FUNKNROLL said:

Think about this - Prince's associates and band mates were said to be "not relevant" enough to perform. But the GoGo's were (randomly) given airtime right before the tribute to perform their one hit wonder 35 yrs later?! Remember Madonna ripping on Belinda Carlisle in Truth or Dare? Not a conspiracy - Certainly seems like this was the industry's way of giving Prince the finger, after he gave them the finger all those years. Maybe Madonna's squarely in the industry corner. .

"Madgesuccubus" planned this whole thing. They did not call her, her reps called them."She was very , very involved in how this would all unfold creatively" according to Mark Bracco (executive producer of the music awards). This was a "Madgesuccubus" production, not a Prince tribute.

Questlove got sucked in hard. Poor bastard was in over his head when it came to discussing Madgesuccubus' input.

Furthermore he said a weird thing on twitter as if he had become a Maggai of sorts. He states, " a lot of us don't wanna come 2 grips with the fact that Prince (an on the surface) face of health & invincible agelessness "subcomb" to something so friggin basic". Did he type this?

How does he know what he succumbed to?

A second incoming tweet by this pseudo maggai is even more bizarre. He states" so with mourning will come sadness and anger. 1st week I cried. 2nd week I tried to atone for his sins w* getting 8-10 hours of sleep he didn't get". What is this business of atonement for sins? His afro pick should find another agent. This is grounds for dismissal.

I really do feel sorry for Stevie. He walked out there as if someone had rearranged the furnitiure and whispered it into his ear moments before the lights went on. He should sue for mental anguish.

suomynona said:

[img:$uid]http://www.theestablishment.co/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/gif18.gif[/img:$uid]

My favorite clip ever! He's being forced to watch a Madonna video...

lastdecember said:

laurarichardson said:

suomynona said: --/ Well Stevie and Questlove were added at the last minute because they have been pushing Maddonna all week. So originally this was a whitewash. Don't you think they should have asked Stevie in the first place?

Actually they should have asked his own band to honor him, third eye girl, and Judith Hill and Andy Allo, they were actually closer to him than Stevie and Quest

Yes! That would have had some soul and integrity.

Astasheiks said:

twinkieG said:

suomynona said:

[img:$uid]http://www.theestablishment.co/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/gif18.gif[/img:$uid]

My favorite clip ever! He's being forced to watch a Madonna video...

Only because at this moment of the Slave she didn't join him in rebellion against WB 3yrs later He and Mayte are dining it up with Madonna & Donatelli Versace in Italy

jdcxc said:

roxy831 said:

Eric Benet has the range, just not the Prince "growl" or raspiness we're used to...

I find it bizarre that Eric Benet, Mani's husband, did the LA tribute.

Elaborate...

What is bizarre about it? She didn't have an affair with him while married to Prince did she?

FUNKNROLL said:

Think about this - Prince's associates and band mates were said to be "not relevant" enough to perform. But the GoGo's were (randomly) given airtime right before the tribute to perform their one hit wonder 35 yrs later?! Remember Madonna ripping on Belinda Carlisle in Truth or Dare? Not a conspiracy - Certainly seems like this was the industry's way of giving Prince the finger, after he gave them the finger all those years. Maybe Madonna's squarely in the industry corner. .

One only needs to see Madge Super Bowl performance to know she is in the industry's corner!

wizardtelly said:

Bottom line is that Madonna should have had absolutely no business doing a Prince tribute. 1) Tributes go by genre or those influenced by said genre. (Please don't argue about the timing of which they were prevalent artists, that does not have anything to do with this) 2) This tribute was done just so she could garner attention, Prince and her have absolutely no similarity musically whatsoever. 3) They could have had a younger set of artists that you could tell are directly inspired by his musicianship and music do it. 4) I don't want to bring up race, but I am going to interject it because it's somewhat important here. 5) Would they have had Madonna do a tribute to Sir Michael Jackson "Man In The Mirror"? No. 6) Her being female is irrelevant and should not be on the list of anyone's reasons as to why she should not have done the tribute, but the lack of complete rationality and ability. 7) Stevie was off-key, but Stevie is a legend so it doesn't quite matter as much because it's Stevie, he's almost all we've got. He was just thrown in the mix along with Quest because they knew Prince, and Quest was incredibly influenced by Prince/is a Princeologist really. If there were to be a course on Prince, he would be the professor. 8) There was absolutely nothing touching about this tribute other than Madonna wanting attention, and her feeling as though this was a way to get it. I'm very unhappy about it all but at least it is over, and as bad as it was, it could have been... Well, I would like to say "worse" but I'm not sure that's possible. 9) Do a Prince tribute on broad television with no funk or soul? You're just standing there putting on a show so you can get a good name? Not right. As I said, I excuse Stevie because he cannot see and they were using him as a tool. He probably felt guilty. Stevie was also his idol. Just my thoughts, even this woman would have done a better tribute: https://m.youtube.com/wat...VNEMOwiLXc [Edited 5/24/16 18:22pm] [Edited 5/24/16 18:24pm]

'race' and gender should have absolutely nothing to do with it.
If Joni Mitchell was capable I would take her doing a tribute over anyone alive, next 2 his ex band and protege bands.
Prince has always tried to blur the lines of race and gender, but especially race.

