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BREAKING: Prince Dead at 57

Prince_at_Coachella

Deacon Greg Kandra - published on 04/21/16

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From CBS News: 

Iconic rock musician Prince has died, his publicist confirmed to the Associated Press. He was 57. Police and EMTs responded to a 911 call at his Paisley Park studio Thursday. Sheriffs in Chanhassen, Minnesota, confirmed that there was one fatality. Last week, Prince was briefly hospitalized for the flu, necessitating his private jet to make an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, so that he could receive medical attention but was said to be recovering. Born Prince Rogers Nelson, the flamboyant musician rose to fame on a first-name basis with with his breakthrough albums “Dirty Mind” in 1980 and “1999” in 1982, developing a reputation for risqué lyrics and costumes, overt sexuality and a unique blend of rock, R&B and soul. He shot to super-stardom with the 1984’s “Purple Rain” and its wildly successful soundtrack. The film was a seemingly autobiographical tale of a rebellious young musician in the Minneapolis club scene. His work helped define 1980s popular music, with hits like “When Doves Cry,” “Little Red Corvette” and “Let’s Go Crazy,” but he was just as successful penning hits for other artists, including the Bangles’ “Manic Monday,” Tevin Campbell’s “Round and Round” and Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

Read more. 

On his faith: 

In 2001, Prince became a member of Jehovah’s Witness, following a two-year discussion with fellow musician, personal friend, and Jehovah’s Witness, Larry Graham. “It’s like Morpheus and Neo in The Matrix,” Prince compared, explaining the process of understanding Jehovah’s Witness as less of a “conversion” and more of a “realization.” Growing up in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, spirituality became an evident influence in his everyday philosophy and personality. In his first interview expressing his faith, Prince explained that prior to coming to the Jehovah’s Witness faith, he was in a position of seeking answers and truth, and that coming to terms with his spirituality changed the way he saw the world and everything around it, from life itself and even his own personal life. One aspect in his life Prince acknowledges change in since becoming a man of faith is what he is most known for in the public eye: his music. Although Prince acknowledges that his music and lyrical content contains themes common to the rock-and-roll lifestyle, such as heavy sexual undertones, the amount of ideologies found in his music regarding faith, especially the music after his new-found faith, substantially outweighs the aforementioned. Writer Touré explains in his book about Prince, I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon, that faith is at the core of much of Prince’s music, something fans may not be able to hear above the beats of his music, furthering that “the amount of discussion of sex is this much,” holding his hands a foot apart, “and the amount of discussion of religion and spirituality and God and Jesus is this much,” doubling the space between his hands. “I was pretty wild in my younger days” admits Prince during his acceptance speech for an award at the 2010 BET Awards. “You don’t have to do what I did. You don’t have to make the same mistakes I made. The future is in your hands.”

One of his most memorable performances was a Super Bowl halftime show. See below.

Photo: Wikipedia

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