Lovejunky said:

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

I want to know the story about her shaving the sides of P's hair, above his ears into a point.

Similar to a pyramid.

Aparently that particular hair style came about because she had to fix a mistake after Prince tried to cut his own hair..

Dont remember where I read that...

A MISTAKE!!! Do you mean that there was actually something that the man could not do and made a mistake at?........well there goes my fantasy of him being perfect in every way!!!!

violetcrush said:

PeteSilas said:

violetcrush said:

Actually, Earl Jones - his first stylist and Jill Jone's Uncle - through most of the 80's and on the 1990 Nude Tour. I think he left only because of his age and ill health. Roy Bennett, his lighting technician, was with him from 1981 through 1993. Many of his "behind the scenes" people stayed for a long time. The Engineers had long tenures too, and the main reason they left was because of the 24/7 hours required.

*

I sort of disagree with your idea that it was easier to find another hairdresser than another musician. Being as particular as he was, I'm sure he didn't want to lose someone who knew how he wanted his hair done. The fact that he kept her there for many years does not translate into him trusting her enough to tell her his deep or dark secrets. It just means that she showed up and did her job the way he wanted her to do it.

*

He changed band members when he wanted to go a different direction musically. He also worked with many of those prior band members again off and on through the years.

Whatever trust she had with me is gone

what page you on, Pete?

Deadflow3r said:

It is not just Prince that would be talking.

My honest guess, and face it I never met the man but I have a clue how women act. The muses know that Kim and Shelby and Rosie were not competition. They all have that mother figure/ fairy godmother sort of way about them. Slightly more matronly looking, the Auntie that might give yuo councel on why Prince is suddenly being so distact.

" what has he said to you about me; you can be honest?"

"Do you think he has lost interest in me?"

"Has he said anything about anybody else?"

My guess is that Prince was gifted at building confidence in these muses on one hand and on the other hand making them deeply insecure as to where they stood with him.

The whole Jehovah's Witness thing with him was too much. He got Manuela to join and then poor Bria. I think Bria was utterly convinced that Prince would indeed ask her to marry him by 2010. In my opinion that is not because she is delusional but because he said things to lead her on.

He was a brilliant man who made stupid mistakes such as not writing a will. He didn't save money by micromanaging his music, in the end he lost money by missing opportunities to get his old stuff out to a new crowd while he was alive!

At least one book about the man that isn't written by a woman who thinks of him as her "soulmate' would be nice.

That's pretty much how Kim said the women he was dating would act while she was doing their hair. She said they would ask her advice on what to say and what not to say to win him over lol

Marco81 said:

This book is a joke...

I feel like that's an understatement for the mess this book is

pinkcashmere23 said:

ThatWhiteDude said:

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

That's pretty much how Kim said the women he was dating would act while she was doing their hair. She said they would ask her advice on what to say and what not to say to win him over lol

That seems a bit sketchy to me. I just can’t imagine the women thinking that she had some deeper “in” with him that would enable her to give them that kind of advice. I just do not think he was revealing that much to her. He had been burned by employees in the past. [Edited 4/22/19 5:40am]

I doubt he confided much in her about his personal life either but from what she said,the women thought she could help them get closer to him. She said that he was the one who signed her paycheck not them so she would keep quiet. From her book,I got the idea he may have spoken with her concerning spiritual issues he was dealing with at the time and she said he would test songs out on her to get her opinion. He may have spoken a bit about the women in his life. Shelby J said she had learned a lot about Mayte from what he had told her so it seems he did talk some. The dancer Lala said the same and that he would show her videos of Mayte so maybe he was more open with some and let his guard down a little.

pinkcashmere23 said:

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said: That seems a bit sketchy to me. I just can’t imagine the women thinking that she had some deeper “in” with him that would enable her to give them that kind of advice. I just do not think he was revealing that much to her. He had been burned by employees in the past. [Edited 4/22/19 5:40am]

I doubt he confided much in her about his personal life either but from what she said,the women thought she could help them get closer to him. She said that he was the one who signed her paycheck not them so she would keep quiet. From her book,I got the idea he may have spoken with her concerning spiritual issues he was dealing with at the time and she said he would test songs out on her to get her opinion. He may have spoken a bit about the women in his life. Shelby J said she had learned a lot about Mayte from what he had told her so it seems he did talk some. The dancer Lala said the same and that he would show her videos of Mayte so maybe he was more open with some and let his guard down a little.

