>hip-hop in general had a negative effect on P, first in his
>inability to acknowledge it & then later with his ham-fisted
>attempts at incorporating it into his sound.


First, I have to say again, I'm a Run DMC STAN....I worship those dudes...And...You are correct in that Prince did not want to respect the hip-hop artform...And while Run DMC's cultural impact was mammoth and at times beyond imagination, it didn't have as big of an effect on Prince as did gangsta rap (and New Jack Swing)...I'll explain further down.....


>So Run-DMC would have to be somewhat in that mix even though
>they were always huge fans of Prince themselves.

Actually not really....When Run DMC were killing it with their biggest commercial triumph in 86, Prince was still a superstar...He was still having huge singles ("Kiss" and the like), touring and his music was getting played on stations across the globe and MTV....He was good...Not Purple Rain good...But good....


>However I look at Run-DMC's wardrobe/style signalling not the
>end for P so much as a stripped-down/simplified reaction to
>the bedazzled look/style of early groups like Grandmaster
>Flash & The Furious Five, etc.
>
>A more utilitarian/everyman 'neighborhood' look that could be
>emulated by anybody.

In my opinion, Prince's steady commercial downfall was bought on by two factors...His own reluctance to play the game (you know, releasing albums every year...Not staying with the Purple Rain sound ect...)

However, early gangsta rap HURT Prince big time....

Think about it...in 1987, Prince was still a superstar artist coming off the success of Sign O The Time...He sold 2 to 3 million albums; he had almost his entire album being played on pop, rock and R&B stations...He was being nominated for Album of the Year by the Grammy's....There was a reason why Sheila E was in Crush Groove, Bomb...He was still a big dog...

But when 'Fuck The Police' came out, that was a HUGE blow to Prince...You see, Prince was known as an outlaw back then...He was the most dangerous man in pop music...The guy you didn't want your kids listening to (remember he kick started the PMRC)...If you were a parent, you didn't want your kids listening to Prince...He was gangsta rap before gangsta rap...

But NWA? Those motherfuckers were truly scary...lol...Them niggas were NIGGAS....They took all the danger out of Prince...They made him look even more feminine, when before that was part of Prince's danger in the past...

It got so bad that by the time Prince released Diamonds & Pearls, he was holding a GUN microphone in his hand and being backed up by wack ass rappers, a signal that he was indeed paying attention to the more street oriented hip-hop scene that was led by NWA, Ice T, and Cube...

Gangsta Rap + New Jack Swing= Prince's initial fall....

But Run DMC lit the bomb.....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....