Prince himself has emulated from James Brown 2 Charlie Chaplin Little Richard 2 Liberace

.

And the leads of his protege bands always reflected and were to reflect as side of him. Not just the music but their look. There is no doubt that Morris Day's look played a big part in him being the choice over Alexander ONeal. No doubt that Vanity reflected who he was in his admixture and gender. No doubt Sheila E the same but also Susannah Melvoin/St Paul Peterson & Sir Casey Terry

Astasheiks said:

FUNKNROLL said:

Think about this - Prince's associates and band mates were said to be "not relevant" enough to perform. But the GoGo's were (randomly) given airtime right before the tribute to perform their one hit wonder 35 yrs later?! Remember Madonna ripping on Belinda Carlisle in Truth or Dare? Not a conspiracy - Certainly seems like this was the industry's way of giving Prince the finger, after he gave them the finger all those years. Maybe Madonna's squarely in the industry corner. .

One only needs to see Madge Super Bowl performance to know she is in the industry's corner!

But don't you believe in that illumanati stuff too?

OldFriends4Sale said:

wizardtelly said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

'race' and gender should have absolutely nothing to do with it.
If Joni Mitchell was capable I would take her doing a tribute over anyone alive, next 2 his ex band and protege bands.
Prince has always tried to blur the lines of race and gender, but especially race.

Prince himself has emulated from James Brown 2 Charlie Chaplin Little Richard 2 Liberace

.

And the leads of his protege bands always reflected and were to reflect a side of him. Not just the music but their look. There is no doubt that Morris Day's look played a big part in him being the choice over Alexander ONeal. No doubt that Vanity reflected who he was in his admixture and gender. No doubt Sheila E the same but also Susannah Melvoin/St Paul Peterson & Sir Casey Terry

Absolutely, but I do object to race in this particular circumstance, only for two reasons. He was transcending racial margins, but he was very much influenced by black music (and surely, all sorts of music, great inclusion of Joni for example) and very much of an activist for equality amongst al. However, Madonna was a poor choice, not because she was white, but just because they musically have nothing in common other than being from the 80s.

so race still should make no difference. As U said, people that were influenced by his music.
I don't think Madonna or Stevie Wonder were the best choice. Now I don't know how this tribute actually came about. If even the Billboards designed this to happen. So 'choice' might not have anything to do with it directly.
.
Prince was influenced by all kinds of music. This should be 100% clear. He's talked about Led Zepplin Santana Joni Mitchell James Brown as being huge influences all different ethnic groups all different genre and expression. Prince had Rock touched on Metal Folk Soul Arabic Funk Jazz Gospel Classical all mixed in. That was the thing that made 'Purple Music' so unique. Remember his last band consisted of a drummer 'white' girl from the south, a Macedonian guitar player and a Danish bassist

.

he wrote in Blue Limousine about himself:He's All Black, He's All White everybody better jam 2night.

from the Controvery years(and probably before) into his current time, he's worn clothing where one side was black and the other side white. He's always tried to transcend race. And music transended race 4 for Prince. I didn't watch the Billboards show, I probably won't watch the BET awards either.
.
I feel the people that have and will always reflect Prince will be the ones I will tune in 2 C, pay 2 c, travel 2 c and that is the RevolutionSheilaEtheTimetheFamily etc -Purple Music

OldFriends4Sale said:

Graycap23 said:

Some people simply don't understand sybolism.

and some people take it toooo farrrr

like the Ice Cream Truck man song...

Sadly, people see what they seek. All the Madonna haters are seeking more reason to hate on her, and therefore seeing things that are clearly not there. The Ice Cream Truck thread is a great analogy.

Bottom line ...

FUNKNROLL said:

mjscarousal said:

WOW, they actually did that!? SO disrespectful and tacky!

Now that I think about it, seems like the creepy background footage might have been a creative director run amok. Most of the acts all night long had some sort of apocalypse/occult art thing going on. During one girl group, I forget their name, the background looked like a zombie apocalypse. A few other acts were decked out in black/red w/some serious occult theme leanings. Regardless - somebody needed to rein the art team in for the tribute. If the GoGos can be in a fun retro set there was no need to indulge a death theme. Self indulgent crap. [Edited 5/23/16 16:38pm]

Exactly, When I saw those photos, I was like did they go and find the most unflattering photos of prince, WTF......I was upset!!

