The artist known as Prince has died ... TMZ has learned. He was 57.

Prince's body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday morning.

Multiple sources connected to the singer confirmed he had passed.

The singer -- full name Prince Rogers Nelson -- had a medical emergency on April 15th that forced his private jet to make an emergency landing in Illinois. But he appeared at a concert the next day to assure his fans he was okay. His people told TMZ he was battling the flu.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-dead-at-57/#ixzz46Tuf9lmZ

.

.

Numb.

Pleeeease don't let this be true.

.

i can't even open the link. TMZ is not loading here.

Fuck this.

Ugh. Rip.

.

Prince.org is shut down. Point, blank, period.

About to go take a long walk for lunch and contemplate life.

nm







You don't impress me!!




RIP Reggie...I love you!! http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb449/Mynewstuff2011/RegLover.jpg



https://twitter.com/hawkcomedy

I need another source for confirmation (though TMZ isn't often wrong about this kind of shit, unfortunately)

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7341522/prince-dead


---------------------------

"Where was the peace when we were getting shot? Where's the peace when we were getting laid out?
Where is the peace when we are in the back of ambulances? Where is the peace then?
They don't want to call for peace then.

https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/723192305587490819

well, damn.

i knew this would happen at some point.

but it's extra DAMN b/c he was still putting on shows. some of the best of his career.

and i was hoping he'd come to Chicago again.

at least i saw him every time he was here.

and the last time i saw him was in a room w/499 other ppl.

and it was possibly the best Prince show i'd ever seen.

but...damn.

i hope he went out satisfied. or at least proud of what he'd done.

man.

damn.

shit...

hope this is some foolishness

____________

Dallas Cavericks LETS GO!!

.

Just like, no...

I'm only glad he didn't have any children that would be without him now...

i miss him so much already...i want to go home from work now...i can't barely see through my tears...i loved him so much...fuck

d

memories of you catching his hat at Lincoln Center are on my mind.

I'm going down to the basement tonight to get that hat and wear it..

I've cut my dreadlocks so it will probably fit. I've never actually worn it...

d

I'm only glad he didn't have any children that would be without him now...

i miss him so much already...i want to go home from work now...i can't barely see through my tears...i loved him so much...fuck

d

.
.
.

Thats crazy as hell.

2016 is a hell of a year so far with musician deaths.

This is some sad shit.

fuck this year

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

:(

He always seemed more like a beam of pure energy personified than a regular person.

Fuck.

*real tears*

>*real tears*

damn...
***************************************
rosemary's babydaddy
***************************************

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)

RIP...Yoooouuung!!!

I came across a tribute to him last year in Atlanta.

http://youtu.be/_eEgSbNaQXE?list=PL9kf-h5K0qdQ8OnmTmCRNYM_NIi0R1z7X

Mix of comedy and music. I don't even feel like I have the words right now. My day is blown.

http://www.twitter.com/steelysteel

i havent felt this sick over a celebs passing since pac.

RIP

I still have the postcard from his fan club.

Part of my childhood died with that man

i'm speechless

..

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I have no possible way of processing this right now

nm

Not the best way to start a bachelor party weekend, choking back tears in an airport surrounded by slot machines.

I could've paid through the teeth to see him in Oakland recently for the acoustic show. I figured I'd wait to see him in LA. I will regret that decision forever.

I'm still holding out hope that it's not him, despite the fact that I know my hopes are in vain.

Just... yeah. No clue how to feel right now. Other than sad.

https://youtu.be/r0MSi7Ldxnc?t=4m1s

I guess they are back together now. What a day. SMH.

>I guess they are back together now. What a day. SMH.



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

.

Just fucking speechless. RIP to a legend

I can't think of an artist of this kind of musicianship/songcrafting influence dying...maybe Lennon as far a songwriting is concerned.

While Michael was a singular supernova and shaped a generation..there's something about Prince that had SOOOOOO many mofos have stolen his various blueprints and ran with it...even basics like his drum programming.

RIP man.

Had all his albums from like Purple Rain through the 90's at one point. Studied his lyrics and even learned to play a little Purple Rain.

Dude was the ultimate rock star. Damn this isn't sitting right.
______________________________________________________________________________

cscpov.blogspot.com

"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..."
-unknown

"To Each His Reach"

that solo gonna be gutwrenching now

>that solo gonna be gutwrenching now

and yet I'll probably have it on repeat tonight.
______________________________________________________________________________

cscpov.blogspot.com

"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..."
-unknown

"To Each His Reach"

I wanna grieve with fans.

i'm in shock, fam

R.I.P.

I can't do this today. 😢

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUUUUUUUUUCK!!!

.

I do. Like...I feel real shitty. The plans I had for today seem trivial as fuck. Just an overwhelming feeling of being bummed out.

This really is sad.
______________________________________________________________________________

cscpov.blogspot.com

"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..."
-unknown

"To Each His Reach"

..too much to even begin to put in words.

game: blouses.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/entertainment/prince-estate-death/

i just tried to listen to 'Power Fantastic' and almost lost all composure. so not that one now. LOL

'Sexy MF' is much easier to handle right now. i'll stick to the uptempo Funk stuff. nothing introspective or slow or quiet b/c i'll not make it through afternoon court.

No chance PF is getting played until tomorrow. I couldn't handle it

that made my eyes wet. just the TITLE. LOL

meanwhile i can jam to the 12 inch version of 'Sexy Dancer' okay. so i'm doing that right now.

LOL

no way. not now.

FUCK

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

but that would look...well, crazy...in this office. LOL

This is going to be a looooooong process

listened all around it, with parade getting played in its entirety several times but not that yet.

https://soundcloud.com/dj-rtistic/purplemix

but if I ever did, it would surely be over Prince.

feeling like shit right now.

RIP

I'm gonna be depressed for a while.

And I'm not even a huge Prince fan like that. Damn.

it was nothing short of amazing.

I have a lot of respect for the man and his level of artistry. Saw him a few times and was glad I did after every show. May he rest in peace.

let the theories start now..

i'm not one of the super-prince-y cats on here, but i really had tremendous respect for this man's music, artistry, legacy, intelligence, and just all around game.

what a monumental cultural loss.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

So not cool crying at my desk.

This year has pretty much stomped on my musical heart---I wasn't ready for this.

http://themichaeljacksonarchives.tumblr.com/

Maybe rest in peace!! Sad day.

but next to Dilla...this has fucked me up

I was raised on Prince.

I had my dad paint 1999 on the back of my Members Only jacket in 6th grade.

Thank goodness I saw him in Charlotte and Greensboro a few years back.

RIP to da gawd Prince Rogers Nelson
A true musicians musician RIP.

The epitome of what it truly meant to be an artist.He connected with so many truly different groups of people-so amazing,such a terrible loss.


_____________________________________________________
"You can win with certainty with the spirit of "one cut". "Musashi Miyamoto

he was his own Brand and as a Kid I really dug him.Prayers to his family and friends and fans worldwide.

Much respect. The high road is a good look for you. I had purple reeboks my freshman year...😂

2016 aint shit man.

Your sig works again! Lol

***************************************
rosemary's babydaddy
***************************************

Folks are revisiting concerts, the girl they liked in high school, their first kiss, etc, all set to some song by Prince.

This is a sad day in world history.

That's power no mere mortal could posses.

They prolly got an executive that was an intern in the 80s/90s programing the chyrons too..

I know none of the new interns know how to do that shit

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgldblfUkAAz8yO.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CglhXyQUgAEbqc0.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CglcAhRUcAE8nAH.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgllUtCWMAAC0yY.jpg

He hasn't really aged in about 20 years anyway.

But they say the good die young(ish) and in that respect, I suppose it's true.

Prince was 50% of my developmental years in music, MJ was the other 50%...then hiphop & R&B happened and I kinda evolved in my own way. But I still held fond places for both artist.

Funny, because I kind of took for granted that both would live long lives and I probably wouldn't see their passings.

But here we are.

With that said, I can only be thankful that I was alive to experience the rides with the Purple one and live it real time. Even if I wasn't always as attentive as I was in my formative years.

R.I.P.

______________________________
http://i.imgur.com/Gj5Wy56.jpg

Prince was undeniably my fucking hero in so many ways.

I raised myself on him.

On him, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. That's the triptych right there.

And yeah... I agree... this year can go right on ahead and jump off a cliff already.

I don't know what to do.

no one at my job cares enough...

Cant believe it.

This is crazy.

there are really no words that can convey the pain of this.

.

He knew he was going?

I'm numb....

No message

not doing jack shit for how long now?
listening to okp allyal's condition of the heart mix :/
prolly not the best idea, cuz sometimes it snows just came on

what a totally fucked up day

***************************************
rosemary's babydaddy
***************************************

It's plenty of money to be made
from Candler Road to Bankhead
It's plenty of room to get paid
for those that ain't scared

Prince's loss cuts deep. His music chronicles so many of our lives.

One of the first times I saw The Roots was at the Prince 1999 tribute at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

I also hung out with a bunch of OKPs for his afterparty when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

I have also spent countless hours posting about and reading about Prince here.

This really hurts and I am not sure how to take it.

RIP Mr. Nelson.

Tracy died soon after a long fought civil war,
Just after I'd wiped away his last tear
I guess he's better off than he was before,
A whole lot better off than the fools he left here
I used to cry for Tracy because he was my only friend
Those kind of cars don't pass you every day
I used to cry for Tracy because I wanted to see him again,
But sometimes sometimes life ain't always the way

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last

Springtime was always my favorite time of year,
A time for lovers holding hands in the rain
Now springtime only reminds me of Tracy's tears
Always cry for love, never cry for pain
He used to say so strong unafraid to die
Unafraid of the death that left me hypnotized
No, staring at his picture I realized
No one could cry the way my Tracy cried

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad
Sometimes, sometimes I wish that life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last

I often dream of heaven and I know that Tracy's there
I know that he has found another friend
Maybe he's found the answer to all the April snow
Maybe one day I'll see my Tracy again

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish that life was never ending,
But all good things, they say, never last

All good things that say, never last
And love, it isn't love until it's past

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

No message

Man...a truly great artist and a gift to us all.

right up there with Off The Wall. Truly legendary.

Not referencing Future.

Genius.....



Rest In Power.....FOREVER......

