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Thread started 04/07/04 2:54pm

Mamarazza

Rolling Stone - Cover Story: The Immortals (15 April 2004)

From Rolling Stone, 946, April 15, 2004
http://www.rollingstone.c...870&cf=377

The Immortals
By Ahmir Thompson

Prince was forbidden in my closed, Christian household. He was somewhere between Richard
Pryor -- whom we absolutely couldn't listen to -- and a stash of porn. In junior high, my
parents would put thirty or forty dollars in an envelope, and that would buy a card that would
cover a month of school lunches. It was November of 1982, and I took my thirty-six dollars
and purchased Prince's 1999, What Time Is It?, by the Time, and the Vanity 6 album. I
starved that whole month.

"Little Red Corvette" from 1999 was one of the first regularly played songs by a black artist on
MTV; Prince crossed boundaries like that all the time. In the first five songs on Sign 'O' the
Times, he sprawls across James Brown, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Curtis
Mayfield in five easy swoops and maintains his own identity. But it's Purple Rain that was a
crowning achievement, not only in Prince's career but for black life -- or how blacks were
perceived -- in the Eighties. It's the equivalent of Michael Jordan's 1997 championship
games: He was absolutely just in the zone, every shot was going in. "When Doves Cry" is
one of the most radical Number One songs of the past twenty years. Here's a song with no
bass line in it, hardly any music. I hear people speak of the Neptunes all the time, like,
"Oh, man, this is some new shit!" "When Doves Cry" is a precursor to the Neptunes' one-note
funk grind, a masterpiece of song with just a drum machine and very little melody. Anyone
who saw 8 Mile, if they're over thirty, the first words out of their mouth are, "Oh, I liked that
film the first time I saw it. It was called Purple Rain."

Prince must be one of the most bootlegged artists of the rock era -- on a weekly basis I
listen to a bootleg called The Dream Factory, which would later be known as Sign 'O' the
Times. His ability to create on the spot is mind-boggling. Like a hip-hop MC freestyling,
he executes ideas off the top of his head in a very convincing manner. But there must be
at least twenty ways to prove that hip-hop is damn-near patterned after Prince, including
his genius, blatant use of sexuality and the use of controversy as a way to get attention. I
don't think any artist before had used that level of sex to get in the door and be accepted
by the mainstream. I wonder what his mind state was in 1980, standing onstage in kiddie
briefs, leg warmers and high heels without a Number One hit. That was a risk. Also, Prince
created the image of what we now know as the video ho -- he was a pioneer of objectifying
and empowering women at the same time. Jay-Z often talks about ghostwriting for other
artists; Prince is notorious for ghostwriting. Not only that, but he invented different aliases for
himself in a way that rappers have adopted -- he was Jamie Starr, or Joey Coco, Alexander
Nevermind or the Starr.

I met Prince in 1996, and I was prepared for the grasshopper voice, the one that he always
uses at award shows, but he was totally normal. Just like you and me, except he's Prince.
We played together a few times, and one of my hero moments of all time is after a concert
in New York when me, him and D'Angelo got onstage and played for about a half-hour. His
silence in the last two or three years has bothered me. It's really a shame that his fight for
independence from the labels was a David and Goliath battle that he had to fight alone,
and he's still fighting it. But judging from his performance with BeyoncŽ at the Grammys,
I'm happy to say that he hasn't lost a step in his twenty years of doing it. He seemed as
young and as in charge as ever. He definitely seized that moment. In case a few people
counted him out, he's got a few trump cards up his sleeve.
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Reply #1 posted 04/07/04 2:56pm

Luv4oneanotha

And...
Purpose of posting this was?
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Reply #2 posted 04/07/04 2:57pm

Mamarazza

There is also an illustration (by Sterling Hundley) ...


http://content.rollingsto...343374.jpg
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Reply #3 posted 04/07/04 3:10pm

SquarePeg

avatar

thanks mama!!! cool
The Org is the short yellow bus of the Prince Internet fan community.
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Reply #4 posted 04/07/04 3:17pm

Handclapsfinga
snapz

Luv4oneanotha said:

And...
Purpose of posting this was?

the same reason why you and i make posts here everyday: to be read and seen.
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Reply #5 posted 04/07/04 3:21pm

funkbabyandthe
babysitters

the hip hop analogy ruined it. not that i dont like hip hop, i do, but its reaching.
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Reply #6 posted 04/07/04 3:25pm

speculator3m

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

the hip hop analogy ruined it. not that i dont like hip hop, i do, but its reaching.


Agreed Grandmaster Flash was groundbreaking back then
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Reply #7 posted 04/07/04 3:35pm

Taureau

avatar

Luv4oneanotha said:

And...
Purpose of posting this was?



