jbell said:

I'm sure that works for you. That's your choice. It doesn't mean everybody has to live by that view, though, right? If Prince or somebody like Tiger Woods chooses to also acknowledge their other ethnicities you can't argue with that. Now if they deny having any African in them, then there's a problem.

whodknee said:

jbell said:

Once again someone has missed my point and/or tries to candy coat the question at hand. My point was that prince allowed himself and/or his record comany to distance himself from his black ethnicity, by trying to down play the fact that he is a black man to see more records.

And Prince and Tiger's situations are different. Tiger's father is black and his mother is (i think Filipino) therefore I would consider him biracial, which he is.
[Edited 8/13/05 17:15pm]

GottaLetitgo said

I agree with most of what you say but was Gett Off a non-controversial polished single! May have been polished but was perhaps his most controversial,up to that date, and wisest choice.

Musically he'll never "sell out", but he acted like someone trying to go mainstream when promoting Musicology. That Beyonce performance sucked.

BananaCologne said:

What do you need, a swift kick in the butt? Stop being such an amazing tight-ass.

when he renewed his warner's contract

HamsterHuey said:

Oh jeez, here we go Right, ok, ok, we get it Huey - you really do like it, whoop de doo. It was just a humorous dig.

If anyone needs to lighten up Mister...

When he tried to be 'gangsta' in the 90's (Diamonds and Pearls, and The Symbol Album) with his 'hard' rap with heels and make up. I call it 'gangsta glam'. Don't let me get started on those three dancers including the rapper that could NOT rap worth doolie squat.

How in the hell can Prince ever be considered a Sell Out.

When...

Purple Rain was the biggest thing! A Triple Threat! #1 Tour, #1 Movie, #1 Album. Now add an Oscar

DID Prince milk that album for 3 years in a worldwide tour? NO!! He quickly put out: Around The World In A Day!

HOW can anyone think your a sellout when you dont milk a moment,a revolution in music & you quickly release an album completely different! If he was a sell out he would have been doing a "Purple Rain Tour" until 1987.
+++++

Now look at Prince this last Year! Prince has the biggest tour of the year! The Musicology Tour & really the first 5 months of last year.. as the #1 Artist in the music business!

Did Prince milk a Worldwide Tour for Musicology this year? NO!! He could have milked doing his hits until 2007

Prince has PROVEN he isnt a whore! He hasn't sold out ever! He had 2 sperate major huge amazing reigns as the #1 artist in the music business 20 years apart! Prince didn't milk it, if he was a sell out he would right now be someone in europe whoring out his past.

But he hasn't & has said in interviews his feelings. His actions are as strong as his words when it comes to having non-fans following the trend and going to his Concerts.

There was allot of lean years with Prince after he changed his name. IF he was a "sellout" he would have milked Musiology & that tour! He was making milions & millions & millions a night!

The only thing he sold out was EVERY major concert hall last year. Sometimes 11 plus shows in minutes in ONE town! This happened all around the USA! If Prince was a sell out he would be doing this right now somewhere around the world.

But he hasn't


2 Seperate Times in 20 years he has had this chance.

But he didn't

[Edited 8/14/05 6:38am]

$25 donation to join NPGMC.

GottaLetitgo said:

oooh, you know that song is my achille's heel where hating on prince is concerned!

i don't know WHAT that was.

jbell said:

Do you not understand the concept of a multi-racial heritage? Tiger Woods is not biracial. He's Cablinasian Silly names aside he was right. His dad isn't solely African (black is a vague descriptor and a poor one at that so let's call it what it is). No one race trumps all others. There was a time Prince didn't want to be put in a nice little box that people like you want to put him. I don't think he'd mind being labeled as such nowadays but back when he appeared to be a free-thinker he seemed to.

We could do the same for the term "white". When it's no longer beneficial to those that use it that concept will be taken apart as well-- and it should be.
[Edited 8/14/05 12:15pm]

Anxiety said:

It's not just The Arms of Orion, though. Even if he had fun making Batman, there's no ignoring the fact Trust and Partyman are clearly patterned after two of his biggest hits and that Batdance, however fun it may be, is more an astute mix than an actual song. Plugging into the biggest hypefest of its times, he served a couple of great songs and a bunch of "b list" tracks. Until then, his records had been some of the most personal and self-referential ever released, so it was a stretch to see him get all battish, It was clearly conceived as a return to the mainstream after the disastrous sales of Lovesexy.