1. We (my brother and I) were all team MJJ so we were not feeling my dad bringing home Purple Rain. Also my little Southern Mind was shocked to see the dude half naked with just a sheet barely covering him. I was such a prude and could not abide.

2. Was it appropriate for my dad to take his 7 year old son to see Purple Rain? Maybe not, but he actually went to see it by himself before taking us to make sure it was okay. It was OK.

3. Learned what the word materbate was from Darling Nicki. Let me stop lying. Even though all the big kids on the beach were giggling and talking about what it meant I didn't have an exact idea of what they were talking about. I just knew it was something to do with sex and you did it in a magazine in a hotel lobby.

4. I remember my dad vividly breaking down what the lyrics to "If I was U Girlfriend" was all about. Easily my favorite song. Or maybe it's

5. Do you know that moment when your musical taste change from Kid Pop Commercial songs to like brooding artsy deep stuff? I remember one fall day outside raking the leaves listening to Sign of the Times and the artistry of it all just hit me. I let that tape rock until that tape pop'd.

6. I swear Prince got me into college. The school that I ended up attending had this section no other college application had and it was a chance to describe a few of your favorite things. For favorite sound recording I talked about Sign of the Times. I just imagined that there was some poor admissions person who had slogged through hundreds of applications seeing that, perking up and giving me the go ahead without reading anything else.

7. This weekend I went to visit my dad and he was in worst shape than when I last saw him. Not only memory bad but he could barely walk. It was hard to get him to even try and get out the bed. So I finally I put on a mix of Prince songs and he perked up. I asked him if he remembered who sang the song and he said "That's Prince of Course". We rocked out to a few of his favorites. It will be another reason why Prince will forever remind me of my pops and probably won't be able to ever listen to Sign of the Times again without getting choked up.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Thanks for sharing all of this

.

Still can't believe this shit. Too many damn legends have died this year.

R.I.P

getting knocked offline by prince? m?

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

To this website.....shonuff it did. Prince,who I just watched in Atlanta playing on piano recently.

Anyway, I will say this to all those who truly appreciate musicianship when they experience it: this man, tiny man at 5'2 could hold the attention of 20,000+ people in an amphitheater by himself with an instrument. But one thing that stood out was and still is, he was a fan, supporter, brother and a mentor to women in music. He wrote for them, played for them, arrange for them and produce for them. He even had an all girl band playing for him. Those ladies must be devastated.

Ok, I said my 2 cents and hope I won't be back tot his site ever again.

Thank you and RIP to the GOAT.

educated folks on the symbolk change, fight with WB, the infmaous Rolling Stones concert where he got semi-booed etc.....

this is worse than when michael died (for me)
at least then, i was in harlem, and as soon as the news were out, it felt
like harlem stopped to mourn. so it felt like being among people who were as devastated and so there was comfort in that.

i was crying in the cafeteria in school
i dont understand why the world is just going on as though nothing has happened.
its going to be a while before i can listen to prince without crying.
i was so looking forward to this tour.
it was lovely seeing him in baltimore

r.i.p

I am shocked and can't even express the grief I feel right now. His impact on music and the world is monumental. Don't know what else to say. It's a baseball bat to the chest, the wind is completely knocked out.

This performance details the kind of bad motherfucker he was. The musicianship, the bravado, the GENIUS. I'm a hip hop, r&b type of girl, but he opened my mind to appreciate rock.

https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y

The cameraman zooms out like WTF.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------

feels like the world has ended, just seemed like the type that would
never die. r.i.p.

had only known him from singles, but went through most of his golden era discography last summer. shocking loss but grateful for what he contributed.

If you get a chance, check it out...all purple in tribute

RIP Prince. I wasn't that big a fan of his (my wife is, she's hurting), but I recognized, admired, and respected his genius.

A legend not only for his music, but his fight to reclaim his music against the record company is also something he should be remembered and admired for.

one of the best concerts ever --- he banned all mobile devices/cameras, which made for one hell of an intimate/authentic experience.

http://www.vice.com/read/prince-is-dead-2016-can-fuck-off

Yup, that sums it up perfectly.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

If you say Purple, there's an entire generation worth of people that think Prince first.

There's a literal bank vault full of unreleased material.

There's so many stories about this man.....and they are mostly true. And people don't have the reaction to this news on par with other deceased legends? SMH. The fact that my local station (97.5 Raleigh-Durham) didn't halt the fucking programming to alert anyone makes me furious. This man deserves more than a moment.

---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------

I mean, his hips were wrecked - possibly pain medication?

Like if he checked into a decent hospital he'd be fine. Sadness.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

He's been in need of a hip replacement for years. I can only imagine he never had it done because of the requirement of receiving a blood transfusion intra and post procedurally if necessary-- something Jehovahs Witness do don't. I can only assume he was on high doses of pain meds to midigate the bone on bone pain associated with his hip. High doses of pain meds can yield unpredictable outcomes... The only thing the hospital could have done is change his meds, but I'd imagine he's been thru that process a number of times in the course of managing his pain

These are a lot of assumptions obviously, but certainly not a simple solution

>Like if he checked into a decent hospital he'd be fine.
>Sadness.
>

http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/21/prince-treated-drug-overdose-dead/#ixzz46WhE1bTz

Prince was treated for a drug overdose 6 days before his death ... multiple sources tell TMZ.

We broke the story ... Prince's private jet made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois last Friday, hours after he performed in Atlanta. At the time his reps said he was battling the flu ... something we questioned because his plane was only 48 minutes from home before the unscheduled landing.

Multiple sources in Moline tell us, Prince was rushed to a hospital and doctors gave him a "save shot" ... typically administered to counteract the effects of an opiate.

Our sources further say doctors advised Prince to stay in the hospital for 24 hours. His people demanded a private room, and when they were told that wasn't possible ... Prince and co. decided to bail. The singer was released 3 hours after arriving and flew home.
We're told when Prince left he "was not doing well."

Looked like he never got proper medical treatment for his bad hips....He was struggling with that pain.....He was human.....

By God......

I responded to the statement that inferred that is the hospital was a better then Prince may still be alive. If the report is correct, he left because he couldn't get a private room, against doctor's advice. That isn't the hospital's fault.

Oh...I wasn't getting at u.....

I was talking about some of the inside word going around beyond the stuff that's swirling...

All good....

we're good. See you in OKS...LOL

i thought he'd had the surgery on those hips. i guess not?

and i just read that he claimed he was doing the piano tour b/c he couldn't play guitar anymore. b/c of his hips?

damn.
_______________________

purple rain

You feel it in the air.
It's been raining all day.
Prince is true royalty here.
This is his city.
Prince is us.
We are Prince.

Man g..

Show was so odd tonight... Felt good playing purple rain at the end though...

Mob through 2moro

The folks I know who where there said he did not want to be here and it showed.

writing today........preaching the Prince gospel on news channels, ect......I can't stop...Because if I do, I will fucking break down.....

My god....My heart......

.

.

Edited. My bad.

But his music and his art have been with me the greater part of my life. We've lost a lot of people lately, but this loss and Phife's loss have brought me to tears....truly heartbreaking.

on TV about to break down and cry talking about P....I fucking lost it....Tears....Stevie, man....

Prince.......I can't!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYKMis5uFv8

Man. Beautiful
Hopefully they stay up for a minute so people can see them

.

I can't believe it's truth, the world has lost another angel and us music fans lost another legend.

I heard the news while I was at my aunt's funeral, two people I looked up to are gone, I get home and over at bookface just saying "Rest In Peace to Prince" a million times, so I had to come over here and do the same at least once.

R.I.P. to all, Michael Jackson, Prince, Maurice White, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Phife Dawg, Sean Price, B.B. King, J-Dilla, George Duke, Natalie Cole, Luther Vandross, Leon Haywood, Gerald Levert, Teena Marie, Chuck Brown, Bobby Blue Bland, Ray Charles, Jimmy Castor, Donald Byrd, Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, & Wayne Henderson (all three of the Jazz Crusaders), Donna Summer, Vesta Williams, and soooo many other black legends.

Only saw him once at Madison Square Garden. It was great because it was the most diverse crowd I'd ever seen at concert.

I just knew it was only a matter of time I would see him in a smaller venue.

My friend told me once that after a George Clinton concert at (I think WWE restuarant that use to be in time square) the bartender told him to stick around if he wanted to see a special treat. After some time Prince rolls through and they rock until the early morning. Like they went so late my dude just had to leave and they were still going.

I just knew I'd eventually have my Prince story like that one day. Maybe 20 years down the line but eventually.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>I just knew I'd eventually have my Prince story like that one
>day. Maybe 20 years down the line but eventually.

A coworker and I packed up our laptop and walked the fuck out of the building.


i'm out.
_____________________
"WHOLESALE REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS!!"
@etfp

white boy musicians could do ..ie his musicianship......petty, springsteen , dylan...etc...but they couldnt touch the shit he did....

>white boy musicians could do ..ie his
>musicianship......petty, springsteen , dylan...etc...but they
>couldnt touch the shit he did....


He was the most complete music/rock "star" that ever walked the earth...No hyperbole...No over-stating....

Prince was literally better than ALL his peers....Name 'em....He better....

He proved it over and over but especially with that one.

A few thoughts

1."Damn, damn, damn" Florida Evans style

2. We here in the Okayplayer universe already knew that he was one of the best to already do it but it needs to be said again. His musical legacy is puts him on the Mt. Rushmore of black music. While it might be an almost too easy comparison, he really was a love child of Jimi, James and Sly. Think about how high reached standing on the shoulders of those giants....

3. It nice to see the love from mainstream. A friend wrote, "just saw the news while in a meeting. Unbelievable! No better way to shut up a room of 40 and 50 somethings than by saying "Let's take a short break. They say Prince died earlier today." When Prince went of the reservation and his chart success began to falter, it became easy to think that the rest of the world had forgotten about his genius. Folks all seem to remember today.

4. The music, the glorious music that will be with us forever. Almost 40 years of funkpunk and R&B for us to enjoy until the end of our respective days.

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2016/04/cdc-flu-update-influenzalike-illness-is-winding-down.aspx

wasnt there a pretty bad flu going around a few weeks ago that was killing people?

in his vault?

Hell, I own more than 50 unreleased songs. He's got way more than that.
_______________________

More than that.....IMMENSELY more....From what I've been told by folks in his camp....

