Aww.....maaaannnnn...can't we all just get along? I remember stories that P wanted Micki to front Mazarati. Probably would've been a better move than the last two Shalamar efforts. People don't really remember him to be a Shalamar member. Actually thought he was sort of cool in 83-84.

After Mazarati first album , Casey Terry was going to leave Mazarati,Prince was going to take full control of the next Mazarati album and wanted Micki Free to be the new lead for Mazarati

purplenuts said:

pzlyprk said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micki_Free

In late 1983 guitarist/singer Micki Free replaced Jeffrey Daniel in 70s-80s RnB/Funk group Shalamar (Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Daniel and Jody Watley), when Daniel and Watley left. At some point he had become friendly with Prince (hung out, jammed with... hence Dave Chapelle's skits mentioning Free hanging with Prince). From what I've read Prince wanted Free to front a P-controlled band, but Free couldn't get out of his Shalamar contract to do so. Not sure if this is completely accurate info (about the band and contract), but it makes sense. Nonetheless, his time/role in Shalamar definitely came across like a Prince clone (dress, singing and playing styles). That's why his comments seem a bit like biting the hand that fed for many years.

I bet Prince couldnt wait for him to get free from his Shalamar contract and moved on. Look at how Prince projects have abruptly began and ended throughout history. Once Free got free, Prince was on to other things and Free has not seen an opportunity as good as working with Prince since. He had the talent to be like SHeila E - a Prince protege who actually had to the goods to take full advantage of time with Prince and remain famous and well respected. That is what he is probably bitter about. Prince didnt impede his career and that pettiness over women really doesnt matter when you are a rock star.

DaARTIST said:

After Mazarati first album , Casey Terry was going to leave Mazarati,Prince was going to take full control of the next Mazarati album and wanted Micki Free to be the new lead for Mazarati

purplenuts said:

I bet Prince couldnt wait for him to get free from his Shalamar contract and moved on. Look at how Prince projects have abruptly began and ended throughout history. Once Free got free, Prince was on to other things and Free has not seen an opportunity as good as working with Prince since. He had the talent to be like SHeila E - a Prince protege who actually had to the goods to take full advantage of time with Prince and remain famous and well respected. That is what he is probably bitter about. Prince didnt impede his career and that pettiness over women really doesnt matter when you are a rock star.

It would have been a major upgrade for the group: Prince in charge and Micki in front. It would ahve changed Micki's career - which is probably why he is bitter.

^^yep,I remember hearing that story: after Casey abruptly left Mazarati,Prince wanted Micki Free to take over as leader.He was also planning a film called 'The Dawn' and wanted Micki to play a role in it.

2elijah said:

purplenuts said:

While Micki is probably more talented than Georgio, he falls into the same former Prince clone bag: hating on Prince because they couldn't be Prince even though they got famous copying Prince. Both were good but simply could not shake the Prince clone label - which, ironically, helped them become famous. That is how great Prince is - just looking and/or sounding like him enough to make fans think about him made careers for these guys.

I used to feel they got a raw deal back in the 80. I thought Georgio can't help it is he is a good looking mulatto who many thought looked like Prince. The music was similar to Mpls Sound but what else could you sound like when you looked like that in the 80s, right? Back then, every label that wasnt Warner Bros wanted a Prince. Jesse Johnson and Andre Cymone would tell you that what the record execs saw as similarities to Prince helped them get solo contracts - if they were truthful. It probably helped clones like Ready For The World, too. Micki Free's addition to Shalamar (a group he had never even heard before being approached to join) was the most blatant Prince makeover in the 80s. Free was a rocker and hardly fit the kind of R&B at the time. He was hired for his Prince look - who else was playing killer guitar licks in lace and heels and looking pretty? I have a video of a performance that Free did on the Arsenio Hall Show as the leader of Shalamar. I think the song was Circumstantial Evidence - it was the most blatant Prince mimic on record. If you didnt know who it was, you would swear Free was like one of those talentless Las Vegas Prince impersonators. If Iwas doing the interview, I would have loved to put on that video and ask him about why he looked and acted so much like Prince.

This is how he looks now:

• 

[Edited 5/16/11 8:02am]

Sorry, but dude looks all kind of wrong.

LadyLuvSexxy said:

Micki Free is not a girl. But he really is kinda pretty...

Charlie Murphy saying: When guys saw Micki Free they would say "who's that fine ass girl over there?" and I would tell them "dat ain't a girl, dats a DUDE!"

KidaDynamite said:

LadyLuvSexxy said:

Micki Free is not a girl. But he really is kinda pretty...

Charlie Murphy saying: When guys saw Micki Free they would say "who's that fine ass girl over there?" and I would tell them "dat ain't a girl, dats a DUDE!"

I feel so bad for that being the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread.