The term “genius” tends to get thrown around a lot. Usually by marketing reps in promoting their latest, corporate manufactured “Idol”. It’s very rare that the term is actually appropriate, so when I call Prince a genius I don’t say it lightly. I only use it for an individual who is way more talented than his peers and who leaves his/her industry visibly different than when they first arrived. I won’t go into detail about his career, you can get that here. These bullet points should give you the right idea.

• Prince released his first album as a teenager at 19 years old, writing and producing it himself.

• He’s played all the instruments and vocals on most of his albums since the beginning. He not only plays but can actually jam on guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard. Not to shabby in the singing department either.

• His output of material is legendary with reportedly hundreds of unreleased songs in his vault that have been recorded over the years.

• Took to the stage in bikini briefs but the brothers still bought his albums.

• In the early 80s black artists had been tainted and marginalized by their supposed association with disco music. Along with Michael Jackson, he helped to break the color barrior on MTV and other mainstream radio stations.

• Almost single-handedly retired the horn section in popular music groups. His “Minneapolis Sound” used the emerging polyphonic keyboard to emulate and modernize the parts usually produced by horns.

• Has a thorough and deep understanding of African American musical styles and history. He not only incorporates jazz, blues, rock and funk into his repetoire, he’s used the performance styles of artists like Jimi Hendrix and James Brown in his live show. Purple Rain: Purple Haze, it’s no coincidence.

• Smart enough to secure his publishing rights from day one, even as a teenager, in the mid 70s.

• He’s put together a music career spanning almost 35 years. His most recent Grammy was for the song Future Baby Mama in 2008.

• Jump started the careers of numerous groups and protogés, most notably The Time. Under the name Jamie Starr, Prince wrote and recorded all four of their albums and dubbed Morris Day’s lead vocals on top.

• He’s written and recorded numerous hits for artists as diverse as The Bangles (Manic Monday), Sheena Easton (Sugar Walls), Kenny Rogers (You’re My Love), and Sinead O’Conner (Nothing Compares 2 U) to name a few.

* Starred in the film Purple Rain and created the smash album of the same name.

• Smart enough to give up acting after Under the Cherry Moon (the film stank but the soundtrack was awesome).

• Vanity, Appolonia, Sheila E., Madonna, Carmen Electra . . .

• Successfully changed his name to a symbol in order to gain control from his record company:

“The company owns the name Prince and all related music marketed under Prince. I became merely a pawn used to produce more money for Warner Bros.… I was born Prince and did not want to adopt another conventional name. The only acceptable replacement for my name, and my identity, was, a symbol with no pronunciation, that is a representation of me and what my music is about. It is my name.”

• Has a mean crossover dribble.

 

 

 

Prince works out the vocal cords. This ain’t no Autotune
God

Teams up with George Clinton to P in your cup
We Can Funk

Prince puts in his thumb and pulls out some funk
Let’s Work

 

 

 

 

 

 

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