>Hell, I own more than 50 unreleased songs.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

How they basically hired him to shoot a documentary on Rainbow Children and confiscated all the footage, and the assistant told him that Prince pulls stunts like that all the time.

The question is less about if they are there, but who's going to go through all those vaults making sense of decades of a man's life.

If reports are to be believed that he knew of about his health issues (and even if he didnt) - I'm 100% sure he has it all in order that anything that he didnt want people to hear won't be heard.

>The question is less about if they are there, but who's going
>to go through all those vaults making sense of decades of a
>man's life.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

http://www.vibe.com/2016/04/erykah-badu-prince-poem/

Erykah Badu’s Heartfelt Poem To Prince Will Only Make You Cry Even More

Shenequa Golding @GoldingGirl617 | April 22, 2016 - 8:00 am


The news of Prince’s passing hasn’t gotten any easier for fans to digest. While his autopsy is reportedly scheduled for today (April 22) it’s safe to say the loss of such a music icon is too great and to devastating to accept.

Artists such as Questlove, Talib Kweli and others have all come forward to express their shock and grief. President Barack Obama issued a statement, and Will Smith took to Facebook Thursday (April 21) in complete disbelief as he wrote in a post he spoke with the Purple One the night before his untimely death.

And while music and the world has no doubt lost a legend, Ms. Erykah Badu –who had a close relationship with the late artist–took to Facebook to write an honest and heartfelt poem about their musical kinship. Everything from the time he told her that her third album Worldwide Underground wasn’t finished, and how down-to-earth he was to come to a “hood club in South Dallas” to play guitar.

Do ensure your Kleenex is on hand because this poem doesn’t make Prince’s death any easier.



That time Prince was your rhythm guitarist
then sent you the picture.
The time Prince was so gracious to come to your club in the hood of South Dallas and play for 4 hours into the night...
The time you recorded "Today -the earth song"
at Paisley Park.
All the times y'all shot pool and argued over religion.
The time Prince got in your Lemo to tell you that 'World Wide Underground ' wasn't finished yet and you 'felt a way'. Lol
The time Prince "evolved " and wouldn't sign yo mama's 'Dirty Mind' album cover cause he said he wasn't into that no mo and yo mama told him
"well you shouldn't have made it then" and you were embarrassed.
The time Prince had a "swear jar" and you just put a 20 dollar bill in it when you walk in.
The time Prince and Larry Grahm had you cornered in a Jehova's Witness...well, witness session.
The time you presented Prince with the ICON Billboard AWARD with 20 (Janell Monáe).
The time you sang "I wanna be your lover" on the 3rd grade talent show wearing a swim top and the teachers cut you short because it was "inappropriate".
The moment you remember how much he means to you...
You've been here all my life .
And You will live F O R E V E R in my cells.
Sometimes it snows in April?

Badu

i felt the same

http://www.tmz.com/2016/04/22/prince-od-percocet-death/

Not implausible....but weird. Why would he take percocet instead of oxycontin? I'm sure he had a doctor that would get him anything he wanted. There's literally no reason to take percs instead of oxy but there's alot of reasons not to. Then again....it's drug use and not always rational. Them perc pills are huge....and even for a complete novice...you'd have to take 50 or so to warrant a save shot. Not sure if Prince drank....but that could be a likely cause too. Even just a few drinks increases the dangers of opiate use ten-fold.

That message should be printed on billboards in every city. Such a simple message could save thousands of lives. Something like:

'Drinking and taking prescription opiate pills simultaneously is MORE dangerous than shooting heroin by itself'.

It's like more than 90% of opiate overdoses involve alcohol and often in small, seemingly harmless amounts. If most opiate abusers KNEW that they would do without the few drinks added into the mix. They're better off just doing MORE of the opiate pills than adding in those drinks. Giving them the option of getting higher while being safer is something we haven't really explored from a PSA perspective.

Sometimes people use the name 'percocet' interchangably with any form of oxycodone. Not that any of this matters. End of day....how and why he died is for his friends and family. It's probably none of OUR business as fans. But any chance to make these very simple PSA statements might make it worth it.

He was known not to drink at all, not allow alcohol at Paisley Park, strict vegan. The pain pills makes most sense to me tho, whatever was used, if his hips were really in that bad shape. It could have been flu on top as well, will wait and see. Just sad all around no matter what.

As a kid my mind was BLOWN

.

.

I had to express my thoughts....

I was asked to appear on NYC's News 11....To talk about my favorite artist....

It's been therapy for me....

Prince.......Please enjoy....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrAzGl5TeoE

Thank u.......

Means a lot....

Tips cap....

Thank u.....for real...

I'll repeat what i said on my facebook..

Here's a young black man who looked in the face of WHITE movie studio executives and said.."i want to make a movie..MAKE IT HAPPEN". i MEAN, who does that?? in 1983!!!!

lol

>I'll repeat what i said on my facebook..
>
>Here's a young black man who looked in the face of WHITE movie
>studio executives and said.."i want to make a movie..MAKE IT
>HAPPEN". i MEAN, who does that?? in 1983!!!!
>
>lol


It was some NEXT SHIT......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

Thank u.....From the heart...

.

Means a lot......Thank YOU

Salute....^^^^

Thank you.

6pm alphabetically....theyre on the Is now...if i was your girlfriend

even if you didn't fuck with him, you had to fuck with him. he gave you no choice. his reach in music was immeasurable. his thirst for art was insatiable. he was an unorthodox sex symbol, unmistakably and uncommonly lusty for life. i was never really the type to listen to his studio stuff and even still as a live act he moved me like few others and he was an INCREDIBLE guitarist. it's a shame that his insistence on pushing on and mistreating himself in favor of his art cost him so much in the end. for me it's been touching seeing the outpouring of emotion over his life and his oeuvre, just seeing how many people he touched. i also think that for all the identity politics talk about madonna, no one opened up that discussion like prince, almost to the point where he closed it, too. he had that kind of enigmatic, androgynous thing going on but when you started asking "what is he?" you quickly finished answering "who the fuck cares?" he opened a lot of minds and bridges a lot of gaps. real ass dude, all the way, a true artist and someone who isn't sufficiently given his due by the word "icon."

I did a search for "prince austin" on Twitter and found a party last night. Outside of myself and 3 comics I told about it, the place was VERY lightly attended. It was really upsetting. I was legit mad at Austin.

Then tonight, I saw Princess. Maya Rudolph's Prince cover band...at the Paramount Theater. Hundreds of people, all standing, all singing along...and outside of Let's Go Crazy, Controversy, Purple Rain, Darling Nikki, and a few others - these were deep cuts. They went IN. Even played Purple Music.

And then Maya gave a speech at the end of the show without the band behind her. All you could hear were her words and the sniffles from the crowd.

Faith restored, Austin.

>I did a search for "prince austin" on Twitter and found a
>party last night. Outside of myself and 3 comics I told about
>it, the place was VERY lightly attended. It was really
>upsetting. I was legit mad at Austin.
>
>Then tonight, I saw Princess. Maya Rudolph's Prince cover
>band...at the Paramount Theater. Hundreds of people, all
>standing, all singing along...and outside of Let's Go Crazy,
>Controversy, Purple Rain, Darling Nikki, and a few others -
>these were deep cuts. They went IN. Even played Purple Music.
>
>
>And then Maya gave a speech at the end of the show without the
>band behind her. All you could hear were her words and the
>sniffles from the crowd.
>
>Faith restored, Austin.

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iVV3YTwwTc

I posted this in the Lesson, but thought I'd post it in this thread too:

This is the Glasper Trio at the Village Vanguard covering a Prince classic (they been performing this on the regular for the Covered album). Because I don't know how long YT will keep this up, I named the video a corny math joke (math major here sorry). It's dope af and a way better performance than anything on Covered (which was way too dumbed down than need be IMO).

It's days later
It's still sad and I still surprised I'm sad
This is more connected to my childhood than I thought
~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

I understand people wanna see his stuff so do I but I would rather see them respect his wishes and take it down.

I peeped the Music Snobs posted their Prince episodes right away. I'm happy because I never got to hear those eps but it just seems like all of his wishes went out the window with his passing. I wonder how this will affect his music releases going forward.

like most of you music is a huge part of my life. Ive posted on here and on twitter about how much my son loves music. When he was born I would make mix tapes and play them for him. I would strap him into his car seat and set him down near me while I messed around on my turntables. Sometimes we would just go on drives around town listening to music. No destination in mind just enjoying the day.

Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Prince made up the majority of the soundtrack to our days. We continued the afternoon drives and the nights in front of the turntables as he got older. I kept introducing him to new music but Michael Jackson and Prince remained his favorites. At 2 years old he would be in the backseat requesting a Prince or Michael Jackson song.

Shit now when he hears a Prince song he has never heard before he knows it is Prince because of the production. When he heard Jungle Love for the first time we were in the car heading some where and it comes on the radio. When the song finished he tells me it sounded like a Prince song but that wasnt Prince singing. So I start giving him Prince's history with The Time. The whole time my wife was just in awe like what 6 year old can pick up on something like that? Not that long ago he heard Ready for the World's Oh Shiela and thought it was a Prince song...like many people do. I told him it wasnt and we argued about it all the way home. No it is not a Prince song. Yeah I think you are wrong dad this is Prince. No its not. Youre wrong son! We argued until we got home and I showed him the credits on the 12". He still says I am wrong,

The day of his death I found out while I was cutting the lawn. Stopped to take a water break and checked my phone and the first picture that showed up on my instagram was a picture of Prince, It wasnt from someone that normally posted about music so I knew something was up. My wife is still mad at me because I just kept reading the news and stories about him and didnt finish the yard before I had to leave for work. She had to sweep up all the grass on the driveway and sidewalk. Oops.


Anyway I got to work and went about my day. Checking twitter here and there. Then a fellow okp(Tish) reminded me of a video I posted almost 6 years ago of my son dancing to Prince https://youtu.be/G1KnG-1nGrU Then it hits me that he doesnt know that Prince passed. I left to work before he got home from school. So I called home and asked the wife if she told him and she hadnt. So she put him on the phone and I let him know. He was quiet for a little while then said why do all the good singers like Michael Jackson and Prince keep dying? Then he said now we cant go to a Prince concert together. I had promised to take him to see Prince when he was older. He was pretty bummed out about it for a couple of days. Since Thursday when he is in the car all he allows me to listen to is Prince.

