KCOOLMUZIQ said:

2elijah said:

So how did some of you who read the article feel about him stating in so many words about the long-term "white monopoly ownership of black music" needing to be abolished? Also, stating that "localized music distribution" needs to come back.

Do you agree with him and why? Express yourselves.

Don't be shy with your responses.

[Edited 6/11/10 17:32pm]

Everything Prince has said about the music industry has happened. He was the first to say artist need to break away from long term contracts or stop signing them . Because its slavery. They should go independent and sell there music on the internet. He has and he is more successful (some may argue that but its true) and makes way more money than he did @ Warners....Now look at the Music Industry. No one is selling anymore. Music labels are folding.

Prince does not know what slavery is. You really think Prince makes more money now then when he was with Warner Bros? That is not even logical. Now he is just free to go forward on all his self indulging projects.

Alamine said:

2elijah said:

So what is your suggestion or a better way for artists to promote themselves, if they can't get a deal with a record company? With the internet today being one of the main sources for many independent/unsigned artists to sell their music and promote themselves, do you have a better idea? Feel free to share.

[Edited 6/11/10 18:19pm]

Alamine said:

Continue to use the Internet, Tour and make good music. Out of those three Prince has figured out one, the other two he has struggled with and keeps getting L's.

It is a business, which requires ownership.

When was the last time Prince toured for free, or held free concert series?

2elijah said:

I'm not a music industry expert, but where in the interview does he state it should be free? He mentioned "ownership" so obviously right there that tells you he sees music as a "business" and a "livelihood" for musicians/artists and feel they have a right to "own" the rights to what they create, and should not be owned by the record execs who end up getting the largest piece of the pie, while the artist gets a "sliver". He pinpoints black musicians because many have been cheated in the past, i.e., many artists from back in the day who ended up broke, yet their music is still being played, and they're not getting a cent from it, because they don't "own" their music.

I think many artists back in the day were so desperate to be discovered they would have almonst done anything to get a record deal, and didn't have their thinking caps on when they signed with record companies.

It's not an article geared toward people who follow Prince's career closely, and clearly was not written by someone familiar with Prince. It contains a lot of filler where the writer is giving their impressions and descriptions of paisley park and the people in attendance. The gist of what was said has already been posted on this thread.

In the segment where Prince gives written responses to questions, he talks about his usual favorite topics in detail while sidestepping others. People obsessed with his love life won't find much to chew on and oddly enough, people who were hoping to read news of upcoming projects won't find much information either.

Mostly I got the impression that he wanted to use a friendly platform to express what's on his mind and get certain messages out. I wasn't particularly fond of the pics because I prefer candid performance shots to posed, artsy ones.

The actual writing is far from top notch but considering what the writer had to work with, I can't be too critical. Still, it was somewhat interesting and even amusing in places.

Alamine said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Everything Prince has said about the music industry has happened. He was the first to say artist need to break away from long term contracts or stop signing them . Because its slavery. They should go independent and sell there music on the internet. He has and he is more successful (some may argue that but its true) and makes way more money than he did @ Warners....Now look at the Music Industry. No one is selling anymore. Music labels are folding.

Prince does not know what slavery is. You really think Prince makes more money now then when he was with Warner Bros? That is not even logical. Now he is just free to go forward on all his self indulging projects.

Well apparently Prince can only speak for himself and his experiences. All any of us can do is give our opinions, yet don't and have never walked in his shoes to know exactly why he feels the way he does about the music industry and the state it's in today. It makes no sense throwing insults at him, as though that's going to change him and bring back the Prince of the late 70s/80s or force him to make the kind of music some fans want him to make.

From the interview, he seems pretty content with being free with his music, and I guess diehard fans, because of Prince's music history, are still waiting for that 80s Prince to occur with another Purple Rain hit, yet there's so much of his catalogue that those same fans have, that they can always go back to. He seems to be content with his faith and that seems to be the priority in his life now, although some fans are pissed off about it, but it is not up to fans to "guide Prince's life", that's the part some fans need to remember. In the interview, the interviewers specifically state that he did the interview his way, and they let him. I believe the staff at Ebony, although he did not answer some of the questions asked, and did avoid some of them, they seemed to just appreciate that he granted them access to Paisley Park and a somewhat short interview, as they did state that when they arrived at Paisley, they weren't even that sure that he would be there, but he did present himself to them, and they took it from there.

