I feel like that's being a bit over dramatic. Prince was backed into a corner as a result of signing a huge $100 million contract that specified a certain number of record sales in order to get what he wanted (monetary advances, making Paisley Park a functional record label, getting his masters, etc.). He acted out once he realized how bad of a deal it was and WB was putting some heat on him for failing to meet the deal, but, once again, it was a deal he signed in the early 90s, and it was a massive mistake for him to do so. Honestly, WB took mercy on him and let him leave his contract - they could have made it much rougher for Prince, but they didn't. WB was one of the more artist friendly labels, with Mo Austin being at the forefront of treating his artists well. George Michael actually put some skin in the game and had the balls to sue his record label (over more legitimate reasons too). Prince was heavy into drugs by that point. A lot of the behavior that we (certainly myself) thought was just ecentric Prince being Prince was the behavior of a drug addict.
Yeah, since I do not like Heavy Metal Music, I do not get to hear Songs with Lyrics about Satan, but if I liked the Music, the Lyrics would not bother me at all. Although, I am Agnostic and not Atheist, as I am a Science Person. That being said, if I was ever to join any Organized Religion, the Gospel Music of Black(AME?) Churches would appeal to me, as seems like a Great Music Party and fun place to hang out with others.
It doesn't matter what the true story was, only the public perception of it. There was both good and bad to it. Prince took a licking as being crazy and WB took the fall for all record labels, because the net result was musicians coming up who cited Prince's "battle" with WB as an inspiration. It's Mo Ostin, by the way. The devil makes the best music. By far!
Especially, Jay Z who learned from Prince on these issues. I am just amazed that other Music Artists were not paying attention to what Kate Bush was doing much earlier to get Control over her own Music. She is not only Talented, but had Business Smarts.
And what evidence do. You have for that statement please? Yeah I know, an insidious drug habit is what killed him in the end. But was he really a drug addict at the point in time you were talking about?
I often agree with your views, but this time I strongly disagree with you. I as a fan didn't pencil him in as going down hill because of any strategy or name change. For me there is a big quality drop after Lovesexy. Batman has some great songs but it's a soundtrack, Graffiti Bridge were mostly leftovers. Diamonds & Pearls is a direction I really don't like with some exceptions, same goes for Love Symbol. The 93-95 period fascinates me because the music is better produced, more adventurous, the Prince music I like. Emancipation was another drop in quality for me, because a lot of the songs don't mean anything to me. Right back here in my arms, The jam of the year, Somebody's somebody, Courtin time, We gets up, White mansion, Damned if I do, Mr happy. All of these are mediocre or worse songs, the only song on The Gold Experience I feel the same about is We march. And that's only the 1st disc.
Mayte confirmed it in her book (and Alex Hahn also talked about it in his book Possessed from 2003) that Prince OD'ed in April 1996 (Hahn says April 21). He claimed it was an "Aspirin overdose", though he claimed that same thing following the emergency plane landing in 2016. A lot of Prince's behavior and perceived decline can be attributed to drugs, IMO.
He was right about them dumping crap on his neighborhood from the skies. The word is out, now. R.I.P. Prince
Respectful counterpoint to Emancipation-Rave era fans: Prince was flummoxed by hip-hop, just didn't get its appeal or respect it in any sort of meaningful sense* -- thought it was something anyone could do. Lost too much time in the 90s trying to incorporate it into his aesthetic and found himself in the uncomfortable position of not even being in the top 10 of making slow jamz or block anthems. At his best was merely competent at appealing to that fanbase until he was around long enough to be recognized as an institution. *This is fundamentally different than making a show of respecting it, which he obviously did, but c'mon. Dead On It is his real feelings about hip-hop.
Man, I have to say it. I mean, I'm not trying to be rude (but of course it's going to come off that way); I respect you, but you're going to claim these two circumstantial entries as fact, yet deny the crap ton of circumstantial evidence that puts Michael Jackson down little boy's pants? Too many Prince books where nobody really knows squat about the man. Yeah, Prince could have done drugs. Certainly. But let's call on solid principles here.