Heartbreaking stuff...But nonetheless beautiful.....

The bulk of this piece breaking down Prince's genius has been said/written before...But it's this kicker from a Vulture article that sums up PERFECTLY why Prince is/was a giant even amongst other larger-than-life artists:

"I just laid out four areas that, if Prince had only mastered one, would’ve made him legendary. He mastered them all. The range of his talent was that immense. And he made so much music! Jimi Hendrix was perhaps as broadly talented, but he made three studio albums; the Beatles were together for eight years. Prince released hundreds upon hundreds of songs over his nearly 40-year-long recording career. I don’t want to sound hysterical, but “Moonbeam Levels” is the best song you will hear this year, and Prince never even officially released it! That doesn't even make any sense! He created so much music, over so long, in so many different styles. Prince may be gone, but he left behind many lifetimes of, yes, musical genius....."

This^^^^was the secret sauce in Prince's genius and what separated him from ALL his peers...He was more dedicated to the art of making music MORE than anyone else....He made Frank Zapper, one of the most prolific acts of all time, look downright lazy...Dude had the mindset of an early 70's artist who thought nothing usual of releasing an album a year...And during his prime he wasn't just releasing songs just to stunt...Dude was creating some of the best sounds of his era...

He was simply BETTER....

link: http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/prince-genius.html?mid=twitter_vulture

gotdamn I wish I was a little older so I could witness his earlier shows.

My dad took my oldest sister to see this concert when it came to Pittsburgh.

My sister took me to see Purple Rain at the Fulton Movie Theatre downtown. On the day it came out she went to the first showing at 10AM and watched every showing until Midnight. Both my sister's were fans from day 1 so I had no problem picking Prince over MJ. Something about that music spoke to me when tho MJ had some hits and the videos to match. Prince was just funky.

She also took me to see my first Prince concert in 1988. The Lovesexy Tour. They had a basketball hoop on the stage and he hit a 15 footer. This is what made the Chapelle skit hilarious for me. I saw Prince put the ball through is legs 3 times in heels then hit a jumper in front of 20K people then go back to playing music like it was nothing. I knew that story had to be true.

I saw Prince 2 more times. He came to Charlotte a few years ago and we got there late cause my wife had to work. We were so pissed we said fuck it and bought tickets to the Greensboro show and Chaka opened up for him.

last but not least, I used to work in Philly on 15th and Locust and one day a tour bus stops and Prince runs out in heels and asked the newspaper stand for directions. I froze. I didn't believe I just saw what I just saw at 10AM on a random Friday.

http://fiyastarter.com/its-only-mountains-and-the-sea/





There are some moments for which the word “remember” is simply inadequate. Some moments, for better or worse, help fuse your psyche. Some moments recode your DNA. There is no remembering. There is only you. I don’t remember the day my cousin Ann died, as I watched my mother and sisters weep for what seemed like forever. I don’t remember when our entire neighborhood had a picnic at Rock Creek Park, a moment that I’m certain is top 10 for all participants. I don’t remember spontaneously jumping off my Uncle John’s boat into the Chesapeake, too young to know swimming isn’t instinctive for humans, seeing all of that life under the water and, eventually, my father’s hand. I don’t remember all of the prep time of that November morning when our family braved the stinging cold to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday becoming a national holiday. I don’t remember the day my father left home, exploding into the bedroom he shared with my mother and yanking the television from the wall as my friend Randy and I played Combat on Atari. And I don’t remember the day I discovered Prince. It’s all just who I am.



After my father left, my time out of school was my own. There were no more long bike rides around the city. No more fixing cars. No more reading the comics in the paper. I filled a large portion of this time listening to music. My older sister, Princess (yeah, I know), had all of Prince’s albums through Controversy. Prin (which she prefers) had an impressive album collection: the Dreamgirls sountrack, Kiss, Queen, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Michael Jackson, the Sugarhill Gang and so much more. I listened relentlessly to all of them, especially Dreamgirls, The Message, and Thriller.



However, I ignored the dude in the bikini briefs on one album cover and sitting naked atop a goddamn pegasus on the back cover of another. I was too young and it was just all too much. Prin would listen to Prince while getting dressed in the morning, vibrant and confident, like all young women who listen to Prince. Not only did it sound like something I shouldn’t be listening to, it sounded like something I shouldn’t want to listen to. One time, I blurted out that that the hook on that song she loved so much sounded like “Touch-Your-Pus-sy” to me. What else would that freaky looking guy be singing? My mother laughed her big laugh and Prin facepalmed so hard. When they explained to me that I was wrong—by holding up the album cover and demonstrably sounding out the word “Con-Tro-Ver-Sy)—I decided right there I was going to see what was up with this dude.



Back then, the weekend was peak listening time for me. I’m the youngest by a decade, so everyone had something to do or someone to see. In those days, a teenager or young adult staying in the house was a treasonous act, so everybody was gone. I could sit with those albums sun up to sun down, without a hint of interruption.

The time had come. I was going to see what was up with the dude in the bikini briefs. I needed to understand why Prin became so alive every morning.



So, at nine-years old, I pulled 1999 from its sleeve and I noticed the artwork on the cover for the first time. There’s a lot there, but the feral eyes in the 9s set a tone. I felt like the album was staring back at me, giving me a last warning. Enter if you dare. I forged ahead. Every track was sonic quicksand. How had I missed it all those mornings? Of course I knew 1999, Delirious and Little Red Corvette. Those were the hits. But, D.M.S.R.? That groove completely eviscerated Another One Bites The Dust, which was my favorite song of that time.

I sank deeper. Something in the Water (Does Not Compute) and All the Critics Love You in New York? To this day, I still don’t know what they are. They’re music, but I don’t know what kind. They were recorded in 1981 or 82 and they STILL sound like the future. Free? Honestly, I still don’t understand my connection to that one, because not even other Prince diehards love it as much as I do. But, I reflexively hear it every time I’m confronted with the idea black people don’t love America or shouldn’t love America. I wouldn’t even say it’s a great song. It’s just an incredibly sincere statement. Automatic? The actual song, which is brilliant, is just a warm up for an unforeseen collision into a wall of Prince spoken word, spooky synths, guitar solos, sobbing succubi and extraterrestrial backing vocals. This is music? 1999 is the album that ruined radio for me. After listening to it for a few hours, my young mind understood that radio is for entertainment, not for art. If I wanted art, I needed to go find it.



At some point, I got around to Controversy, after 1999 and Dirty Mind took me past lunch and into the late afternoon. Now, I’m just going to say this and you can take it how you want: If the Ramones had recorded Ronnie Talk to Russia…undisputed greatest punk song ever. EVER. You think about that and be honest with yourself.



Well, moving on…



Before I heard Annie Christian, I was about 6 or 7 hours deep. I already knew I was a fan. I knew I would listen to this dude for as long as he made music. But, Annie Christian is The One. That song made me believe God had a hand in this. God wanted me to hear this man’s music. Prince’s delivery on the track sounds like he’s possessed. There’s no life in his voice. There’s only the words.



Annie Christian wanted to be a big star
So she moved to Atlanta and she bought a blue car
She killed black children, and what’s fair is fair
If you try and say you’re crazy, everybody say electric chair
Electric chair



Annie Christian, Annie Christ
Until you’re crucified, I’ll live my life in taxicabs



She killed black children? Here I am, a nine-year-old black boy, hearing this man offer this to the world with the indifference of a veteran cop writing a parking ticket. I was scared to fucking death. But, I must’ve picked up that needle and dropped at start of that song over a dozen straight times. I had to hear it. I became possessed. The song is so damn unnerving. But, I loved it. It made its way into my cells. And as the years passed, more of his music would do the same. It’s been been there every day of my life since that day. Every high and every low.



Earned a new belt at martial arts school? Play some Prince. Let’s Go Crazy.



Win another basketball trophy? Play some Prince. Baby, I’m a Star.



Graduate? Play some Prince. Delirious.



Get married? Nigga…Adore. Adore, nigga.



Mom dies?



Stand tall, sweet baby, don’t you fall
(Tall, baby)
You ain’t the only one gettin’ beat down
Happens to us all
The road you chose to walk in this life
(The road you choose to walk in this life)

Is one that leads into the next
So sweet baby, stand tall
(Sweet baby, stand tall)
Stand tall
(Sweet baby)



I know most people would guess Sometimes It Snow In April. I also played that one on the worst day of my life, but Sweet Baby absolutely gutted me. It still guts me. I have never listened to that song again. I still don’t know why I even played it that day, other than I was supposed to.



First child? Play some Prince. The Holy Trinity: The Love We Make. Let’s Have a Baby. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife.



I could go on forever about what that man meant to me. I would love to talk about how prolific and versatile he was. I could talk about how I could hear him in songs from Nine Inch Nails to Lil Wayne (Trent Reznor and Wayne would proudly confirm it for you, too). I could rage on about how he was underrated as a lyricist and guitarist with malice by music critics who didn’t want to accept that a black man from Minnesota was the apex predator of music, the preferred artistic medium of the universe, for the vast majority of his life. I could present my case for him being not only the greatest talent of the Rock era, but the greatest musician who has ever lived. But here’s what I’ll never do and have never done:



I’m not selling anyone on Prince. If you don’t get it, it’s fine with me. It’s a very personal thing and I don’t like to trivialize it with petty debate centered on music industry metrics. I’ve always likened meeting another true Prince fan to meeting someone of the same mutant race. The other parts of them, good or bad, do not matter to me, because we have a primordial bond. You can be an absolute scumbag, but if you’re up on Moonbeam Levels and Electric Intercourse and The Grand Progression and Rebirth of the Flesh and Train and Billy’s Sunglasses and Movie Star and Empty Room and the guitar solo on Just My Imagination…like, if you get IT, I got time to talk to you. There’s a place for you in my heart, because I understand that we’ve had the same profound experience at some point in our lives. We heard the future.



When I learned of his death, I was surprised by how composed I was. I opened my laptop to confirm he was gone. But, just as I started to get down about it, there he was in my head again…



Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy
Seventeen mountains stood so high
The sea surrounded them and together they would be
The only thing that ever made you cry
You said the devil told you that another mountain would appear
Every time somebody broke your heart
He said the sea would one day overflow with all your tears
And love will always leave you lonely

But, I say it’s only mountains and the sea…

Please archive this thread, MODS, just off Basa's eloquent, heart-aching post....