For those who equate an opinion with words such as :hate/haters...How absolute and certain is that? The point of contention stems from the "succubus'" vapid performance. Nevermind the ostentacious yet feeble attempt at symbolism and imagery, the point is she sealed the fate of the show by singing two highly regarded songs with the sway of a drunken deacon! There was no preparation.

As grandiloquent as "Madgesuccubus" is, what sort of a performance was this? This is one of the industry's shining moments. This was not some audition for those who did not know the status of this man. Were it not for Stevie helping out on Purple Rain by throwing in a number of add-libs, the "Madgesuccubus" would have totally ruined that iconinc song. She reduced the song to a midnight jingle. This was like listening to Roseanne Barr's rendition of the national anthem.

Either your speakers were muted ,you didnt watch the show, or one may have been having an auditory malfunction. If none of the (3) three apply, yet you still feel that we are haters for voicing our opinion on this mangled performance, please tell us oh great erudite how you manage to convince yourself that this was a tribute worthy of a music legend such as Prince.

Here's an example: When Prince did his rendition of "While my guitar gently weeps", he put his own spin on it. I want you to name one person that you know of that had a quarrel with that performance. He understood the gravity of that song and paid homeage to it by delivering a stellar lead guitar performance. In other words, he rose to the occasion.

The disappointment of the succubus' performance added to the dispair. The succubus has the right to celebrate and pay tribute to Prince in whatever way she pleases. She did it at the expense of millions of viewers who also have a right to complain. We didn't expect the second coming, but we did expect the succubus to understand the magnitude and realize that she cant pull this off in a way that would elevate the death of Prince. After all, she co-produced it.

dumbass said:

Absolutely horrid performance. To me, a tribute is capturing the persons style while adding a bit of your own. There was no Prince in her performance. It was Madonna singing her own versions of Prince's music. That hardly equates to paying tribute to him just because he wrote the songs. [Edited 5/24/16 21:51pm]

True indeed. It was the outfit! Tsk.

The thing about this Madonna tribute is that it appeared self serving. The whole sitting in a royal chair and dressed as Prince screamed attention seeking and not someone who is sincere about a tribute.I am sure Madonna is sad by Prince's death and I am sure Prince was someone she had great respect for BUT IMO she should have wrote a speech like she did for Michael when he passed away. Sometimes you have to know your lane and know when to step to the side. I am not sure what could have made her performance better. She just simply had no business doing it. Just like it would have been cringe worthy if she had tried to imitate Michael. You just have to know your lane...

suomynona said:

I might be wrong, but I believe both Stevie & Questlove are black.

Receipts?

I thought it was all going good and then the drum and base beat started in Nothing Compares 2 U and it all went to pot.

Who thought that was a good idea?

Oddly enough, I disliked the tribute, but it still made me incredibly emotional. It all just hit me when Purple Rain was being sung for that brief moment.........I really realized that he would never perform it again. That song, that guitar solo, that chorus of an ending. That shit was devastating to me. Forget Madonna and the attempted save by Stevie. Its all about the loss of Prince and that shit hurt.....again.

MattyJam said:

I thought it was all going good and then the drum and base beat started in Nothing Compares 2 U and it all went to pot.

Who thought that was a good idea?

Agreed. I gave my wife the biggest wtf moment when that canned beat started playing.

anangellooksdown said:

I don't hate Madonna. Sometimes she comes out with things I like. I'm not a big fan of hers either. Sometimes her stuff seems schocky and way overproduced.

She is an entertainer and personality.

She is not a musician.

Her performance was not good, her singing was off.

The way they brought Stevie on was disrespectful to him.

I'm sad that they didn't take the time and make the effort to give a tribute befitting Prince.

I would have liked to see some of the artists he personally mentored honor him.

With Madonna's track record, this came off as a stunt. And Prince deserved better. I feel sorry for Questlove who had to defend it and for Stevie. I found it difficult to watch her with Stevie, remembering how Stevie broke down on CNN the night Prince passed.

Honestly it could of been done better. I talked a bit more about it here

twinkieG said:

lastdecember said:

Actually they should have asked his own band to honor him, third eye girl, and Judith Hill and Andy Allo, they were actually closer to him than Stevie and Quest

Yes! That would have had some soul and integrity.

I don't know if they were closure to him than Stevie. Just because they worked together, Stevie was a friend....two different things.

I get the impression through the years that him and Stevie talked about more than just music etc.

Just because you work with someone doesn't make you close to them or the inner workings of thier minds and souls.