[Edited 6/11/10 19:05pm]

Alamine said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Everything Prince has said about the music industry has happened. He was the first to say artist need to break away from long term contracts or stop signing them . Because its slavery. They should go independent and sell there music on the internet. He has and he is more successful (some may argue that but its true) and makes way more money than he did @ Warners....Now look at the Music Industry. No one is selling anymore. Music labels are folding.

Prince does not know what slavery is. You really think Prince makes more money now then when he was with Warner Bros? That is not even logical. Now he is just free to go forward on all his self indulging projects.

Obviously U don't know anything about the record industry or record labels. I'm not going to explain it to U either. If U call urself a Prince fan and been following his career business wise. U should understand by now that record labels collect the majority of the profits not the artist.

But this thread is about The Ebony article. Not your ignorance....

2elijah said:

Alamine said:

Alamine said:

Continue to use the Internet, Tour and make good music. Out of those three Prince has figured out one, the other two he has struggled with and keeps getting L's.

It is a business, which requires ownership.

When was the last time Prince toured for free, or held free concert series?

2elijah said:

I'm not a music industry expert, but where in the interview does he state it should be free? He mentioned "ownership" so obviously right there that tells you he sees music as a "business" and a "livelihood" for musicians/artists and feel they have a right to "own" the rights to what they create, and should not be owned by the record execs who end up getting the largest piece of the pie, while the artist gets a "sliver". He pinpoints black musicians because many have been cheated in the past, i.e., many artists from back in the day who ended up broke, yet their music is still being played, and they're not getting a cent from it, because they don't "own" their music.

I think many artists back in the day were so desperate to be discovered they would have almonst done anything to get a record deal, and didn't have their thinking caps on when they signed with record companies.

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

Alamine said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Everything Prince has said about the music industry has happened. He was the first to say artist need to break away from long term contracts or stop signing them . Because its slavery. They should go independent and sell there music on the internet. He has and he is more successful (some may argue that but its true) and makes way more money than he did @ Warners....Now look at the Music Industry. No one is selling anymore. Music labels are folding.

Prince does not know what slavery is. You really think Prince makes more money now then when he was with Warner Bros? That is not even logical. Now he is just free to go forward on all his self indulging projects.

I wouldn't say that he is with his music but I'd agree to that as it relates to his live performances, which has always been his strongest suit. The Musicology Tour, the Vegas and LO2 shows are a testament to that.

.

[Edited 6/11/10 19:11pm]

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Alamine said:

Prince does not know what slavery is. You really think Prince makes more money now then when he was with Warner Bros? That is not even logical. Now he is just free to go forward on all his self indulging projects.

Obviously U don't know anything about the record industry or record labels. I'm not going to explain it to U either. If U call urself a Prince fan and been following his career business wise. U should understand by now that record labels collect the majority of the profits not the artist.

But this thread is about The Ebony article. Not your ignorance....

Again, Prince don't know what slavery is and has never expierenced it. Yeah your right he is going to make more money from 3121 CD, as compared to SOTT CD. regardless of the percentage he collects, he will make more cash money off of his WB albums. 10% of a million dollars is more then 90% of 50 bucks.

How many photos are there and are they only of Prince?

Alamine said:

2elijah said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

Sorry but now you're just talking out your ass!

Alamine said:

2elijah said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

A lack of formal education will always call you to be cheated. Stop pointing fingers at the record labels for being smarter and investing in ownership of songs. Education is the key, and they like Prince at an early age lacked it, now he is a little more educated, but it is at the lowest of his creative output in the studio and the label stuff is getting played out.

Im a fan just as much as the next guy, but bullshit is bullshit. It's a good interview, and a good debate, it doesnt mean that P's view on the industry is the only way, or it's a wrong way.

again lack of a formal education hurt these artist

Robert Kelly, the king of modern R&B, can't even read, so as a record label your supposed to feel sorry for him and not seek ownership of his songs?