I like Prince at the end so much. He started to get more basic and it just got me. I have a boot from London with 3rd eye girl and it's just so cool. He 'suffered' from being able to just put out material at a whim and as much as he wanted. The 'earth' of his best stuff kind of got lost along the way. There was always something interesting in his music to me. Even when i didn't dig it. At his end he kind of Channeled Jack White and then Jack White channeled him on Boarding House Ranch. Which isn't too hot. Billy Gibbons Channeled em both with his first solo album which also isn't very good. Some artists can at will just whip up material. Prince was able to do this and it can be a blessing and a curse. I've mentioned before, i wish they'd put out a live show from the 3rd eye girl tours. So concise and rockin'. Love where he was at there. But, most people just want the nostaligia of the 80s stuff. All his stuff has some interest. But, i really wish they'd do a live thing from those last tours.
Goes to the reliability of the circumstantial evidence since not everything is black and white - I consider Mayte to be a pretty believable person, and given what we know about Prince and his demise, it's not a far fetched event. But either way, I don't really care that Prince did drugs, and I certainly don't hold it against him (would be a super weird thing for any music fan to do - you'd have to throw out a lot of CDs). It definitely impacted his music and personal decisions, but beyond that, who cares? I thought it was important to backup my earlier comment after someone asked me, and I did. I don't think you can have a conversation about Prince's later years and (alleged - a lot of other fans disagree) his creative decline without mentioning that elephant in the room.
Sorta weird, because from Prince's perspective, hip-hop would have changed for the worse in the 90s. Prince wasn't much of a gangster rap guy, and the rap groups in the 80s were a lot closer to his sensibilities.
I love the way Prince brought hip-hop elements into his music. I think he did it brilliantly. It was just part of the whole rich tapestry.
You are going to have to list some examples, as the ones that come to mind from the 90s are utterly woeful
Yeah, from a hip-hop perspective Prince's rap efforts are woeful. When they came out I wasn't even a massive hip-hop fan and I found them embarrassingly out of touch. I think it says a lot that he ended up working with Chuck D in 1999 when they were both at a low point rather than 1988 or 1989 when something way more interesting just possibly could have happened. But. As a Prince fan I love Face Down and his rapping on it the same way I love ODB singing Good Morning Heartache. Except ODB probably knew he wasn't the greatest singer and I'm not quite sure Prince was quite so conscious of his limitations as a rapper. Still, I think Face Down and a few other rap bits from around that time have the right energy, a little bit less self-consciously trend chasing and a little bit more using hip-hop to vent the rage he got caught up in during the TAFKAP era.
I always liked Prince's particular brand of glam-rap. P. Control and Days of Wild are fantastic. Pope is super cool too. Are they technically great hip-hop songs? Maybe not, but they're fun and enjoyable as hell! "Shoot another brother? Not today!"
Prince's Sister Sharon Nelson Accuses Comerica Bank of Mismanaging Estate: 'He Is Not Resting in Peace' (Exclusive) "Before the end of the year, Prince's estate will be bankrupt," Nelson tells Billboard, three years after her brother's death. Sharon Nelson, Prince’s half-sister and one of the six heirs to the late funk legend’s estate, says that three years after her brother's death, virtually nothing about his estate has been settled. The infighting between the heirs and Comerica Bank & Trust, which is administrating Prince's estate, has resulted in thousands of court filings and racked up millions of dollars in legal fees, without any money or real estate assets being distributed to the late artist's beneficiaries. If the bank's powers are not curbed, she predicts, "Prince’s estate will be bankrupt by the end of the year.” Prince's Sister Sharon Nelson Accuses Comerica Bank of Mismanaging Estate: 'He Is Not Resting in Peace' (Exclusive)
The Black Album is the closest he came to a cool hip hop thing. The rest is very pop. Kind of gimmacy. Which people dig. Lots of poppy hip hop out there.