Dog...U just gutted me....Truly poignant.....

Wow....

I was cursing u while reading your post...lol...Like on some THIS MUFUCKA IS MAKING ME CRY AND I'M TRYING TO GET WORK DONE...FUCK THIS NIGGA....

Damn u, dog......God bless u and yours....And yes...That Prince bond is real....Truth...

i've been in a cyber bunker since thursday afternoon, dogg. i was so stuck. i had to make myself get it out in words so i could start healing.

feel free to share that joint.

>feel free to share that joint.


FOR MY PURPLE FAM.....I LOVE ALL Y'ALL....REAL TALK....

----

BET.com
Greatness Was Never Enough: The Life of Prince
A look at the genius of an icon.

Keith Murphy

The greatest artist of his era was never satisfied. Indeed, Prince Rogers Nelson — whose death on Thursday (Apr. 21) rocked pop culture enthusiasts, die hard music heads, instrumentalists and every rule-breaker worldwide — was not one to wear presumptive labels or revel in seemingly career-defining victories. When the ridiculously gifted Minneapolis, Minnesota, product signed his first recording deal with Warner Bros. in 1977 at the age of 19, he was billed as the next Stevie Wonder. Prince, a card-carrying Wonder fan, was having none of that. The 5-foot-3 bantam musical prodigy wanted to set the world on fire on his terms. His first single, “Soft & Wet,” was bubblegum soul on the outside and an obscene, sexual adventure on the inside: “Hey, lover, I got a sugarcane / That I wanna lose in you /B aby can you stand the pain…?” No, this was not “Isn’t She Lovely.”

It was a glimpse into the boundless future of one of pop’s most challenging, unpredictable and influential acts; an artist who got off on confounding his critics. When 1979’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover” made him into a R&B sensation, a restless Prince had other ideas. The game-changing Dirty Mind, released in 1980, was less soul and more brazen, X-rated, new wave rock and roll. Prince was Black. Never mind the eye-winking press releases that portrayed him as a half-Italian/African-American one-man-band force of nature who could outplay most of his peers on guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. Prince had no intention on being boxed in by race, or sartorial confines for that matter; he appeared on the album cover in a blazer and high-rise briefs.

The album’s flag-planting title track could have been a whitewashed, synthesized Gary Newman number. “When You Were Mine” boasted the best rhythm rock guitar of the ‘80s. The censorship destroying combination of the funk absorbed “Head” and punk-leaning “Sister” aimed straight for the gut. Prince explained his mixed up musical palette in a 1981 Rolling Stone interview: "We basically got all the new music and dances three months late, so I just decided that I was gonna do my own thing,” he said of his time growing up in a mainly white Midwestern city. “Otherwise, when we did split Minneapolis, we were gonna be way behind and dated. The white radio stations were mostly country, and the one black radio station was really boring to me. For that matter, I didn't really have a record player when I was growing up, and I never got a chance to check out Hendrix and the rest of them because they were dead by the time I was really getting serious. I didn't even start playing guitar until 1974.” Prince was an eye-winking quote monster, too. “I never got a chance to check out Hendrix…” It was Prince’s way of saying, Yeah, I play guitar… but don’t be lazy. Not every Black man with an ax is Jimi!

He was born into the music, for God’s sake. His father, jazz pianist John L. Nelson, bore the Prince Rogers moniker on stage alongside his mother Mattie Shaw, years before the name would evolve into a legendary mononym and bearer of the “Minneapolis sound.” After his parents’ divorce in 1966, Prince would spend time between both of them before branching off on his own, an early sign of his staunch, necessary and unwavering independence.

And so Prince went on to do whatever the hell he wanted. When he wanted his own funk band, he made live horns obsolete (a shock in ’81 for R&B-based acts), plugged in his Linn drum machine (which would become the back beat of his influential sound) and created The Time. When he felt like there was a space for a blush-inducing girl group fronted by his ridiculously gorgeous better half Denise “Vanity” Matthews (who also passed away this year), Prince put together, wrote and produced “nasty girls” Vanity 6.

Then the man got downright ambitious: "Oh, you don’t think I can be a pop chart marauding star? Here’s 1999, haters. What’s that? No one can compete with Michael Jackson? Well, I’m going to create a racially/gender mixed band called The Revolution, drop a modern day rock movie classic entitled Purple Rain, gross a shocking $70 million at the box office, sell over 14 million albums, play to sold out stadiums, unleash the weirdest omnipresent No. 1 single you’ve ever heard with 'When Doves Cry,' win a freaking Oscar just because and do it all while rocking the finest blouses...."

Prince owned from 1984 to 1987. He’s the reason we had parental advisory stickers on albums (The too-bold “Darling Nikki” literally kick-started the government-backed PMRC, which deemed Prince and other artists as too obscene for the virgin ears of music fans). His synth-heavy, keyboard, funk-rock-pop sound was seemingly everywhere from the Pointer Sisters to Janet Jackson. So what’s a world-beating superstar to do when he literally has the world at his feet? You deliberately turn your back on the plastic fandom; embracing your inner, quirky, rule-breaking bandleader.

In a lot of ways Prince was a mirror image of his friend, the ever-evolving jazz giant Miles Davis. The Purple Rain hype hadn’t even cooled off yet when Prince released 1985’s psychedelic, ‘60s rock-inspired Around the World in a Day, which contained arguably his purest pop triumph “Raspberry Beret.” He then shot for music geek heights with Parade, a jazz-classical-funk-rock-experimental work that showcased the rich contributions of his Revolution outfit, in particular guitarist Wendy Melvoin and keyboardist Lisa Coleman. And just in case there were still detractors out there who believed that Prince no longer had the ear of the masses, he walked out the studio with “Kiss,” a No. 1 hit so ubiquitous within the Prince canon (No bassline! Prince doing his best James Brown without a tightrope) that it still gets played at family functions and clubs like some cool national anthem.

Prince did it his way. His landmark 1987 double album Sign ‘o the Times remains his artistic zenith. Just download the mind-blowing “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker,” which contains some of his finest lyrical moments (“I took another bubble bath with my pants on…” = safe sex).

Throughout the ‘90s, Prince’s career hit its proverbial highs and lows. There were more hits like “Thieves in the Temple,” “Diamonds and Pearls,” “Cream,” “Sexy MF” and “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World…” But hardcore fans deemed his hip-hop obsessions as watering down his lane-switching sound. Again, Prince gave no Fs.

We should all thank him. Certainly, musicians of every stripe should celebrate a figure who had the balls to take on his own record company at a time when it would have been easy to just take the $100 million check and smile. When Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol during a high profile battle with Warner Bros. over the label’s control of his music and masters to his mammoth catalog, the press was quick to mock him. But years later, his fight for artistic (and monetary) freedom in the music industry is now viewed as a Nostradamus moment. Now the recording industry is barely holding on; 360 deals (labels dipping their hands in touring and merchandising revenues) have become standard. Prince said no to recording contracts. By the late ‘90s, he was already utilizing the internet to sell his music and connect to fans before it was deemed as viable. Show off.

Prince never stopped. He never gave you a chance to put him in the nostalgia closet. When he made his 2004 comeback with the critically-acclaimed, sold-out Musicology tour, he included his album of the same name in the ticket packaging to boost record sales and chart movement. On its own, Musicology would have gone platinum, but Prince bucked the system and moved an extra million plus copies from ticket sales. Billboard balked at the enterprising move. Again, Prince won.

So who was Prince? A guitar rock god who could melt off collective faces with solos that have become legend. A protest artist who was so moved by the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 that he released a song entitled “Baltimore,” as well as put on a sold-out Rally 4 Peace concert in the city that had nearly burned down in anger just days before. Oh yeah, Prince knew that Black lives mattered. His Afro returned. And he never stopped dropping music. The most recent HITNRUN Phase One and Phase Two showed an artist who never rested on his legend.

Maybe we should have seen his shocking death coming. His plane made a surprise, mysterious hospital landing last week (Apr. 15) following the Atlanta stop on his stunning Piano & a Microphone tour. But even before that, something was different. It was just the man himself — live onstage with his prodigious talents telling stories about his now-deceased father. Like all of us, he wanted his pop’s attention, his admiration. “I can't play piano like my dad. How does dad do that?" the enigmatic great said in a rare moment of openness. No, Prince. You could play. It was just in your own follow-me-or-sit-down way.

Know genius.

link: http://www.bet.com/news/music/2016/04/22/greatness-was-never-enough--the-life-of-prince.html

_______________________

*Daps*

this is it right here:

>I’m not selling anyone on Prince. If you don’t get it,
>it’s fine with me. It’s a very personal thing and I
>don’t like to trivialize it with petty debate centered on
>music industry metrics. I’ve always likened meeting another
>true Prince fan to meeting someone of the same mutant race.
>The other parts of them, good or bad, do not matter to me,
>because we have a primordial bond. You can be an absolute
>scumbag, but if you’re up on Moonbeam Levels and Electric
>Intercourse and The Grand Progression and Rebirth of the Flesh
>and Train and Billy’s Sunglasses and Movie Star and Empty
>Room and the guitar solo on Just My Imagination…like, if you
>get IT, I got time to talk to you. There’s a place for you
>in my heart, because I understand that we’ve had the same
>profound experience at some point in our lives. We heard the
>future.

i connected w/several of my best friends via Prince's music. i agree - we must share some mutation.

THAT is why i haven't been to any public tributes. that is why i have not been on the Internet since Saturday night. i haven't been ready to share my grief w/casual Prince fans. and i'm definitely not ready to share it w/ppl who don't know his music. i was at work when i heard the news and i overheard my coworkers immediately talking about his appearance on The New Girl. if THAT is what one thinks about when one hears that Prince has died then that's someone who cannot understand my grief and i don't want to share it w/them. and i figure those ppl were populating the tributes this weekend - i can't. they can have those and i'm glad they do but i need to be around ppl who get it.