Aerogram said:

but it was still very colorful and fun, and most of it was considered to be too "out there" even for TIM friggin' BURTON to put in the movie. i can see how some folks would see it as selling out, since prince is making music to conform to a WB franchise, but i kinda see it as a challenge, as he'd never really written a whole album of music for someone else's project before this, and the idea of the soundtrack being a kind of "narrative", with songs sung by characters from the film (and "gemini", of course), was a pretty inventive touch as well, i think.

no, it's not intended to be the lofty personal message that was "lovesexy" or the musical statement that was "sign 'o' the times", but it wasn't meant to be. though i do think that there's still plenty in the batman album that addresses the whole "dual identity" gemini issue that he'd been toying around with for years, so there's that to think about, too.

Anxiety said:

What he said. I love the Batman album.

GangstaFam said:

I even like lemon crush...

HamsterHuey said:

me too. a lot.

GangstaFam said:

But me fave was always The Future. Esp the remix... wow

HamsterHuey said:

me too. but the album version for me.

still trying to get my hands on the remix edit from the 7" though.

GangstaFam said:

Just for collecting's sake? The full-length version makes more sense...

HamsterHuey said:

I'm sure. But I'm a sucker for edits. I need them all. For my own personal greatest hits. Do you have that one?

GangstaFam said:

On 7".
Remember Angelika? She has got a record player hooked up to her computer and we are going to have a recording session.
Mind some analog static and needles scratching?

i think he sold out three times in philly

I don't think P has necessarily ever "sold out" as much as he was "buying into" whatever processes were available to help keep him in the public eye musically.

Opinions:

1) His initial contract involved him buying into the system. It is better to get the promotion and muscle of a big record company behind a debut artist than languish on skid row as an indie artist with great buzz and no presence.

2)I have heard the stories about his cash problems circa 1988 after Lovesexy. Batman was a way to put money into his pocket and try to erase the public image of the whole Lovesexy debacle, even though we (as fans) get what it was about. Therefore, this attempt might have been the closest to "selling out", but just MAYBE recognizing that WB was promoting a blockbuster movie would be a way to attach his name onto a mass market product, buying into the hardcore fans desire for new music and those who normally would not buy his music.

2b)Diamonds and Pearls was preceded by Grafitti Bridge. After the Batman success, he attempted (in his own way) to recreate the Purple Rain era buzz with a movie and soundtrack. To stay relevant to the times musically speaking, he started to incorporate wack ass rappers on this album. Therefore, GB is the bastard stepdad of Diamonds and Pearls and the Symbol album. The man did not necessarily sell out, but keeping his ear to what would give him airplay, he went the rap route, once again buying in. Any smart business man and artist would have done the same to satisfy their ego.

3) Rave & Musicology: This will get me flamed, but in retrospect Rave was another one of his follow the industry moments. Seeing the sucess of Santana and Supernatural he decided to go the all star album route. MUsically, the album was destined for great things, but the record buying public had not "heard" from Prince/Tafkap since Emancipation (ofter bypassing the Crystal Ball, New Power Soul, The War, online offerings). It was the closest he came to selling out, but he was once again buying into what worked for an industry vet and I guess he figured with his wide array of abilities/touring/stage presence, he would have hit one out of the park, but he whiffed.

Musicology was a way to buy into the inevitable 20th anniversary of Purple Rain and his induction into the RRHOF. NOthing is wrong with that and the synergy created by promoting a new album was a masterstroke.

He just wants to stay relevant to the non-hardcore fans and the music world as a whole, so he tinkers with whatever captures his musical whim at the moment.

Hope it makes sense!

HamsterHuey said:

Nope.

GangstaFam said:

one of my fave prince lyrics is still...


'when i'm workin' at my jobba
i'm the victim, yer the robba..'

Anxiety said:

You know, somehow Prince will never be known as an amazing poet. LoL He might worship Joni Mitchell, but the bug never caught.
Still, Mr Nelson's lyrics are all about the music. They have to fit, even if it has him singing he is a dog and you are a cat.

In 1979.