Are you, like, tryin to drop a philosophical bombshell on us dude?
jerkoff.....drool BULLSEYE! cool
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Reply #8 posted 04/07/04 3:37pm

DK47

Luv4oneanotha said:

And...
Purpose of posting this was?

rolleyes What a dumb ass question
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Reply #9 posted 04/07/04 3:39pm

POOK

avatar

Luv4oneanotha said:

And...
Purpose of posting this was?


PURPOSE OF POSTING THAT WAS

P o o |/,
P o o |\
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Reply #10 posted 04/07/04 4:02pm

eldog98

avatar

What does he means when he says Prince has been silent for the last couple of years. He's steady put out music & he did the ONA Tour in 2002!
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Reply #11 posted 04/07/04 4:10pm

Aerogram

avatar

eldog98 said:

What does he means when he says Prince has been silent for the last couple of years. He's steady put out music & he did the ONA Tour in 2002!


He means that Prince has not talked to him for that time, not that he didn't record or perform.
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Reply #12 posted 04/07/04 4:21pm

2freaky4church
1

avatar

Quest needs to get in step and check out the Work Cds..lol
All you others say Hell Yea!! woot!
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Reply #13 posted 04/07/04 4:28pm

radici27

all though i liked ahmir thompson's words alot better than outkast's when it came to disussing prince's influence i still was somewhat dissapointed. I read all the articles on the so called 50 immortals, most of them were written by other musicians, i felt some did better capturing the essence of those they wrote about, i felt ahmir didnt capture as much. I wish i had this opportunity, but i am just a fan not a contemporary, i can't remeber all of the articles in detail but Elton John on Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger on Smokey Robinson, Eddie Vedder on The Who, Elvis Costello on the Beatles, Britney Spears on Madonna(NOt) were some of the better articles
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Reply #14 posted 04/07/04 5:20pm

rudedog

avatar

DK47 said:

rolleyes What a dumb ass question


There is no such thing as a dumb question, only dumb people nod
"The voter is less important than the man who provides money to the candidate," - Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
Rudedog no no no!
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Reply #15 posted 04/07/04 5:22pm

rudedog

avatar

2freaky4church1 said:

Quest needs to get in step and check out the Work Cds..lol


Why, so he can puke at the quality? barf
"The voter is less important than the man who provides money to the candidate," - Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
Rudedog no no no!
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Reply #16 posted 04/07/04 5:29pm

wishuhvn

Prince was forbidden in my closed, Christian household. He was somewhere between Richard
Pryor -- whom we absolutely couldn't listen to -- and a stash of porn. In junior high, my
parents would put thirty or forty dollars in an envelope, and that would buy a card that would
cover a month of school lunches. It was November of 1982, and I took my thirty-six dollars
and purchased Prince's 1999, What Time Is It?, by the Time, and the Vanity 6 album. I
starved that whole month.

This could be taken directly from my biography...Considering where Prince is now-it's amazing how he was back in the early 80's...If only my parents could see Prince now they would never believe that the man could change so much...And to me it was a natural evolution...
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Reply #17 posted 04/07/04 5:37pm

BinaryJustin

Mr. Thompson has also compared Prince to Yoda in the past. Well, Prince, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and Aretha Franklin. They are all Yoda.

Link: http://www.believermag.co...ompson.htm
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Reply #18 posted 04/07/04 6:03pm

Anxiety

Anyone who saw 8 Mile, if they're over thirty, the first words out of their mouth are, "Oh, I liked that film the first time I saw it. It was called Purple Rain."

Prince must be one of the most bootlegged artists of the rock era -- on a weekly basis I
listen to a bootleg called The Dream Factory, which would later be known as Sign 'O' the
Times.


bow

I think I love you, Mr. ?.
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Reply #19 posted 04/07/04 6:07pm

Anxiety

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Luv4oneanotha said:

And...
Purpose of posting this was?

the same reason why you and i make posts here everyday: to be read and seen.


Don't be too harsh on the poor lamb...I think they still believe this is a message board for Prince brand spaghetti.



So I can see where there'd be some confusion. nuts
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Reply #20 posted 04/07/04 6:11pm

Handclapsfinga
snapz

Anxiety said:

Handclapsfingasnapz said:


the same reason why you and i make posts here everyday: to be read and seen.


Don't be too harsh on the poor lamb...I think they still believe this is a message board for Prince brand spaghetti.



So I can see where there'd be some confusion. nuts

what, no apollonia brand spaghetti sauce to go along with them noodles? lol
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Reply #21 posted 04/07/04 7:58pm

ConsciousConta
ct

Aerogram said:

eldog98 said:

What does he means when he says Prince has been silent for the last couple of years. He's steady put out music & he did the ONA Tour in 2002!


He means that Prince has not talked to him for that time, not that he didn't record or perform.