>When I learned of his death, I was surprised by how composed I
>was. I opened my laptop to confirm he was gone. But, just as I
>started to get down about it, there he was in my head
>again…
>
>
>
>Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy
>Seventeen mountains stood so high
>The sea surrounded them and together they would be
>The only thing that ever made you cry
>You said the devil told you that another mountain would
>appear
>Every time somebody broke your heart
>He said the sea would one day overflow with all your tears
>And love will always leave you lonely
>
>But, I say it’s only mountains and the sea…

nice.

like, i'm not tryna be a hater, but DAMN. i don't wanna see people geek out to when doves cry. just leave me out of it.


>THAT is why i haven't been to any public tributes. that is
>why i have not been on the Internet since Saturday night. i
>haven't been ready to share my grief w/casual Prince fans.
>and i'm definitely not ready to share it w/ppl who don't know
>his music. i was at work when i heard the news and i
>overheard my coworkers immediately talking about his
>appearance on The New Girl. if THAT is what one thinks about
>when one hears that Prince has died then that's someone who
>cannot understand my grief and i don't want to share it
>w/them. and i figure those ppl were populating the tributes
>this weekend - i can't. they can have those and i'm glad they
>do but i need to be around ppl who get it.
>
>>When I learned of his death, I was surprised by how composed
>I
>>was. I opened my laptop to confirm he was gone. But, just as
>I
>>started to get down about it, there he was in my head
>>again…
>>
>>
>>
>>Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy
>>Seventeen mountains stood so high
>>The sea surrounded them and together they would be
>>The only thing that ever made you cry
>>You said the devil told you that another mountain would
>>appear
>>Every time somebody broke your heart
>>He said the sea would one day overflow with all your tears
>>And love will always leave you lonely
>>
>>But, I say it’s only mountains and the sea…
>
>nice.
>

>this is it right here:
>
>>I’m not selling anyone on Prince. If you don’t get it,
>>it’s fine with me. It’s a very personal thing and I
>>don’t like to trivialize it with petty debate centered on
>>music industry metrics. I’ve always likened meeting
>another
>>true Prince fan to meeting someone of the same mutant race.
>>The other parts of them, good or bad, do not matter to me,
>>because we have a primordial bond. You can be an absolute
>>scumbag, but if you’re up on Moonbeam Levels and Electric
>>Intercourse and The Grand Progression and Rebirth of the
>Flesh
>>and Train and Billy’s Sunglasses and Movie Star and Empty
>>Room and the guitar solo on Just My Imagination…like, if
>you
>>get IT, I got time to talk to you. There’s a place for you
>>in my heart, because I understand that we’ve had the same
>>profound experience at some point in our lives. We heard the
>>future.
>
>i connected w/several of my best friends via Prince's music.
>i agree - we must share some mutation.
>
>THAT is why i haven't been to any public tributes. that is
>why i have not been on the Internet since Saturday night. i
>haven't been ready to share my grief w/casual Prince fans.
>and i'm definitely not ready to share it w/ppl who don't know
>his music. i was at work when i heard the news and i
>overheard my coworkers immediately talking about his
>appearance on The New Girl. if THAT is what one thinks about
>when one hears that Prince has died then that's someone who
>cannot understand my grief and i don't want to share it
>w/them. and i figure those ppl were populating the tributes
>this weekend - i can't. they can have those and i'm glad they
>do but i need to be around ppl who get it.

THIS. I skipped most of the events in BK on Thursday... partly b/c I really just couldn't get out of bed... and partly b/c I'm not up for the Kiss and When Dove Cryers to be all up in my face. I can't. And there are but a small handful of DJ's I would trust to really do this. An ex OKP-er and I were hoping (still are) that there might be a brief reunion of the NPNY but so far have not heard much. So... we've planned our own celebration. We will play music loudly and drink banana daiquiris until we're blind.

was to go see OKP revolution75 and friends spin some DEEP Prince cuts and things the night of. We all talked the music, the impact of the loss, the real shit.

one of my favorite moments was talking to one of the people there while "Lady Cab Driver" was playing about how I loved how that song turned out in the 1999-era live shows, and RIGHT as I said that, they switched it into a 1999-era live rehearsal of that song (my favorite take of it, ever).

He (rev75) also played about 6 hours of straight Prince, no holds barred -- the hits, and the bootlegs live on the radio yesterday.

I'm wearing peach and black today.

People that get it, will get it

wearing my prince baltimore t-shirt
i'd been feeling some kind of way about the earth still spinning
while prince is not here anymore
that just seems wrong
the lady at the museum let me and my friend get in free
after we spent 30 minutes communing about what he meant to us
and how we first got into his music
and the moments that mattered.
the same thing happened at the restaurant we were at
the chef came out to talk about how he wanted to take days off to go to the memorial
if there was going to be one
that ended up being a beautiful day
finding communal spirits sharing in our mourning

this passing felt so different
when mj passed i was in harlem and we all went to the apollo and cried together
being in baltimore.... ive felt so alone in my grief
the city moves on.... i dont understand

thanks to these posts.
thanks basaglia and whomever else has shared

... that I had gotten over the dry heaves and sniffling. But I read this and my colleague caught me crying at my desk.

Ugh.

i was at the cafeteria on campus
a friend called from new york, assuming i'd heard, and he was calling to see how i was holding up
i ended up bawling in the cafeteria
and (going to the bathroom when i got too loud)
i still find myself crying at random moments
like yesterday when i was at the grocery store
seems like something triggered this, dont even know what
the first thing i think about when i get up in the morning
is damn.
this really happened.
how?

>http://fiyastarter.com/its-only-mountains-and-the-sea/
>
>
>
>
>
>There are some moments for which the word “remember” is
>simply inadequate. Some moments, for better or worse, help
>fuse your psyche. Some moments recode your DNA. There is no
>remembering. There is only you. I don’t remember the day my
>cousin Ann died, as I watched my mother and sisters weep for
>what seemed like forever. I don’t remember when our entire
>neighborhood had a picnic at Rock Creek Park, a moment that
>I’m certain is top 10 for all participants. I don’t
>remember spontaneously jumping off my Uncle John’s boat into
>the Chesapeake, too young to know swimming isn’t instinctive
>for humans, seeing all of that life under the water and,
>eventually, my father’s hand. I don’t remember all of the
>prep time of that November morning when our family braved the
>stinging cold to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday becoming a
>national holiday. I don’t remember the day my father left
>home, exploding into the bedroom he shared with my mother and
>yanking the television from the wall as my friend Randy and I
>played Combat on Atari. And I don’t remember the day I
>discovered Prince. It’s all just who I am.
>
>
>
>After my father left, my time out of school was my own. There
>were no more long bike rides around the city. No more fixing
>cars. No more reading the comics in the paper. I filled a
>large portion of this time listening to music. My older
>sister, Princess (yeah, I know), had all of Prince’s albums
>through Controversy. Prin (which she prefers) had an
>impressive album collection: the Dreamgirls sountrack, Kiss,
>Queen, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Grandmaster Flash
>and the Furious Five, Michael Jackson, the Sugarhill Gang and
>so much more. I listened relentlessly to all of them,
>especially Dreamgirls, The Message, and Thriller.
>
>
>
>However, I ignored the dude in the bikini briefs on one album
>cover and sitting naked atop a goddamn pegasus on the back
>cover of another. I was too young and it was just all too
>much. Prin would listen to Prince while getting dressed in the
>morning, vibrant and confident, like all young women who
>listen to Prince. Not only did it sound like something I
>shouldn’t be listening to, it sounded like something I
>shouldn’t want to listen to. One time, I blurted out that
>that the hook on that song she loved so much sounded like
>“Touch-Your-Pus-sy” to me. What else would that freaky
>looking guy be singing? My mother laughed her big laugh and
>Prin facepalmed so hard. When they explained to me that I was
>wrong—by holding up the album cover and demonstrably
>sounding out the word “Con-Tro-Ver-Sy)—I decided right
>there I was going to see what was up with this dude.
>
>
>
>Back then, the weekend was peak listening time for me. I’m
>the youngest by a decade, so everyone had something to do or
>someone to see. In those days, a teenager or young adult
>staying in the house was a treasonous act, so everybody was
>gone. I could sit with those albums sun up to sun down,
>without a hint of interruption.
>
>The time had come. I was going to see what was up with the
>dude in the bikini briefs. I needed to understand why Prin
>became so alive every morning.
>
>
>
>So, at nine-years old, I pulled 1999 from its sleeve and I
>noticed the artwork on the cover for the first time. There’s
>a lot there, but the feral eyes in the 9s set a tone. I felt
>like the album was staring back at me, giving me a last
>warning. Enter if you dare. I forged ahead. Every track was
>sonic quicksand. How had I missed it all those mornings? Of
>course I knew 1999, Delirious and Little Red Corvette. Those
>were the hits. But, D.M.S.R.? That groove completely
>eviscerated Another One Bites The Dust, which was my favorite
>song of that time.
>
>I sank deeper. Something in the Water (Does Not Compute) and
>All the Critics Love You in New York? To this day, I still
>don’t know what they are. They’re music, but I don’t
>know what kind. They were recorded in 1981 or 82 and they
>STILL sound like the future. Free? Honestly, I still don’t
>understand my connection to that one, because not even other
>Prince diehards love it as much as I do. But, I reflexively
>hear it every time I’m confronted with the idea black people
>don’t love America or shouldn’t love America. I wouldn’t
>even say it’s a great song. It’s just an incredibly
>sincere statement. Automatic? The actual song, which is
>brilliant, is just a warm up for an unforeseen collision into
>a wall of Prince spoken word, spooky synths, guitar solos,
>sobbing succubi and extraterrestrial backing vocals. This is
>music? 1999 is the album that ruined radio for me. After
>listening to it for a few hours, my young mind understood that
>radio is for entertainment, not for art. If I wanted art, I
>needed to go find it.
>
>
>
>At some point, I got around to Controversy, after 1999 and
>Dirty Mind took me past lunch and into the late afternoon.
>Now, I’m just going to say this and you can take it how you
>want: If the Ramones had recorded Ronnie Talk to
>Russia…undisputed greatest punk song ever. EVER. You think
>about that and be honest with yourself.
>
>
>
>Well, moving on…
>
>
>
>Before I heard Annie Christian, I was about 6 or 7 hours deep.
>I already knew I was a fan. I knew I would listen to this dude
>for as long as he made music. But, Annie Christian is The One.
>That song made me believe God had a hand in this. God wanted
>me to hear this man’s music. Prince’s delivery on the
>track sounds like he’s possessed. There’s no life in his
>voice. There’s only the words.
>
>
>
>Annie Christian wanted to be a big star
>So she moved to Atlanta and she bought a blue car
>She killed black children, and what’s fair is fair
>If you try and say you’re crazy, everybody say electric
>chair
>Electric chair
>
>
>
>Annie Christian, Annie Christ
>Until you’re crucified, I’ll live my life in taxicabs
>
>
>
>She killed black children? Here I am, a nine-year-old black
>boy, hearing this man offer this to the world with the
>indifference of a veteran cop writing a parking ticket. I was
>scared to fucking death. But, I must’ve picked up that
>needle and dropped at start of that song over a dozen straight
>times. I had to hear it. I became possessed. The song is so
>damn unnerving. But, I loved it. It made its way into my
>cells. And as the years passed, more of his music would do the
>same. It’s been been there every day of my life since that
>day. Every high and every low.
>
>
>
>Earned a new belt at martial arts school? Play some Prince.
>Let’s Go Crazy.
>
>
>
>Win another basketball trophy? Play some Prince. Baby, I’m a
>Star.
>
>
>
>Graduate? Play some Prince. Delirious.
>
>
>
>Get married? Nigga…Adore. Adore, nigga.
>
>
>
>Mom dies?
>
>
>
>Stand tall, sweet baby, don’t you fall
>(Tall, baby)
>You ain’t the only one gettin’ beat down
>Happens to us all
>The road you chose to walk in this life
>(The road you choose to walk in this life)
>
>Is one that leads into the next
>So sweet baby, stand tall
>(Sweet baby, stand tall)
>Stand tall
>(Sweet baby)
>
>
>
>I know most people would guess Sometimes It Snow In April. I
>also played that one on the worst day of my life, but Sweet
>Baby absolutely gutted me. It still guts me. I have never
>listened to that song again. I still don’t know why I even
>played it that day, other than I was supposed to.
>
>
>
>First child? Play some Prince. The Holy Trinity: The Love We
>Make. Let’s Have a Baby. Friend, Lover, Sister,
>Mother/Wife.
>
>
>
>I could go on forever about what that man meant to me. I would
>love to talk about how prolific and versatile he was. I could
>talk about how I could hear him in songs from Nine Inch Nails
>to Lil Wayne (Trent Reznor and Wayne would proudly confirm it
>for you, too). I could rage on about how he was underrated as
>a lyricist and guitarist with malice by music critics who
>didn’t want to accept that a black man from Minnesota was
>the apex predator of music, the preferred artistic medium of
>the universe, for the vast majority of his life. I could
>present my case for him being not only the greatest talent of
>the Rock era, but the greatest musician who has ever lived.
>But here’s what I’ll never do and have never done:
>
>
>
>I’m not selling anyone on Prince. If you don’t get it,
>it’s fine with me. It’s a very personal thing and I
>don’t like to trivialize it with petty debate centered on
>music industry metrics. I’ve always likened meeting another
>true Prince fan to meeting someone of the same mutant race.
>The other parts of them, good or bad, do not matter to me,
>because we have a primordial bond. You can be an absolute
>scumbag, but if you’re up on Moonbeam Levels and Electric
>Intercourse and The Grand Progression and Rebirth of the Flesh
>and Train and Billy’s Sunglasses and Movie Star and Empty
>Room and the guitar solo on Just My Imagination…like, if you
>get IT, I got time to talk to you. There’s a place for you
>in my heart, because I understand that we’ve had the same
>profound experience at some point in our lives. We heard the
>future.
>
>
>
>When I learned of his death, I was surprised by how composed I
>was. I opened my laptop to confirm he was gone. But, just as I
>started to get down about it, there he was in my head
>again…
>
>
>
>Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy
>Seventeen mountains stood so high
>The sea surrounded them and together they would be
>The only thing that ever made you cry
>You said the devil told you that another mountain would
>appear
>Every time somebody broke your heart
>He said the sea would one day overflow with all your tears
>And love will always leave you lonely
>
>But, I say it’s only mountains and the sea…
>

