In my view, it was his ability to create a whole other world with each project - the videos, music, LPs, artwork, tours made something that, collectively, achieved something, at his best, which was transcedent.

He wasn't necessarily the best at anything he did but it was the total effect of all those elements together.

These ideas had been around for decades, singers/bands whatever creating an image through audio and visual elements, but Prince lived that image, created that world because thats who he actually was. He was always Prince in public and in private.

One could say that being Prince and living in that world which he strived to create left him isolated when he got to '87-'88. When his work suffered (relatively speaking) it was because there was a conflict between the world he had created and the real world out there that was changing without him. I would say that some of the rap songs are symptomatic of this conflict.

But at his absolute best he presented a new reality and people wanted to be part of it. Look at the Revolution - mixed race, gender and sexuality and this form of presentation carried on in different forms for decades afterwards.

Some could say this was for sheer escapism but I think the message was more resonant and far reaching than that. One can protest by throwing yourself on the gears of society or you can show people how the world can be. Prince showed us the world he created, how the world can be - no oppression, no barriers, no difference - and that we can all live that life through art.

That's why he's different from other artists.

He is Prince and other artists are other artists.

steakfinger said:

mojo from his johnson

work ethic, imagination, confidence & unpredictability

bergowitz said:

In my view, it was his ability to create a whole other world with each project - the videos, music, LPs, artwork, tours made something that, collectively, achieved something, at his best, which was transcedent.

He wasn't necessarily the best at anything he did but it was the total effect of all those elements together.

These ideas had been around for decades, singers/bands whatever creating an image through audio and visual elements, but Prince lived that image, created that world because thats who he actually was. He was always Prince in public and in private.

One could say that being Prince and living in that world which he strived to create left him isolated when he got to '87-'88. When his work suffered (relatively speaking) it was because there was a conflict between the world he had created and the real world out there that was changing without him. I would say that some of the rap songs are symptomatic of this conflict.

But at his absolute best he presented a new reality and people wanted to be part of it. Look at the Revolution - mixed race, gender and sexuality and this form of presentation carried on in different forms for decades afterwards.

Some could say this was for sheer escapism but I think the message was more resonant and far reaching than that. One can protest by throwing yourself on the gears of society or you can show people how the world can be. Prince showed us the world he created, how the world can be - no oppression, no barriers, no difference - and that we can all live that life through art.

That's why he's different from other artists.

Great post! A lot of food for thought in there.

Krystalkisses said:

Great question! I think most obvious was his creativity. Ideas just seemed to come to him so naturally and effortlessly. His ability to emotionally connect to his audience through his music was very rare and one of the reasons I think he developed such a loyal, cult following. So many people are hungry for connection and emotional honesty. He was very vulnrabe in his music with all the realness and demons that put your own humanity in perspective. Prince is my hero.

I agree and I think that was a gift in itself, the very fact that he was emotionally honest, at least through his art. Music became the connector between him and his fans.

MattyJam said:

Se7en said:

For me, mostly it's that he's a one-man shop. Writer, singer, musician, producer.

For the masses, I would say it's his looks and appearance. If the same exact music was coming from someone ugly, he would not have had the same success.

What a strange thing to say. I know he has his admirers, but Prince was hardly what I would call stereotypically good looking or handsome. It was the music that made Prince a superstar, not his looks.

Seriously?

Not handsome or good-looking?

You need thicker glasses.

laytonian said:

MattyJam said:

Se7en said: What a strange thing to say. I know he has his admirers, but Prince was hardly what I would call stereotypically good looking or handsome. It was the music that made Prince a superstar, not his looks.

Seriously?

Not handsome or good-looking?

You need thicker glasses.

As a bloke i can say Prince was good looking, hell even some of my ex girlfriends said he was prettier than them.

For me, he was fearless. He didn't care what others thought, about the way he dressed, the way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he sang or played. It didn't matter. He was going to do it his way and if he lost fans, if he lost money, he didn't care as long as he was true to himself and to his gift and to what he was feeling in that moment.

He was also a star's star. I never saw other stars stumbling all over themselves trying to get close to a peer, in the way I saw them stumble all over themselves trying to get close to Prince.

He knew what he wanted musically, what sound he was going for, and nothing less than that would do for him. He pushed his bands hard to get the sound he wanted.

He led his bands with a precision that I've not seen other band leaders do. When they were on stage, they paid attention to Prince, and they knew what every move, every word, meant and what direction they should go in next.

He didn't just perfect his craft, he studied it, studied himself and his band to look at where he could improve. He didn't wait until the party was over to do so, he was watching the performance right after it happened and having the band watch it with him, so that he could point out where they needed to tighten up the performance. He was serious about what he was doing, but he also loved it, and it came across in his performances, in his music.

Also, the mystery. No one else has ever generated such a strong and fully developed mystique in the way that Prince did. I think that mystique is one of the things that drew other stars to him - they wanted to get to know him in much the same way that his fans did.

There are so many things that makes Prince so different from other artists. His style, his class, his finesse, his fearlessness. And I think that he always attributed those things to God and wasn't afraid to put that out there to his fans, his peers, and his bands, too.

[Edited 12/17/18 23:14pm]

For me, what made uncle Prince so different was the fact that he did things his own way. He did not really care about the rules and he followed his own path. For example the whole thing about dropping an LP each year. That was not a common thing to do for anybody. The standard was to release a LP every 2-3 years so that the previous record could get some love and promotion. Uncle Prince was like screw that I am dropping a record every year and I really don't care what the record executives have to say. That was one of things that made uncle P so different.

Thanks for all your great comments everyone!

Pleased to see that we agree that Prince was very different from other artists, and mostly: very special to all of us.

💜

TKO said:

He is Prince and other artists are other artists.

Yep, my sentiments exactly!

who has (or could ) release that golden string of albums ( 80-88 )all so different from the previous