http://www.complex.com/mu...over-story

Here's a quote.

But Carey’s biggest inspiration for pushing back at the major-label system isn’t a new-millennium star. “Prince was one of the best people I’ve met,” Carey says. “He didn’t care about the big system. I was always like, at any time Prince could write a No. 1 song, because he’s that talented, but he chooses to do what he wants. I respect that. He actually helped me through a lot of situations with his knowledge. He always had a plan. I just can’t believe he’s gone. I was hoping that it was a trick that he was pulling—that it didn’t really happen.”

Prince mastered image maintenance, which, for him, meant preserving a little mystery about himself...