Prince, the last musical genius

His disappearance, on April 21, 2016, surprised everyone. Prince died in his Paisley Park home at the age of 57. With 40 years of vocation, he left behind a considerable musical legacy. Let’s take a look at his career!

2016 was an eventful year! A bunch of great artists has died during this year. David Bowie, Michel Delpech, George Martin, Papa Wemba, Leonard Cohen and George Michael all left their fans mourning. Prince Roger Nelson, a little man of about 5'2", but with ineffable talent also left us in 2016!

The Minneapolis Kid left behind a discography of 39 albums, spreading from 1978 to 2015, not to mention those published under the name of his band. Prince managed to sell more than 100 million albums worldwide, directed 2 films, won 8 Grammy Awards and one Oscar! This is huge for an artist who created most of it on his own! Indeed, from his first album, For You, revealed in 1978, Prince interpreted, composed and arranged all the pieces and played every single instrument (that’s 27 in total!). He was barely 20 years old but was already showing what will make his signature: a funky style honed with soul, R&B, rock and gospel elements. The influences are pretty obvious, but at the same time, it did not look like anything else that was being produced. 1980 was the time when he really managed to demarcate himself!

This is Dirty Mind’s release year. We all knew that the guy was different from the very first glimpse at the album’s cover. It is also from this very moment that he started developing his androgynous look. The music turned out to be more synthetic; when it comes to the lyrics, it became very explicit, pornographic even! Provocation would eventually become Prince’s hallmark. He is then considered to be the exact opposite of the one whom we consider as his rival, Michael Jackson! Then came 1982, a decisive year in pop history.

It all started on the 27th of October; Prince released his first double album 1999 where he defined theMinneapolis Sound. A funk-rock genre full of electronic influences thanks to the contribution of synthesisers and rhythm boxes with which Prince became a programming ace. This subgenre would eventually influence music from the ’80s and also contribute to the popularisation of hip-hop. Meanwhile, on the 20th of November the paragon of pop music, Thriller was released! Needless to talk about the commercial and critical impact it’s had. From then on, the public was divided. On one side, the pro-Michael and on the other, the pro-Prince. Opposing them was out of the question! Michael Jackson proved to be an outstanding performer and dancer, the King of Pop, while Prince was a performer, dancer and genius musician. In order to demonstrate his talent, the latter eventually threw himself into a crazy challenge!

Purple Rain was released in 1984. The latter was much more than a regular album, Prince eventually made use it for a film inspired by his own life. Even if the movie turned out to be an 80s flop, the main purpose was to see him and his band The Revolution on stage. For those who were not lucky enough to attend one of his concerts, by viewing Purple Rain, they will certainly be served! The movie provides a good glimpse of what Prince’s shows were like. In the end, Purple Rain sold over 25 million copies worldwide and the film was a huge commercial success. The soundtrack was obviously awarded at the 1985 Oscars, in the "Best Soundtrack" category. Also note that the piece turned out to be one of history’s most popular.

Following this incredible success, Prince was expected to come up with a sequel. Instead, he went on to build Paisley Park, his multidimensional artistic complex where he shot his clips, recorded his albums and whenever possible, even slept there. It will make you dream once we start talking about Paisley Park; the place is unlike anything else that you might have seen or heard about! All of Prince’s madness and creativity seem to be imbue in the walls of the building. It was here that Around The World in a Day was produced in 1985. We were all expecting a Purple Rain II, but in the end, we were served with a "Princian" version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from the Beatles. An album that delivered an even better psychedelic experience compared to its predecessors, a clear proof of Prince’s will deliver what is least expected from him!

The following year, he directed his second film Under the Cherry Moon, which introduced Kristin Scott Thomas. The flop movie was accompanied by the album Parade. The latter was supported by another of his ultimate singles "Kiss"! After this album, he went back to the studio with a crazy new triple album project, which was finally aborted. He will still manage to release one of his last great albums: Sign O’ The Times (1987), a masterpiece of his discography where we can discover several musical styles. Critics back in the days were unanimous. This have been the most mature album ever released by Prince; through it, he demonstrated his talent and creativity perfectly!

There’s a before and after Sign O’ The Times! Prince was turning out to be unmanageable as per his label, Warner and collaborators. After a conflict with the label, he became "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" and his name was replaced by the indefinable symbol that we call "Love Symbol.” Unlike the glorious days of the ’80s, the ’90s were difficult for Prince. His music was no longer as avant-garde and his albums were not as striking as they used to be. However, he regained some of his popularity in the early 2000s with Musicology (2004) which won 2 Grammy Awards. What then followed were albums of good quality, but that were somewhat uneven, 11 to 10 years before passing away.

On April 21, 2016, he was found unconscious at home due to an overdose of Fentanyl, an extremely powerful but deadly analgesic. The latest investigations into his death indicates that it was not a crime. The artist being sick and weakened (mostly) by this artistic life, was taking Vicodin, a painkiller.

Considering how rich it was, it is now very difficult to sum Prince’s career up in a few lines! Many points could not be addressed; the aura surrounding the artist or the influence he had on music in general are some of these. He was a genius who broke the rules by constantly proclaiming his independence and his will to lead his life as he saw fit. If Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, what did that make Prince? The God?!

 

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