Vanguard Award -- Prince

Rolling Stone has called him a "potent, irresistible and groundbreaking force." He has placed 32 singles in Billboard's Top 40. Eighteen of his albums have been certified gold or platinum, selling well more than 100 million copies. Prince, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning performer, composer and producer, has spent the better part of the past 20 years enticing fans with a brand of music that is as provocative, unpredictable and unforgettable as the artist himself.

In recognition of his work that serves to increase understanding and awareness of racial and social issues, Prince is set to receive the NAACP's Vanguard Award, joining past honorees Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kramer.

Named after his musician father's jazz band, the Prince Roger Trio, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis in 1958. His parents divorced when he was 7, and music quickly became his refuge during that difficult time. He taught himself to play the piano, and by the time he was a teenager, Prince had mastered two dozen instruments.

Prince moved to New York at age 18 with the intention of producing his own music. An exhaustive search to find a label that didn't expect him to surrender control of his product -- an unusual request for an unknown -- led him to Warner Bros. Records, which signed him in 1977. His first album, "For You," was released the following year. It was a solid -- if unremarkable -- first effort that foreshadowed the unique blend of pop, rock, funk and sexually-explicit lyrics that, for a time, became his signature.

Prince's 1983 release "1999" was a breakthrough album around the world, selling more than 3 million copies, but it was the 1984 soundtrack to his semi-autobiographical film "Purple Rain" that truly catapulted him to stardom. The album sold more than 13 million copies in the United States, spent 24 weeks at No. 1 on the music charts and earned him an Academy Award for best original song and a Grammy for best album of instrumental score written for a motion picture or TV special. Subsequent best sellers include 1985's "Around the World in a Day," 1987's "Sign O' the Times" and the soundtrack to the 1989 film "Batman."

In response to a legal battle he waged with Warner Bros. -- Prince wanted to retain the publishing rights to his material and so did the record label -- Prince changed his name in 1993 to an unpronounceable glyph, much to the bemusement of the general public.

Members of the media began calling him "the Artist" or "the Artist Formerly Known as Prince." As soon as the issue was resolved, in 1999, he changed his name back.

Prince resurfaced, creatively speaking, in 2004, with the critically praised release of "Musicology," which Rolling Stone critic Anthony DeCurtis says is "as appealing, focused and straight-up satisfying an album as Prince has made. It restores a refreshing sense of songcraft to (his) writing." The multiplatinum release garnered him two more Grammys at last month's ceremony. Topping off an extraordinary 2004, Prince also was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

-- Ricardo Acuna

United Press International

Actor-comedian Chris Tucker will emcee the 36th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, Fox TV announced Thursday.

The awards show -- scheduled for Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion -- will be taped for broadcast on Fox on March 25.

The lineup of presenters and performers includes Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Jamie Foxx, Kanye West, Michael Moore, Queen Latifah, Sean Combs, Vanessa Williams and Stevie Wonder.

Oprah Winfrey will receive the NAACP Hall of Fame Award. Prince will receive the NAACP Vanguard Award. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will receive the NAACP Chairman's Award.

Tucker is best known as the co-star, with Jackie Chan, of 'Rush Hour' and 'Rush Hour 2

thanks!

2020 thanks 4 posting. That was a good read. Can't wait 2 see the show. The NAACP awards has always been nice 2 watch. It's so much better then the other shitty awards shows IMHO.

2020 said:

Tucker is best known from "Friday"!

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