"The Purple One": Prince

Two weeks ago, 21 April, the planet lost an unforgettable and most definitely irreplaceable talent. It was that day when it was announced that the highly influental singer Prince had passed away. We are sad to say that with "The Purple One", we lost another one of the greats. Prince was one of those artists who touched many people from all over the world in many different ways. He was so undeniably himself, and ground-breaking in terms of fashion and gender identity, but also in terms of talent. In modern music there hasn’t been a single artist who radiated sexuality and gender fluidity as much as Prince. Not many artists could or can do what he did, or inspire such a large group of people to create and to accept their true selves. Prince was inventive and creative, and he did things hísw way. For his music he did not stick to one genre. Instead, he chose to combine a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, new wave, soul, pop and even rock. Chances are that the modern day artists you’ve been listening to were somehow inspired by this man as well, whether that be directly or indirectly. No to mention it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard his iconic single ‘Purple Rain’ from the movie of the same name at least once. So for that reason, this week we are gonna find the answers to the questions: 'who was Prince, and what made him so special?'

Prince was a prodigy. It was already clear that Prince had a promising musical career in front of him from a very early age. His parents were both musicians, his father being part of a jazz combo called the Prince Rogers Trio and his mother being a singer. Prince wrote his very first song called "Funk Machine" on his father's piano when he was only seven years old. And before he had even finished high school, young Prince already taught himself how to play more than two dozen different musical instruments. On his Wikipedia page it says that he was considered a guitar virtuoso and a master of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, and synthesizer.

By the young age of 18, Prince managed to secure a contract with famous record company Warner Bros, after recording some demos and signing a management contract with Minneapolis businessman Owen Husney. Until then, he hadn’t really been performing much at all. His explanation for this was that his “ambition was to be a national recording star and he did not want to wear out his talent in local clubs”. After signing the deal, he then released his debut album For You in 1978, an album on which he’s listed as having played all 27 different instruments that were recorded for the album. It therefore features the classis tag line; “produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince”. The album peaked at No. 163 on the United States Billboard 200 chart and went on to sell approximately two million copies around the world, and its lead single “Soft and Wet” peaked at No. 92 in the Hot 100 list. But it wasn’t until his second release that he really managed to break through in the mainstream music world. His self-titled second album Prince was released on October 19, 1979. The album sold over two million copies, received a platinum disc, went straight to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked at No. 41 in the United Kingdom and reached number 2 on the Billboard Dance/Disco Singles chart. He didn’t reach his true international superstardom status until much later though, when the released his fifth album 1999 that contained his smash hit of the same name.

Prince always made sure to take full responsibility for the execution of his artistic vision and his work. On albums he usually played every instrument himself, and he often even sang and recorded his own backup vocals as well. He also wrote and composed most of his songs on his own and without help from songwriters. For his live shows he always acquired a group of the best musicians he could find and who he would push to the limit. Everything about Prince was the result of a lot of hard work. He expected greatness, not only from himself but also from the people he worked with. Prince was a perfectionist and was known to not settle for any less.

Prince also took the visual aspect of his performances very serious, probably equally as serious as his music. With every album he released, the visual image would always be as strong as the music that was featured on the record. He was one of the top-tier pop artists of the so called video age, along with other great names such as Madonna and ofcourse Michael Jackson. In a way, he also turned himsélf into a visual piece of art with eye-catching, gender-bending and often over-the-top looks that fit his sensual and at times almost ‘raunchy’ music that he released from this third album on very well. It caused Prince to bring a new conversation about gender to fashion. Prince wore high heels, wore his dark hair in a bouffant of dancing curls, frilly shirts an lace gloves. He also wore stilettos because he liked them. Ofcourse nowadays there are many more public figures who are queer or androgynous, but let’s not forget that times were slightly different back then and not many artists or people in general felt so comfortable with being ‘strange’ or 'different'. On his album Controversy he sang on the title song, “Am I black or white, am I straight or gay?" Not only was he one of the first artists to play with gender identity and sexuality, but he was also known for his defiance of racial stereotypes. He didn’t let his gender or his race define him. And by doing so, he inspired many others to not let them define by the things they cannot change about themselves either.

In 1993, Prince changed his name to an unpronouncable symbol in rebellion against Warner Bros. The symbol was later explained as a combination of thes symbols for male (♂) and female (♀) genders, further establishing his position as an important symbol of gender fluidity and someone who refused to be held conform to gender norms. Eventually, the symbol was being referred to as "The Love Symbol". The name change often led to people calling Prince “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" or even simply "The Artist", a title that seemed to fit his talent and ego perfectly. The reason Prince chose to change his name was the fact that record company Warner Bros, who he was signed with, refused to release Prince's music at a steady pace. The action was so typically ‘Prince’ and led Warner Bros to organize a mass mailing of floppy disks with a custom font to be able to use the Love Symbol in printed media. This can be considered a diva move – and it totally was – but it also shows how committed Prince was to his craft. By the 2000s he had changed his name back to Prince, and became a Jehovah’s Witness.

“I'm not a woman, I'm not a man, I am something that you'll never understand”. 

I Would Die 4 U, Prince and The Revolution (1984)

Prince is also often hailed as one of the most sex-positive singers of his era. Like I said before, in modern music there hasn’t been a single artist who radiated sexuality and gender fluidity as much as Prince. His sexually explicit ‘macho man’ lyrics, combined with his ‘effeminate’ look, made the hearts of millions of men and women beat faster and without a doubt formed the soundtrack to many steamy nights.  “I know you’re good, girl/ I think you like to go down” he sings in Head from his third studio album Dirty Mind. And then there’s songs like “Little Red Corvette”, “Do Me, Baby.” and “Raspberry Beret”, that explore the joy of being seduced by a woman. In his famous movie “Purple Rain,” in which he plays The Kid, he sings a song about a woman masturbating to a magazine in a hotel lobby. He wanted to look as beautiful and enthralling as any woman, and then when he had accomplished that, he wanted to get with her and make sweet love to her.

I could go on for hours about how great and unique Prince truly was, but in conclusion; Prince was one of a kind. We should praise ourselves lucky that somehow, we were alive during the same period of time as this amazing talent. And without a doubt, his music will remain timeless and his fans will surely continue to 'party like it's 1999'!