***************************************
rosemary's babydaddy
***************************************

man. you nailed it.

i can remember the first time i heard prince
actually, i saw him
this was back in nairobi, so he wasnt that big on the radio
my mom finally had enough money to buy a vcr and colour t.v,
and we rented music videos from the video store (which we never returned because we never went back)
and one of these had the video for 'lets go crazy'
this was the kind of music i had never heard before
it took coming to america to really discover prince (and okp played a big part in this)
my first time really seeing him... i was living in NC at the time, he was playing in Philly
i got tickets, and we drove down to get to the concert in time
i had to turn around and drive back as soon as it was over because the next day was the first day of classes
(and i had to attend, in order to get into this one required class)

ever since... its been rare that prince is playing close to where im at and i dont go
even when broke
the last time i saw him was in baltimore.
i thought i would catch him during the piano and mic tour

what saddens me the most is that the possiblity of a prince tour just ended.

its still so surreal.

i completely agree that prince is not someone you convince to love
you either feel the music or dont
but when you feel it. omg
it never lets go.
you always find the one song that just speaks to the moment.

2016 can go fuck itself

all this time i thought you were just that rabblerouser on the sports board....wow, that was an incredible read. "read" doesn't even sound right..like i *felt* that. thanks for sharing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

the estate?

The seem to be doing a pretty good job with MJJ no?

Reading this made me nervous.

http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/41740/20160425/purple-prince-empire-struggling-business-death-sister-takes-tyka.htm


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I still can't get my thoughts to coalesce on this whole thing, but reading these posts definitely helps and have been miles better than most of the thinkpieces posted up the last day or two.

from celebrities to regular folks.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

from celebrities to regular folks.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I'm still listening to his stuff and having sporadic, unpredictable crying fits. Like yesterday 'Come' made me cry in public. Come!! Lol. Lord.

But tonight I'm going to a tribute with some Prince geeks. I'm only going bc they'll be there and I trust them not to trip if I start crying over songs like 'We Can Funk' (true story, that happened 2 days ago).
_______________________

its the first realization i have every morning.
this is what the world is, without prince

i was only able to start listening to the music yesterday
and i dont think i was ready,
crying on the train, crying while walking
sunday i was crying at the grocery store
it just came out of nowhere

whats been really hard for me is not having someone close
who knows how hard this is
im just walking around dazed and the world keeps spinning

Listening sporadically to some songs is all I can manage. Listened to one podcast yesterday while doing some yardwork to try and keep busy. But I lost it somewhere in there and that lawn didn't get finished and I ended up with dusty tear tracks flowing down my face

>I'm still listening to his stuff and having sporadic,
>unpredictable crying fits. Like yesterday 'Come' made me cry
>in public. Come!! Lol. Lord.
>
>But tonight I'm going to a tribute with some Prince geeks. I'm
>only going bc they'll be there and I trust them not to trip if
>I start crying over songs like 'We Can Funk' (true story, that
>happened 2 days ago).
>_______________________

for the first time since he passed...nope, not ready yet.

I breathed a sigh of relief - I knew the party was official. I was in a safe space. And it just went on like that. So I danced for 3 hours str8. No breaks - except I did go get a beer during 'Scandalous' bc I didn't want to grind on my homie like that. But then he played 'Adore' and it was a wrap. We did the damned thing. And yeah I cried during 'Purple Rain'. But 'I Would Die 4 U' made it okay. I finally had to leave but 'Housequake' was on so I didn't want to....

It was just what I needed.

https://www.facebook.com/637444496387679/videos/820641574734636/?pnref=story


OMG ROFLMAO!!!!!!!

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/inside-princes-funky-first-recording-sessions-20160426

Inside Prince's Funky First Recording Sessions

Pepé Willie looks back on inviting teenaged Purple One to record with 94 East

By Kory Grow April 26, 2016

The album sleeve of Prince's first record, 1978's funky For You, famously credited Prince with producing, arranging, composing and performing every note on the LP. He was 19 at the time it came out, and such a feat was unprecedented at the time.

Just a few years earlier, he was cutting his teeth with a band called Grand Central. That's when Pepé Willie, husband of Prince's first cousin, Shauntel Manderville, first took note of his musical skill. Willie, whose uncle was a founding member of Little Anthony and the Imperials, had grown up in New York City around music, watching his uncle's gigs, serving as road manager and assisting the acts they played with. He also played a variety of instruments himself and after he moved to Minneapolis, he launched his own group, 94 East.

In 1975, he invited Prince – then a teenager – to record with 94 East for his first-ever session. They played together in the studio several times, and Willie has subsequently put out several releases containing his Seventies recordings with Prince with titles like Minneapolis Genius, Symbolic Beginning and The Cookhouse 5. When Prince started his own musical career, Willie offered his own house as a rehearsal space.

Willie was at home last week when a friend told him to turn on a news broadcast that reported that Prince had died. "I went, 'Oh, my God,'" he tells Rolling Stone. "It was just overwhelming. It's been very difficult." Here, he reflects on his times making music with Prince.

The first time I met Prince, he was 12 years old, so I wasn't really paying him no mind. He was just a little kid. I had just gotten out of the service in 1970 and came to Minneapolis to see my wife. She took me to the house of one of her aunts, and Prince was there with his cousin Charles. They were wrestling on the floor.

The next time I met him, he was 15. I'd been working in New York with the telephone company and came back to Minneapolis in 1974. I was married to Prince's cousin by then, so he was my family. And I remember he was asking about the music industry, publishing, copyrights, all of that. Then I saw his band, Grand Central, play my father-in-law's ski party. Morris Day's mother was their manager. They played a couple of Earth, Wind and Fire tunes and other cover stuff, and I thought they were pretty good. I told Morris' mom that I'd love to work with them. They thought I was some big-time producer coming in from New York (laughs).

So we started having rehearsals. This was 1975; Prince had just turned 16 at that point. Grand Central, the band members, were Morris Day on drums, Andre Cymone on bass, Prince on guitar, Andre's sister Linda on keyboards, and William Dowdy, we called him Hollywood, playing on percussion. I asked to hear one of their original songs. Prince had this song called "Sex Machine." It was a really good, good song, but it lasted for 10 minutes. And I said, "Wow, that's a nice song, but for it to be on the radio, you have to use a certain formula." So they started using that formula in their material. Andre had a song called "You Remind Me of Me," and they played some other stuff.

