(From Time - November 15, 1999 - P. 72)



Reclaiming His Crown



is back with his best CD in years. And who is his producer?
Believe it or not, it's Prince.



by Christopher John Farley



So I'm hanging out with in a suite in the New York Palace Hotel, and
one of the first things he tells me is that his name isn't really his
name. Now is a cool guy to chat with: funny, insightful and, except
for the fact that he's a musical genius, a regular guy. Truth is, he
puts on his bell-bottom glittery blue stretch pants one leg at a time,
just like the rest of us. But his perspective on the world is like his
music -- constantly surprising. For example, a few minutes into the
conversation, an insanely beautiful woman enters the suite and cuddles up
in 's wife. Only she's kind of also not really his wife, because they had their marriage annulled so they could transcend the "legal bonds
that people demand."



Then there's 's new CD, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. It's a terrific
album, full of some of 's freshest, most focused music in years.
It's being released by Arista -- the first time has hooked up with a
major label since 1996 -- but says he doesn't really have a contract
with Arista, merely an "agreement". That agreement, says, is only
two pages long. Two pages? Most pop acts need longer contracts just to
cover the number of M&M's that have to be in their dressing rooms after a
gig.



And, of course, there's 's name. Ever since he changed it from
Prince to in 1993, folks in the media have called him "The Artist
Formerly Known as Prince". , as it turns out, doesn't care for that
title. His name, he says, is simply that unpronounceable symbol that
looks like a combination of an ankh, an ampersand and a lollipop. Says
: "I've made choices, and people can respect them or they can not
respect them."



In recent years, , 41, has been releasing records on his own label
and selling them via the Internet. Some of those records have been
sprawling; his 1998 album Crystal Ball was a five-CD set. Rave is
smarter and trimmer, a single CD, 15 songs, with an impressive roster of
guest stars that includes, among others, folk rocker Ani DiFranco, the
rapper Eve and saxophonist Maceo Parker. And 's old pronounceable
name makes a return on the new album. Rave's credits list Prince as the
producer. adopted his old persona to recapture some of the creative
spirit of his Prince-era albums. "I was curious as to how Prince used to
edit himself," says . "I was interested in my approach to music
then. I didn't care what other people were doing. I came up with my own
program."



Speaking of programs, one of 's favorite films is The Matrix -- the
sci-fi thriller in which the human race is trapped inside an oppressive
computer simulation. frequently uses the movie as a metaphor --
especially when he talks about the music industry. Says : "People
aren't supposed to go into the studio to make music thinking about 'How
will this look in the video?" That's a matrix. That's dangerious to me. People shouldn't have to ask permission to record with other
artists. That's a matrix. I had to get out of the industry to realize
what it's like to record from a free place." He charges that record
companies like Warner Bros. (Prince's former label, which is owned by the
same company that owns TIME) are making more and more money while the
artists' share of the profit remains the same. "Now are you gonna write
that," challenges , "or is the matrix gonna stop you?"



It's nearly time to go. I'm still thinking about that
ankh-ampersand-lollipop looking name. What does Mayte call him at home?
"I never called him Prince when I met him," says Mayte, from her snug
position on his lap. "Now I realize that names don't matter. For
example, I don't know your name."



"You don't know my name?," I say.



"No," says 's insanely beautiful sort-of wife.



"It's Michael Jackson," I say.



laughs, but his wife just keeps going. "When I need to talk to him
around the house, I just stand in front of him and get his attention.
But if you need to say what I call him, you can say I call him 'honey'".



The interview's over. gets up from the couch.



"Nice to meet you, Michael," says .



I'm a little startled by this. I wonder if a) he's just joking, or b) he
forgot my name, or c) I really am Michael Jackson and only has the
power to see through the illusions of the matrix!



"Nice to meet you... um..." I say. Should I call him Prince? Artist?
Honey?



Whatever. I shake his hand without another word. As long as keeps
making albums as good as Rave, he can call himself anything he wants.