[Edited 6/11/10 19:18pm]

Alamine said:

2elijah said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

That's a poor excuse, and does not give record execs the right to take advantage or cheat musicians/artists out of profits, because they believe some musicians/artists may know little about the business side of the music industry.

There's a lot of snakes in that industry, and today, more artists are learning about the business side of it, moreso than they did back in the day; as it was a different era, and much harder for black artists. So in my opinion, the desperation to get discovered, make money was more apparent back then, because of the times.. Nothing wrong with self-promotion, by cutting out the middleman, and owning full rights and getting paid for what you create. It may be a bit harder because you don't have the backing of some wealthy exec who would spend money to promote you and get your music and name out there faster, but with the internet and having access to reaching millions of possible consumers, self-promotion isn't such a bad thing for many musicians/artists.

[Edited 6/11/10 19:23pm]

2elijah said:

Alamine said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

That's a poor excuse, and does not give record execs the right to take advantage or cheat musicians/artists out of profits, because they believe some musicians/artists may know little about the business side of the music business. There's a lot of snakes in that industry, and today, more artists are learning about the business side of the music industry, moreso than they did back in the day; as it was a different era, and much harder for black artists. So in my opinion, the desperation to get discovered, make money was more apparent. Nothing wrong with self-promotion, by cutting out the middleman, and owning full rights and getting paid for what you create. It may be a bit harder because you don't have the backing of some wealthy exec who would spend money to promote you and get your music and name out there faster, but with the internet and having access to reaching millions of possible consumers, self-promotion isn't such a bad thing for many musicians/artists.

Lack of education is what is killing these black artist, and you are right it is a poor excuse for artist these days to not be more educated about the industry. The execs are not cheating anyone out of profits, they are very upfront in what they want in these contracts as they are legally binding and are written by very highly educated people, and signed by less educated people.

Stop pointing the finger at the record execs, black artist need to get educated before signing, and stop coming back 20 years begging for handouts like it's govt welfare.

How dumb was Mc Hammer? How dumb was George Clinton? How dumb was Little Richard?

[Edited 6/11/10 19:34pm]

[Edited 6/11/10 19:36pm]

Alamine said:

Alamine said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

A lack of formal education will always call you to be cheated. Stop pointing fingers at the record labels for being smarter and investing in ownership of songs. Education is the key, and they like Prince at an early age lacked it, now he is a little more educated, but it is at the lowest of his creative output in the studio and the label stuff is getting played out.

Im a fan just as much as the next guy, but bullshit is bullshit. It's a good interview, and a good debate, it doesnt mean that P's view on the industry is the only way, or it's a wrong way.

again lack of a formal education hurt these artist

Robert Kelly, the king of modern R&B, can't even read, so as a record label your supposed to feel sorry for him and not seek ownership of his songs?

[Edited 6/11/10 19:18pm]

Point out where I said it was not important for one to be educated about any business or contract they sign? I was comparing the era, and the desperation back then to be discovered and make money, and more than likely, "not reading the small print" in the contract. I said nothing about feeling sorry for those who were cheated by record label execs, just said it does not give record labels the right to cheat their clients because they knew their clients were not knowledgeable about how contracts work or didn't know the full details of what they signed on for.

That's like saying it's okay for stockbrokers to cheat their clients, because they knew they could, based on their clients failure to "read the small print' and lack of knowledge to know what they really signed away on the dotted line. I think it's a good thing, that Prince is educating other artists about the music industry and contracts, and also encouraging others who are self-promoting their music.

[Edited 6/11/10 19:39pm]

rap said:

How many photos are there and are they only of Prince?

There are five pics, plus the cover...Prince only.

Alamine said:

2elijah said:

That's a poor excuse, and does not give record execs the right to take advantage or cheat musicians/artists out of profits, because they believe some musicians/artists may know little about the business side of the music business. There's a lot of snakes in that industry, and today, more artists are learning about the business side of the music industry, moreso than they did back in the day; as it was a different era, and much harder for black artists. So in my opinion, the desperation to get discovered, make money was more apparent. Nothing wrong with self-promotion, by cutting out the middleman, and owning full rights and getting paid for what you create. It may be a bit harder because you don't have the backing of some wealthy exec who would spend money to promote you and get your music and name out there faster, but with the internet and having access to reaching millions of possible consumers, self-promotion isn't such a bad thing for many musicians/artists.