Prince and Andre used to have contests of who could write the most songs. They'd just go off in different rooms of their house, because Prince lived with Andre. I don't know what the situation was there, but when I met him, he'd moved away from his parents and was living with Andre. He just learned how to play music on his own. He didn't know how to read music or anything. He just learned on his own.

At one of the rehearsals, I remember Prince stopped, took off his guitar and he went over to Linda, and he says, "Linda, this is what I want you to play." And I was going, "Wow. He plays keyboards and guitar. That's great." Then he goes over to Andre and says, "Andre, let me hold your bass for a second." And Prince starts thumping. And I was going like, "Wow. What is going on?"

I said, "Have you ever been into a recording studio before?" And Prince goes, "No." And I say, "OK, look. I'm in the studio right now at Cook House Recording Studios." I said, "I want you to come play guitar with my band 94 East." And he says, "Oh, OK, great. Cool." And I gave him a cassette of five songs that we were recording: "Games," "If You See Me," "I'll Always Love You," "If We Don't" and "Better Than You Think." I said, "Practice this with two leads," and that was it. That's basically what I'd done for everyone in the band.

I had four hours of studio time, and we just kicked it off, right there. We did five songs in four hours. It was just unbelievable. I didn't even know what they were going to play. We didn't have rehearsal or nothing; I just trusted that everyone had their parts. Those recordings came out as The Cookhouse 5.

Prince played better than a professional session player, and I've been to a lot of sessions. None of the guitar players I'd worked with played as well as Prince for his first time in a recording studio. It just totally blew my mind. He was definitely a better guitar player than me (laughs).

He was kind of quiet back then. He didn't talk much. When we was rehearsing with Grand Central and Morris and Andre and I would take a break. I'd say, "OK, let's take 10 minutes, and just take a break, go have something to eat." Prince would say, "OK, I'll see you guys when you come back." He would not leave. But we talked about girls and all this stuff, and we played basketball together.

When he played basketball, he became a different kind of person. That's when the, what do you call it, dirty talk came out. One day me, Prince and Andre was playing over in south Minneapolis, and we just beat 'em so bad, three on three. And they got so salty with us. Prince looked up at one guy and said, "Look like you want to fight or something." And I said, "Oh, my God. Prince is like that?" (Laughs). One of the guys was, like, my height, six-foot-one, and Prince is little. I thought we'd have to fight our way out, but we didn't. But Prince, you know, he wasn't no punk, OK? Put it like that.

After we did our session, I went to New York for about six months to shop those tunes, to try to get a deal, and when I got back Prince had told me about how he'd met (Prince manager) Owen Husney and (Prince demo producer) Chris Moon. So I met with them in their studio. Prince was 17 at that time. I know they said he was 16, but he was 17. They were nice.

Around that time, I was in the studio with 94 East recording our first single, "Fortune Teller" – which Hank Cosby who wrote "My Cherie Amour" with Stevie Wonder wrote – and "10:15," which I wrote. So we're going into the studio, and we see Prince coming out of the studio. And he goes, "What are you guys doing here? Can I play on your single?" (Laughs). And I says, "Sure, come on in." Prince did background and he played guitar on both songs. So he was part of that.

About a year later, we got dropped from the label because Hank got fired from Polydor. When I told Prince and Andre that we got let go, Prince was more upset than I was. He told Andre, "We have to go back in the studio with Pepe." So we went back in the studio and did, "Just Another Sucker" – Prince and I wrote that one – and "Dance to the Music of the World" and "Loving Cup," which I wrote with another friend of mine, Ike Paige.

Writing that song with him was fantastic. I would come up with some ideas and he'd go, "Check this out, Pep, tell me if you like this." And I would go, "Oh yeah." I liked everything he did. It wasn't like I would go, "Nah, man. I don't like that part, man." (Laughs). He was just phenomenal. I did the music and he wrote the words and it was just amazing.

One time, I took him and Andre to New York to do some recordings with Tony Silvester of the Main Ingredient. I played him some recordings and he flew me, Prince, and Andre out and put us up at the Hilton hotel. They were teenagers. They tore the room apart. It looked like a hurricane hit that thing. But we went to the studio, it was the first time that I heard "I Feel for You." Prince had just wrote it, and he didn't have any words, and he played the music on a grand piano between sessions. It was just fantastic.

After we got dropped, I decided to focus on Prince's career, because he'd just gotten signed. He was working at Del's Tire Mart in Minneapolis and somebody robbed him of all his gear. The only things they didn't take were two giant speakers that I'd lent to Prince so he could audition a band. After that, I said, you have rehearse in my house. That's where we auditioned his band members – Bobby Z, André Cymone, Dez Dickerson, Gayle Chapman and Matt Fink – and that's where they'd practice, from about 10 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night, every single day.

One night, at around 10:30, I tried to call Prince and I didn't get an answer. So I went over to his house, because he wasn't far from where I lived, and I see his car parked in front of his house. I rang the bell, knocked on the door and I didn't get no answer. Then I hear this little tapping sound, and I went around to the side of the house and I peeped through the basement window, and Prince was down in the basement playing drums. I mean, he was wailing away. And this was after 12 hours of rehearsing. It was just unbelievable. So I had to tap the window in-between the drum beats so he could hear me, and then he came to the door and we talked. But after that experience, I had said to myself, "Gee, no wonder why he's so good. This guy practices all the time."

Prince had desire. He was not going to fail at anything that he did musically. That's what I admired about him the most. He just had it.

He wasn't fully formed as a musician when I was recording with him, but he was more formed than a lot of studio musicians. You show Prince something once, and he's got it. It's like a photographic memory in his fingers. (Laughs). I've never seen a musician like Prince, and I don't know if we're ever going to see anybody like him again. He was on the cover of guitar magazines, bass magazines, keyboard magazines, drum magazines and Rolling Stone. I mean, come on.

We always stayed in touch, too. The last time I spoke to him was in Las Vegas at the Rio, at 3121 Club in 2007. It was just a "Hello, how you doing?" "I'm fine. How are you?"

I'm so glad that I was part of his life. Every time that Prince did a record or was out there performing, I knew that a part of me was out there. I just loved it, and I love him. I never would have thought he would have died before me. I'm 10 years older than him. He was just one of those guys that only come around once every 30, 40 years. For us to have him so long was a total blessing. We lost Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse in their twenties. And Prince, all the way to 57. It was a total blessing.

peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

yes

When it was announced I was like "whut?". But when I saw it, it totally made sense. P is still P and he found a way to hang with too young hot women (like he barely shares screen time with the dudes).

Great read on how that came to be.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/new-girl-liz-meriwether-prince.html


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>

I did watch Purple Rain when they re released it. Almost broke down during the opening scene. I've listened to a few covers but it's still hard to deal with.

i still find it unbelievable

was reading something yesterday and found myself crying
i think it was tribute messages or something

its like a private pain.
feels like everyone else has moved on
im still amazed at that. *the earth keeps turning*


shit

>i still find it unbelievable
>
>was reading something yesterday and found myself crying
>i think it was tribute messages or something
>
>its like a private pain.
>feels like everyone else has moved on
>im still amazed at that. *the earth keeps turning*
>
>
>shit
>
>


I found editorial cartoons about him. A ton of them. THAT caused me to break down. Sigh.

He has probably created more recorded and live music than probably any living musician. Once there is public access to the vault people will be dissecting and studying his music for centuries like Mozart, Beethoven, etc.

Personally, he has probably dabbled in every human experience imaginable (except parenthood, that he never got to be a dad does leave me feeling somewhat bad for him). He also had the spiritual journey of childhood indoctrination, rebellious youth and then finding a spiritual code that worked for him.

Dude did everything he came here to do and has earned his glory.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/health/prince-death-opioid-overdose/

Toxicology tests for Prince concluded that the entertainer died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl, according to a report on his death by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office.

Fentanyl, prescribed by doctors for cancer treatment, can be made illicitly and is blamed for a spike in overdose deaths in the United States. It's 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died April 21 at age 57, after being found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park, his home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota.


The report from the medical examiner's office, which was released on Twitter, didn't provide many details. "How injury occurred: The decedent self-administered fentanyl," the report said. For manner of death, a box was marked for "accident."
The report didn't specify how the drug was taken and if the fentanyl was prescribed or illegally made.
The music superstar weighed 112 pounds and was 63 inches tall when he died, the report said. He was wearing a black cap, shirt, pants, boxer briefs and socks and a gray undershirt, the report said. His occupation was listed as "artist" and his business as "music."
The full autopsy and toxicology reports will not be released, the office told CNN.

Since his death, information has emerged about the entertainer's alleged abuse of prescription drugs.
A law enforcement source told CNN's Evan Perez in April that the entertainer was found with opioid medication at the time of his death. Investigators so far haven't found any indication that Prince had a valid prescription for the recovered opioid medications
An attorney for Prince's half-siblings said they revealed the singer had an addiction to Percocet decades before he died. One half-sibling said Prince started using the drug to help him deal with the rigors of performing, not for recreational use.

On April 15, on his way home after performing in Atlanta, Prince's plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois. Prince was unresponsive and taken to a hospital. A law enforcement official told CNN he was treated for a potential overdose of pain medication.


The day before Prince died, his team called an eminent opioid addiction specialist in California seeking urgent help for the singer, an attorney working for the specialist and his son said.
The specialist, Dr. Howard Kornfeld, couldn't get there immediately so he sent his son, Andrew Kornfeld, on an overnight flight to Minnesota. The goal was for the younger Kornfeld to help evaluate Prince's health and encourage him to enter treatment for pain management and potential addiction issues, attorney William Mauzy told reporters.

Prince's complicated history with painkillers
But by the time Andrew Kornfeld arrived at the singer's Paisley Park complex on the morning of April 21, it was too late. He and two Prince representatives found the 57-year-old entertainer unresponsive in an elevator. Andrew Kornfeld was the person who called 911, Mauzy said.


Authorities have also said the investigation into Prince's death is a criminal investigation. It was not immediately clear if Kornfeld is the subject of a separate investigation.
Federal prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration are investigating how Prince obtained prescription medications and from whom, the agencies said.

https://vimeo.com/169204486

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

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