That could be. I guess some of the younger girls may have asked her for advice about what he prefers. I think with regard to their spiritual conversations - many of his associates and others who were around him have stated that he would spend hours talking about spiritual things to anyone who would listen, especially in the mid 90's and beyond when he was with the JW faith. Questlove told that funny story of literally falling asleep and snoring during one of Prince's 3 hour long discussions about religion at PP And the time he and Dave Chapelle were in the elevator heading up to Prince's suite to hang out and he was warning him not to start any discussions on religion or he'll be there for hours - when the door opened while he was talking and Prince was standing right behind him When you think about it, Kim B was sort of a "sitting duck" with that, because it's not like she could say she had to be somewhere else. She was stuck there until she finished his hair

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

I doubt he confided much in her about his personal life either but from what she said,the women thought she could help them get closer to him. She said that he was the one who signed her paycheck not them so she would keep quiet. From her book,I got the idea he may have spoken with her concerning spiritual issues he was dealing with at the time and she said he would test songs out on her to get her opinion. He may have spoken a bit about the women in his life. Shelby J said she had learned a lot about Mayte from what he had told her so it seems he did talk some. The dancer Lala said the same and that he would show her videos of Mayte so maybe he was more open with some and let his guard down a little.

That could be. I guess some of the younger girls may have asked her for advice about what he prefers. I think with regard to their spiritual conversations - many of his associates and others who were around him have stated that he would spend hours talking about spiritual things to anyone who would listen, especially in the mid 90's and beyond when he was with the JW faith. Questlove told that funny story of literally falling asleep and snoring during one of Prince's 3 hour long discussions about religion at PP And the time he and Dave Chapelle were in the elevator heading up to Prince's suite to hang out and he was warning him not to start any discussions on religion or he'll be there for hours - when the door opened while he was talking and Prince was standing right behind him When you think about it, Kim B was sort of a "sitting duck" with that, because it's not like she could say she had to be somewhere else. She was stuck there until she finished his hair

Yes,I got the impression she was talking about the younger girls who she said she knew wouldn't be around long. Yeah several assosciates have said they would talk about spiritual topics for hours and have Bible study with him too. Questloves's story was hilarious and I could just picture it all lol. Kim said in the book that she didn't let him persuade her beliefs and she was firmly rooted in them from the way it sounds. I did find it interesting that she said he went through a period where he seemed to be seeking and was a bit unsure about his faith. I hadn't been aware of that.

pinkcashmere23 said:

Just finished reading the book. It's pretty thin really, just a handful of dubious anecdotes wrapped up in a whole bunch of gossipy / happy-clappy nothing. I was surprised at how little it mentions Prince's changing image and hairstyles over the years - the one topic Kim is definitely THE authority on doesn't get much of a mention beyond those infamous Rave era braids.

Was surprised that it discussed such private stuff surrounding Prince and Mayte's son. Since Mayte has already given her story about that, that should be the end of it really. The whole thing felt a bit trashy really - talking about events that she wasn't present for witout realling making that clear, or bigging up her role in the Prince camp in ways that don't seem credible. Was somewhat interesting to hear a bit about his spiritual doubts (discussing lack of evidence etc) and the point at which he distanced himself from the JWs etc.

However one thing Kim deserves props for is, she's one of the very few people willing to state flatly that Prince was disrespectful towards women. Of course he was, but everyone is always so careful to dance around that fact. Yes, he worked with lots of awesome talented women and elevated them etc, but he was always a notorious shagger who unapologetically treated women like playthings, the guy had no concept of monogamy or trustful human relationships. Having said all that, like the MJ documentary it kinda makes you think of all the staff members over the years who turned a blind eye and enabled this troubling aspect of his character.

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

Yes,I got the impression she was talking about the younger girls who she said she knew wouldn't be around long. Yeah several assosciates have said they would talk about spiritual topics for hours and have Bible study with him too. Questloves's story was hilarious and I could just picture it all lol. Kim said in the book that she didn't let him persuade her beliefs and she was firmly rooted in them from the way it sounds. I did find it interesting that she said he went through a period where he seemed to be seeking and was a bit unsure about his faith. I hadn't been aware of that.

He seemed quite lost and angry during the early 90’s. I know a lot of that was due to the issues with WB and his record sales sliding, but he seemed to do a 180 from the LoveSexy/Graffiti Bridge periods. I’m sure after the death of his child he was looking for spiritual/religious guidance. I believe he met Larry G around that time too.

Yes he did,I agree. She said this particular discussion took place after he had left the JW'S which was something else that I was unaware that he had officially done, although I had suspected that his beliefs had been evolving and moving away from their beliefs. She said he still had Bible study with her but he was having some doubts and needed reassurance and tangible proof that what he believed was real.

nayroo2002 said:

Deadflow3r said:

nayroo2002 said:

So, noone replying to this thread has ever gotten their hair cut and had conversations with their barber?

