The Prince of Chyna Memorial Pancake Breakfast Conclusion- Mr. Nelson

 

In an era where pop music was full of diverse superstars, Prince was the measuring stick for overall excellence. As much as he deserved the spotlight for his charity and artistry, he often shunned it.

 

Michael’s mega-stardom and messy personal life just didn’t lend themselves to longevity. I figured if Whitney got into rehab and left Bobby, she’d live at least long enough to write THE book on the pop music business.

But now, Prince? He was the guy EVERYBODY thought would be around forever, even if we never saw a lot of him.

In the 1980’s, Tina, David, and Bruce were back. Michael and Madonna dominated. Whitney and Janet were on the ascendancy. But Prince was THE barometer for artistic excellence.

With 30 released albums, 100M sold, a song for every emotion known to humankind, and a minimum 20 years worth of unreleased recordings locked away somewhere, Prince’s greatest gift to the world, his incomparable music, will never be out of place.

His albums could be found in at least three genres at a record store. He merged the styles of David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and James Brown, three very diverse artists, with his eccentric, perfectionist own, forming a bold combination of musical and visual brilliance.

While the music is his trademark, his image follows closely. The rear-view, skin tight jeans, high heels, lace, and at least one purple-colored item on stage or clothes often, and deliberately, overshadowed his philanthropy.

Prince frequently kept schools, businesses, and people afloat, all while taking on his first record company, Warner Brothers, for his and other artists’ creative rights. He even refused to use his own name for a time in protest, lest Warner profit from it.

Ironically, even with Purple Rain in theatres and the soundtrack winning Grammys and Oscars, he only appeared when absolutely necessary. That’s the reason why a Prince appearance became such a grand, yet always worthwhile, event.

When Prince passed away at 57 on April 21, 2016, time seemed to stop in its tracks. It only makes sense. People, and most certainly artists, like him are nigh impossible to find today, mostly because he’s far too original to imitate.

Prince Rodgers Nelson could literally do it all: play every instrument set in front of him, wear clothes no man would dare and steal their women, and even at 5’2″, play basketball (yes, the Chapelle’s Show pancake segment is based on a true story).

And yet, he lived for the music, and the artistry. It’s why people in every genre imaginable grieve his passing, even if they weren’t his biggest fans. Talent, style, and philanthropy, all while trying to not be the center of all the attention. What are the odds?

Now, assuming no other major stars die or work doesn’t get off the hook again, I’ll go  further into why my blogs are down to 500 words- and the guy responsible for even making this fun again to me…