For those who missed it, this was one of the best threads I've seen on the Org in a long time:

http://www.prince.org/msg/7/139243

A few questions for the old skoolers who were around when this was happening:

1. Did Rick really have bitterness towards Prince or was it just 'fanning the flames'? I can't seem to tell from everyone's posts. Did he really feel that jealous towards Prince or was it just a media play-out?

2. If Rick really did feel like that, had he expressed it before asking him on the tour? Or did it start after Prince supported him?

3. I know this is hypothetical but... for those who really know their stuff when it comes to P/Rick - how much do you think that tour helped P's career? Was it a leg-up that Prince seriously needed or do you think he would've achieved success anyway? Or a bit of both?

blackguitaristz said:

Their feud was based on stupid nonsense.When Prince toured with James in 1980,Rick's people assumed that Prince and his entourage were acting "stuck up".It was just a silly misunderstanding.Instead of sitting down and talking about it,they both behaved like children.Rick went to the press and bashed Prince in interviews.Meanwhile,Prince showed up at a Rick James concert and stole the crowd's attention away from Rick.It's a feud that didn't really have to happen.

prodigalfan said:

So.....???Rick was pissed, big deal...he was JEALOUS

preciosa863 said:

Big Deal???? Yo, I know this is a Prince fan site, but if you are really aware of the early '80s music scene, you would know there were some valid points to Rick's beef as well as some pretty petty reasons....You can't simply dismiss Prince getting play on MTV early on just on the strength of playing a more rock oriented sound and being touted as "bi-racial" to cross-over... The fact is Prince was opening up for Rick no less than a year or two earlier...Rick had already turned out two previous platinum albums. And the man resented the fact that OUR BOY received some burn on MTV when Rick and other R&B artists were left outside the door...I'm a Prince cat like everyone else on this site, but I'm also a music fan...I wish some of you people would make an effort to look at all the sides to the story....Life is much easier that way.....

This was stolen from the org's grocery store. Does anyone know who has it?
[Edited 5/27/05 8:25am]

murph said:

I totally agree with u, but at the same time, u don't have to justify anything to anybody. Let them feel what they want to feel and want to think.

vainandy said:

Tell'em Vain Baby!

well p is bi racial i mean he is half italian. i know off topic.
[Edited 5/27/05 12:14pm]

blackguitaristz said:

Thanks for the kind words...But I was really trying to show some of the "FAM" members of our site to look beyond our boy..The fact is his success did not come out of a vaccum...there were seminal moments and artists that contributed to Prince being the greatest artist of that decade....That doesn't take away from his legacy...It's just a fact....

Tiffypoo2004 said:

Oh oh, here we go.

murph said:

I KNOW exactly where u are coming from, but, a lot of them, or I'll say some of them, they don't want to hear it. Truth or not.

murph said:

But I was really trying to show some of the "FAM" members of our site to look beyond our boy..

When it comes to groups like The Barkays, Cameo, Lakeside, Midnight Star, Brick, The Brothers Johnson, Sun, Bill Summers & Summers Heat, etc.....

A lot of the "fams" don't know a thing about funk except for the groups they heard influenced Prince when he was growing up such as Sly And The Family Stone, Earth, Wind, & Fire, James Brown, Parliament, etc.

When it comes to groups like The Barkays, Cameo, Lakeside, Midnight Star, Brick, The Brothers Johnson, Sun, Bill Summers & Summers Heat, etc.....they have never heard of them.

The only reason they know about Rick James is because he didn't like Prince.

A lot of the "fams" don't know a thing about funk except for the groups they heard influenced Prince when he was growing up such as Sly And The Family Stone, Earth, Wind, & Fire, James Brown, Parliament, etc.

When it comes to groups like The Barkays, Cameo, Lakeside, Midnight Star, Brick, The Brothers Johnson, Sun, Bill Summers & Summers Heat, etc.....they have never heard of them.

The only reason they know about Rick James is because he didn't like Prince.

well i aint mean to start anything i was just being real.

Tiffypoo2004 said:

No prob. everything is cool....That's what this forum is for...to share thoughts and ideas....And by the way (Sorry to all you old heads and younger fans in the know for having to say this for like the 100, 000, 000th time) P's not bi-racial....

A lot of the "fams" don't know a thing about funk except for the groups they heard influenced Prince when he was growing up such as Sly And The Family Stone, Earth, Wind, & Fire, James Brown, Parliament, etc.

When it comes to groups like The Barkays, Cameo, Lakeside, Midnight Star, Brick, The Brothers Johnson, Sun, Bill Summers & Summers Heat, etc.....they have never heard of them.

The only reason they know about Rick James is because he didn't like Prince.

Tiffypoo2004 said:

No prob. everything is cool....That's what this forum is for...to share thoughts and ideas....And by the way (Sorry to all you old heads and younger fans in the know for having to say this for like the 100, 000, 000th time) P's not bi-racial....

murph said:

hes not ?? well how come his father is italian and black. and his mom is black. well i guess it doesnt matter anyway.

Well the worst thing an artist can do is to switch up at the top of their game. When their sales start to decline, then it's time for a change. As far as Prince "growing and evolving", if he had waited just five more years when rap and hip hop started taking over music in general and then put out the "artsy/fartsy" stuff, I would have welcomed it with open arms.

As far as artists flaming out, with the exception of making a splash every blue moon, Prince pretty much flamed out himself also before the 1990s even arrived. The thing that keeps an artist alive is their hardcore fans that continue buying every single album they release. Prince is just lucky enough to have a much larger hardcore fan base than the average artist does.

It would have been great if both Rick and Prince had put out an absolute great album after "Purple Rain" because, as a consumer, I want music that is desirable to my ears and, like the general public, could care less about Prince "growing" and "evolving". The music that came after "Purple Rain" is good but would I sacrifice Prince's growth for some more hardcore jams.....hell yeah.

A lot of the "fams" don't know a thing about funk except for the groups they heard influenced Prince when he was growing up such as Sly And The Family Stone, Earth, Wind, & Fire, James Brown, Parliament, etc.

When it comes to groups like The Barkays, Cameo, Lakeside, Midnight Star, Brick, The Brothers Johnson, Sun, Bill Summers & Summers Heat, etc.....they have never heard of them.

The only reason they know about Rick James is because he didn't like Prince.

well how come his father is italian and black.

This was stolen from the org's grocery store. Does anyone know who has it?
[Edited 5/27/05 8:25am]

well p is bi racial i mean he is half italian. i know off topic.
[Edited 5/27/05 12:14pm]