Amen. I remember a book being written over a decade ago about African-American barber shops. Getting your hair done seems to make people social. Something about it, male or female, black or white, it often is a very talkative atmosphere.

.
Hairdressers being talkative was the very reason I always hated having to go to them (and why I thank God for not having much hair left anymore so I can cut it myself ). I always made sure they never got to know anything about me.

Kares said:

ian said:

BTW: what's the point of running 2 separate topics simultaneously about this book (one here and one under the 'Associated Artists' forum)?

Kares said:

Deadflow3r said:

nayroo2002 said: Amen. I remember a book being written over a decade ago about African-American barber shops. Getting your hair done seems to make people social. Something about it, male or female, black or white, it often is a very talkative atmosphere.

.
Hairdressers being talkative was the very reason I always hated having to go to them (and why I thank God for not having much hair left anymore so I can cut it myself ). I always made sure they never got to know anything about me.

She reminds me of these old Barbershop daddies in 'Coming To America' with their namedropping and gossip parades.

It's one thing to go to some random hairdresser and "be social" and a whole different thing when you're the hairdresser's employer. She had no right taking his personal business out there.

There was a reason why he kept things moving - places and people. He trusted no one. He kept rotating people to avoid anyone getting attached to him and sticking their nose into his business. Some of his employees are stretching the time frame of their employment years with him and make it look like a constant employment while most of the time they weren't even living in the same city and he just called them for particular events.

Kim Berry has lots of gaps in her "years" with him. There are three major portions that she focuses on. In between those three events there was nothing. I missed a flow in her book, an actual timeline. Someone who was around constantly, for years, doesn't pick out three of the most hurtful and personal events in his life - his relationship with his mother and effects on his psyche, the loss of his child, and his marriage - presented in gossip style.

I'm missing anything that talks of affection between him and her, something that would justify her superior position in his life. That made him respect her, and no other woman in his life (LOL, the sheer narcissism).

Like I said on the other thread, after hairgate I talked about it a lot with Kim Berry's ride or die, a long term employee and real person in his life who always had her back, and even that person has dropped her now.

I'm just sorry for the trees that had to die for the (hopefully few) print versions of the book. And most of all I'm sorry for Prince.

[Edited 4/23/19 6:19am]

violetcrush said:

Thanks for the synopsis of the book. Much appreciated, and it coincides with how I expected it to be written. Interesting that there was not much detail on the changing hair styles and why he chose a new look. It would indicate that she did not contribute much to those decisions. * Regarding the monogamy issue with women, I would think his associates and friends probably felt that his personal relationships were not their business. Also, some may have chosen to keep their job over speaking up. I’m sure this factors into why most associates left after a few years. * Wendy is rumored to have lashed out at Prince about his relationship with Susannah. The story is that she told him he was a womanizing pig. I think that fight occurred not long before he fired them

Amazing, I had no idea Wendy is such a force of nature, gotta love her.

ian said:

Ive been going to the same barber since 1992. He could tell some stories so Im sure Kim could and it be credible.

However, why everyone who stood in a room with him needs to write a book is beyond me.

Next up: "Green n Purple Grass: Life In The Yard Of Prince"- by Neal, the gardener.

rdhull said:

However, why everyone who stood in a room with him needs to write a book is beyond me.

Next up: "Green n Purple Grass: Life In The Yard Of Prince"- by Neal, the gardener.

don't forget the driveway painter...

rdhull said:

dodger said:

rdhull said:

However, why everyone who stood in a room with him needs to write a book is beyond me.

Next up: "Green n Purple Grass: Life In The Yard Of Prince"- by Neal, the gardener.

Can’t wait for the window cleaners. Looking From The Ladder by Shammy Sam

rdhull said:

onlyforaminute said:

rdhull said:

However, why everyone who stood in a room with him needs to write a book is beyond me.

Next up: "Green n Purple Grass: Life In The Yard Of Prince"- by Neal, the gardener.

I ain't gonna try to lie. If that gardener survived that man for a couple of decades, maybe, Granted he wouldn't have travelled anywhere with him, still he'd know a thing or two that happened on the grounds that's at least worth a good interview. I think I see why I'm picking up a ticked off vibe from the book.

Folks in her face one minute then dismissed her when there got to be money involved. She's just the hairdresser afterall. Wait. I meant she's just the help.

Good points. Just had to laugh with rdhull for some comic relief.

One of the things that bothers me about this thread (I rarely go to associates, too harsh) - is bashing her for being financially strapped. It's a crime now in the US to be poor, for whatever reason.