Now this could be because Steve can't come close to being as prolific as P... but it has much more to do with the bar Prince set at the door.

even prior to Dirty Mind, his generally agreed coming out party, Prince always had some sort of "edge". he was doing some "no-no" shit but it was all good. it made him interesting.

for him to come out with some of that shit he had on that GB album, to capitulate to rapping (and weak ass rapping at that), to make a "Muppet Movie" ass tune like Graffiti Bridge when he had cultivated badassery the way he had done for years? thank the Matrix "Thieves In The Temple" was on that album.

Stevie is confirmed sappy at times. and when Conversation Peace hit, he had moments where he was trying to show that he was "aware" instead of being who the fuck he is.

but Stevie had a history of the sappiness. he came in the game as a kid, largely singing songs in that vein written by others. he's always had a sense of idealism in his music. he ain't that much different than MJ in that regard.

I'm writing all of this to say that I'd rather hear "Don't Drive Drunk" on repeat for 3 hours straight than to sit through a second of Prince trying to convince people he's still a bad ass by doing everything EXCEPT the things that made him a bad ass in the first place.

Stevie's low >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Prince's low.

Stevie never went into an eccentric fantasy land and lost sense of self. He never hooked up with other greats past his prime and let THEM influence who he was.

the worst thing you can say about Stevie nowadays ain't got shit to do with his music. to be fair, the same can be said of Prince, but a lot of his music nowadays can also qualify.