovak's studio album debut with the band.[1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/)
## Reception and commercial performance
The album did not reach the Billboard 200; a [University of Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-oregon) thesis on P-Funk notes that the 1984 debut "bubbled under" the Billboard Top 200 and that Freaky Styley "only fared slightly better".[11](https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu//bitstreams/c2b1df28-ddd4-4037-8950-adcd9d3d3c2b/download) In early 1986, the band's complaint with EMI was that the label did not finance a video from the album because of a disagreement over which song to release as a single.[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-05-ca-4652-story.html)
Critical views have differed. AllMusic calls it one of the band's best, if least heard, albums and a cult classic.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669)
## Later releases and legacy
The album was first issued on CD in August 1988, after Slovak's death, and a remastered CD followed in April 2003 with bonus tracks including the 8:49 "Freaky Styley (Original Long Version)" and "Millionaires Against Hunger"; a 2009 vinyl reissue and a 2013 HD download have also appeared.[13](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/s/RHCP-TRACK-VARIANTS-14.pdf) • [1](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/) In the summer of 1985, fresh from the album's release, the band made its first trip to Europe, opening for Clinton's Parliament-[Funkadelic](https://www.edgepedia.org/funkadelic) at Germany's Rockpalast Loreley Open Air Festival.[14](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bassists/flea-jam-with-eddie-hazel)
The album's standing within the band's history rests on its place in the Slovak era: it is one of the two records, with The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, that Slovak played on, and his funk-oriented guitar approach on it has been described as defining the band's early sound.[15](https://los40.com/2026/03/20/hillel-slovak-asi-es-el-alma-perdida-que-definio-el-sonido-inicial-de-los-red-hot-chili-peppers/) The four EMI-era albums, including Freaky Styley, were covered by the band's 2026 sale of their recorded catalog to Warner Music in a deal reported at more than $300 million.[16](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/bands/give-it-away-no-the-red-hot-chili-peppers-have-sold-their-back-catalogue-to-warners-for-usd300-million)
## References
1. [The Red Hot Chili Peppers – Freaky Styley, George Clinton official site](https://georgeclinton.com/audio/the-red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley/)
2. [Freaky Styley review by Jason Birchmeier, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/freaky-styley-mw0000652669)
3. [Red Hot Chili Peppers – Freaky Styley (CD) Credits, Amoeba Music](https://www.amoeba.com/ajax/album_credits.php?id=1030053)
4. [1985 Freaky Styley, Red Hot Chili Peppers Recording Sessions Archive](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/1985-freaky-styley)
5. [Red Hot Chili Peppers, Trouser Press](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/red-hot-chili-peppers/)
6. [Flea: Honora Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/flea-honora/)
7. [Hindsight 20/20: George Clinton reflects on his discography, Bandwagon](https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/hindsight-20-20-george-clinton-reflects-on-his-storied-discography)
8. [NME 09/1985, Red Hot Chili Peppers Recording Sessions Archive](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/nme-091985)
9. [Red Hot Chili Peppers: Freaky Styley, Groovespin](https://www.groovespin.com/album/red-hot-chili-peppers-freaky-styley-1985-9884)
10. [Freaky Styley, RHCP Live Archive](https://rhcplivearchive.com/album/freaky-styley-2)
11. [Reconstructing the Mothership: Meaning and History, University of Oregon Scholars' Bank](https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu//bitstreams/c2b1df28-ddd4-4037-8950-adcd9d3d3c2b/download)
12. [Chili Peppers Dish Up Bare Bravado, Los Angeles Times (February 5, 1986)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-05-ca-4652-story.html)
13. [RHCP Track Variants, Red Hot Chili Peppers Recording Sessions Archive](https://www.rhcpsessions.com/s/RHCP-TRACK-VARIANTS-14.pdf)
14. [Flea looks back on his jam with Eddie Hazel, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/bassists/flea-jam-with-eddie-hazel)
15. [Hillel Slovak: el alma perdida que definió el sonido inicial de los Red Hot Chili Peppers, LOS40](https://los40.com/2026/03/20/hillel-slovak-asi-es-el-alma-perdida-que-definio-el-sonido-inicial-de-los-red-hot-chili-peppers/)
16. [Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold their back catalogue to Warners for $300 million, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/bands/give-it-away-no-the-red-hot-chili-peppers-have-sold-their-back-catalogue-to-warners-for-usd300-million)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › R&B and soul albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license