Prince recently gave an interview to a free glossy magazine here in New York called Gotham. They don't have a website yet so I thought you might enjoy a couple of excerpts from the interview, that took place in his hotel room:

"He is dressed and done with a real feathered, fantastic coif. He tells me, "Sista, I always have gay hairdressers. Those men can work some hair"....As for Prince's site, subscriptions pour in every day. How many? I want facts "No, no numbers" he demurs, "I am not putting out figures on how many hits or members. The deal is artists having creative control and directly reaching their audience."

Prince testifies a la Larry Graham on redemption and adds: "I love interviews now becasue they are informal witnessing". Prince lets loose on how he vibes out a happening concert. "I can tell how good the concert is by whether fans notice me. At a Springsteen concert people didn't even know I'm there. At Michael Jackson, oh Lawd, I had to run out and I took 5,000 people with me. Michael is a good performer but Bruce is off the chain - banter, joking. The band tightens up behind him. It's about the connection....

Larry Graham first broached the subject of swearing with Prince. "Larry said: 'Did you ever do a show without cursing?' Oh, I started side-stepping and telling him what the audience wants, but Graham pushed me and the response was no, I had never tried. If the audiences only knows a swearing show, then how could they choose?"

"In general, how do you think the black population is doing?" Prince means folks, not the Michaels Jordan and Jackson. I realize that my eyes are downcast for the first time in our raucous talk. "Well, you brought us over here, told us we were three-fifths human, and now we want our due, what we earned. Even in sports we don't get what we should. Michael Jordan changed basketball, the Williams sisters are tearing up tennis. Do they get a piece of the pie?"

The rest of the interview focuses on artist's rights.