You seem very sure of yourself. The way I read it, he's talking about Prince's musical output, not his personal relationship with him.
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Reply #22 posted 04/08/04 12:36am

TheBoostress

wishuhvn said:

Prince was forbidden in my closed, Christian household. He was somewhere between Richard
Pryor -- whom we absolutely couldn't listen to -- and a stash of porn. In junior high, my
parents would put thirty or forty dollars in an envelope, and that would buy a card that would
cover a month of school lunches. It was November of 1982, and I took my thirty-six dollars
and purchased Prince's 1999, What Time Is It?, by the Time, and the Vanity 6 album. I
starved that whole month.

This could be taken directly from my biography...Considering where Prince is now-it's amazing how he was back in the early 80's...If only my parents could see Prince now they would never believe that the man could change so much...And to me it was a natural evolution...


I totally identified with that too! Especially since, when I was in 5th or 6th grade (can't remember) I was riding in the car with Moms singing, "head. til you get enough", etc. Then I got a backhand across the mouth. She said WHAT in the HELL do u think u're singing?!? I said, But momma, it's a dance! (And it was at the time, along with the Flirt, which became the Freak -- no, not the Chic one, for all u Angelenos here at the time). We laff about that to this day. Needless to say, that song along with Sister got him banned...which of course made me love him all the more.

I was lucky that my best friend's dad had 1999, so since I was a latch key kid, she and another homegirl would come over to the house and we'd play the album over and over and over and debate in that 7th/8th grade girly way.

What fun!!!
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Reply #23 posted 04/08/04 5:14am

JediMaster

avatar

speculator3m said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

the hip hop analogy ruined it. not that i dont like hip hop, i do, but its reaching.


Agreed Grandmaster Flash was groundbreaking back then


True, but modern hip-hop borrows as heavily from Prince as it does from Grandmaster Flash or Run DMC. Lots of Hip-Hop artist site P as an influence, so I don't really think its a reach.
jedi

Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
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Reply #24 posted 04/08/04 6:56am

Alasseon

avatar

Anxiety said:

Anyone who saw 8 Mile, if they're over thirty, the first words out of their mouth are, "Oh, I liked that film the first time I saw it. It was called Purple Rain."

Prince must be one of the most bootlegged artists of the rock era -- on a weekly basis I
listen to a bootleg called The Dream Factory, which would later be known as Sign 'O' the
Times.


bow

I think I love you, Mr. ?.



LOL! My thoughts exactly, as I was watching "8 Mile"... Kept wondering when Morris Day would pop up. wink
batman guitar

Some people tell me I've got great legs...
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Reply #25 posted 04/08/04 7:58am

mochalox

avatar

Mamarazza said:

There is also an illustration (by Sterling Hundley) ...


http://content.rollingsto...343374.jpg



*for the benefit of those who don't feel like clickin' on it*
"Pedro offers you his protection."
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Reply #26 posted 04/08/04 12:40pm

Harlepolis

mochalox said:




*for the benefit of those who don't feel like clickin' on it*


WTF lol
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Reply #27 posted 04/08/04 12:57pm

mochalox

avatar

Harlepolis said:

mochalox said:




*for the benefit of those who don't feel like clickin' on it*


WTF lol


disclaimer: my act of posting this image in no way endorses said image or it's horrid implications.
"Pedro offers you his protection."
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Reply #28 posted 04/10/04 2:03pm

NPGStyyle

TheBoostress said:

wishuhvn said:

Prince was forbidden in my closed, Christian household. He was somewhere between Richard
Pryor -- whom we absolutely couldn't listen to -- and a stash of porn. In junior high, my
parents would put thirty or forty dollars in an envelope, and that would buy a card that would
cover a month of school lunches. It was November of 1982, and I took my thirty-six dollars
and purchased Prince's 1999, What Time Is It?, by the Time, and the Vanity 6 album. I
starved that whole month.

This could be taken directly from my biography...Considering where Prince is now-it's amazing how he was back in the early 80's...If only my parents could see Prince now they would never believe that the man could change so much...And to me it was a natural evolution...


I totally identified with that too! Especially since, when I was in 5th or 6th grade (can't remember) I was riding in the car with Moms singing, "head. til you get enough", etc. Then I got a backhand across the mouth. She said WHAT in the HELL do u think u're singing?!? I said, But momma, it's a dance! (And it was at the time, along with the Flirt, which became the Freak -- no, not the Chic one, for all u Angelenos here at the time). We laff about that to this day. Needless to say, that song along with Sister got him banned...which of course made me love him all the more.

I was lucky that my best friend's dad had 1999, so since I was a latch key kid, she and another homegirl would come over to the house and we'd play the album over and over and over and debate in that 7th/8th grade girly way.

What fun!!!


This is my life too!!! My Mom and I laugh because I tell her it's her fault that I'm still obsessed with Prince! From the minute she forbid me to play his music I was stuck.
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