As a black man, I constantly dogged Prince back in the 90’s. Does this mean I did this because he was black? Of course not. It was because I thought that little of his music during the 90s (I loved him in the 80s).

Everyone has their own opinion thats why they 'dog' others out. Prince doesnt seem to care about it so why should we?

Prince's problem is he's too 'clever' and eclectic. It scares the record buying public, who generally prefer just one or two different styles of music, Prince has always been too much for a casual audience. Genuine Prince fans should consider themselves lucky they dig an artist so versatile who holds no fear when it comes to what he puts out.

when u raise the bar in music like he did,sorry but, your music gets put under the microscope,as well it should be, we only expect great things from great people, no one expects elton to do anything great. u feel me.

Most people paying any remote attention know hes Black in all honesty. Wishful thinking is just that.

He brings it on himself mostly.

kisscamille said:

Co-sign that.

That's just rediculous. If you want to bring discrimination into it, the fact that he often comes off as gay and/or effeminite...hell, even ARROGANT.... carries 10 times more weight than his race.

Let's not get silly here.

JonnyApplesauce said:

ask people that remotely pay attention.... young people...

Hmmmmm! Because he's Black!
What a load of absolute and total shit!
It's because he challenges the average imbecile 2 think about their music rather than just listen with a blank look on their ugly mugs.
Most people don't realise he's Black because he's been perpetuating the myth that he's part Black part Italian, either since or B4 Purple Rain. His music doesn't sound Black or White. Hell! In some cases it doesn't even sound American. He may have been influenced by alot of Black artist. But the way he structures his melodies and his sound U'd think he listened 2 Classical music as a kid, giving the impression he may have grown up with a European influence.
His harshest critics would B his fans! because he can pretty much do it all. And do it well. What else could U expect, other than perfection every time!

Amaxx said:

Since? He stopped doing that way back in the 80's.

meow85 said:

see i always thought prince was black. didn't even imagine him being anything else at first, lol.

Cause people are just stupid and dont appreciate his music more...mostly cause of rumors and shit...ugh

Marrk said:

I agree.

ufoclub said:

It's true! Most people I talk to don't have a clue what ethnicity he is. Some of them barely think he is even human!

When I first saw him, I wasn't quite sure either, but it didn't matter. I just liked his music. Most people I knew who made fun of him did so because of the name change, or his unusual behavior.
[Edited 10/20/06 10:22am]

I’m constantly amazed at how RACE is always downplayed yet IT is the FABRIC of the American way. That aside, Prince’s treatment is a very complicated issue. All of the things mentioned here play a part as well as race but the one thing that I believe is the main root of Prince’s being “dogged” out is his stance AGAINST the music business in general. Prince represents the opposite of what the music business considers a music artist.

The music business prefers artist who take orders, questions nothing, and do what they are TOLD. Prince represents NONE of those things. To further complicate the matter, prince does NOT hold his tongue on his stance and will voice his opinion publicly in his own way.

Just my 2 pennies.

sharonbell said:

BECAUSE HE IS THE SEXY BAD BOY AND THEY CANNOT ADMIT HIS MUSIC TURNS THEM ON

misslilly said:

Yes. lol

PurpleKnight said:

Thats sorta what I was thinking

I hear most people (press, casual fans) speak rather highly of Prince
and consider him a legend.

Truthfully most Prince dogging I witness takes place right here on the "org"
but thats to be expected

PurpleKnight said:

I get that response too, but it usually is followed up by "He's black? No way!"

Guess it depends on who you talk to.

meow85 said:

Back in my teens I was called a 'Paki lover' because I was into Prince!???!!
Believe that or not!!

goosebumps said:

I believe it!

Well its taken 20 some years for people to admit/face that hes Black. I guess itll take another 20 for em to admit thats its been blatantly obvious all along.

JonnyApplesauce said:

It truly wasn't obvious to me when I first saw him on the VH1 fashion awards in 1995. I was 13 years old, and I see this cute guy with straight hair hanging in his eyes and pale skin dancing around in a designer suit with a Puerto Rican goddess! The next time I saw him, he was wearing a black and gold pirate outfit, tearing it up on guitar. His race was the LAST thing on my mind!

Actually, I take that back, the VERY first time I saw him was in the Diamonds and Pearls video when I was 9. I had no idea who he was, so it doesn't really count, I guess. Still, all I saw was a pretty man waving strands of fake pearls in his face. Again, not too obvious.
[Edited 10/20/06 15:56pm]

I don't believe Prince takes much more abuse than any major artist, if at all.

And any abuse or criticism seems to be simply down to the fact that most people are scared of something that goes against the norm.

I always believed Prince changed his name to see how many of his fans would stick around for the music, rather than how popular he was.

kisscamille said:

The truth is the truth.We live in the real world where people that act white get all the credit,but when someone acts black they r dogged.I am not stupid or ignorant,I only speak the truth.The truth hurts

egyptkizzee said:

but Elvis and the Beatles weren't trying to act WHITE....

Graycap23 said:

I hear ya Gray, that would make him an "uppity negra" in the minds of the powers that be in the industry. The same people who control who gets radio play and who does not, by the way. There's a price to pay for being a maverick and the people he crossed are still out there.

As far as the general public are concerned, Prince chose to present himself as racially and sexually ambiguous early in his career and since they don't follow Prince like we do, this is the image they still have of him. First impressions, ya know?


As far as him being dogged consistently, I have to agree with the person who stated that most of the dogging goes on right here.

I wouldn't say Prince is more dogged out than other artists, I just think he's dogged out for different reasons.

.

babynoz said:

Gray nicely said.

baby "racially and sexually ambiguous" I don't know if I get what your saying Imagine your in an interview with someone who really doesn't care about your answer and since race is used to divide why should Prince say he is African-American, Indian and Caucasian lineage, and Black and Italian other side. Today he's picking his dominant race which is what it is or just say my name is Prince. Was that track hot what else matters.