Lack of education is what is killing these black artist, and you are right it is a poor excuse for artist these days to not be more educated about the industry. The execs are not cheating anyone out of profits, they are very upfront in what they want in these contracts as they are legally binding and are written by very highly educated people, and signed by less educated people.

Stop pointing the finger at the record execs, black artist need to get educated before signing, and stop coming back 20 years begging for handouts like it's govt welfare.

How dumb was Mc Hammer? How dumb was George Clinton? How dumb was Little Richard?

[Edited 6/11/10 19:34pm]

[Edited 6/11/10 19:36pm]

Sure because all record execs are "upfront" with all their clients and don't cheat them.... I would believe that, but there's too many snakes in the industry.

I do think though, that we should be careful not to generalize that all black artists are not educated enough to know about the music industry before deciding to sign a contract.There's also nothing wrong with Prince giving advice to new artists, to educate themselves before signing with a record label.

[Edited 6/11/10 20:01pm]

double post.

[Edited 6/11/10 19:56pm]

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Alamine said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

Sorry but now you're just talking out your ass!

Could this stay on the cool Ebony article & not debate over anything else please?

Alamine said:

2elijah said:

That's a poor excuse, and does not give record execs the right to take advantage or cheat musicians/artists out of profits, because they believe some musicians/artists may know little about the business side of the music business. There's a lot of snakes in that industry, and today, more artists are learning about the business side of the music industry, moreso than they did back in the day; as it was a different era, and much harder for black artists. So in my opinion, the desperation to get discovered, make money was more apparent. Nothing wrong with self-promotion, by cutting out the middleman, and owning full rights and getting paid for what you create. It may be a bit harder because you don't have the backing of some wealthy exec who would spend money to promote you and get your music and name out there faster, but with the internet and having access to reaching millions of possible consumers, self-promotion isn't such a bad thing for many musicians/artists.

Lack of education is what is killing these black artist, and you are right it is a poor excuse for artist these days to not be more educated about the industry. The execs are not cheating anyone out of profits, they are very upfront in what they want in these contracts as they are legally binding and are written by very highly educated people, and signed by less educated people.

Stop pointing the finger at the record execs, black artist need to get educated before signing, and stop coming back 20 years begging for handouts like it's govt welfare.

How dumb was Mc Hammer? How dumb was George Clinton? How dumb was Little Richard?

[Edited 6/11/10 19:34pm]

[Edited 6/11/10 19:36pm]

You are full of urself Alamine! Just goes to show you don't know spoohgasit about the record industry. And for one it's not just black artists it's all artists. You are ridiculous! The Beatles got fucked out of their rights, so did the lead singer from Garbage. Pearl Jam left the biz & they're touring & sitting fat & happy. Ani Difranco defied the record industry & she tours & helps new artists all the time. This not as much to do with race as much as it's about the record business & like 2elijah said, snakes. The industry is not upfront if you think this is true u r a fool. Besides, it's all about owning your masters. If you don't own that you are a slave, that's what he's been talking about since he wrote that shit on his face.

if self-interest is on the back-burner then how come he relocated his fuck-buddy to minneapolis?

Problem is, so many of these label artists, Prince included, are clueless about "independent music".

They behave as if Radiohead's release of "In Rainbows" was some sort of high watermark. The release of music on independent labels and free of them has gone on since the advent of recorded music. The mindset locked to the necessity of major label support hinders so many artists from receiving any compensation they deserve.

God knows why Prince thinks that allowing his videos to play on Youtube has a negative impact on his success.

And his views on the black community are admirably supportive, but ultimately childish and borderline racist.

nosajd said:

Alamine said:

Lack of education is what is killing these black artist, and you are right it is a poor excuse for artist these days to not be more educated about the industry. The execs are not cheating anyone out of profits, they are very upfront in what they want in these contracts as they are legally binding and are written by very highly educated people, and signed by less educated people.

Stop pointing the finger at the record execs, black artist need to get educated before signing, and stop coming back 20 years begging for handouts like it's govt welfare.

How dumb was Mc Hammer? How dumb was George Clinton? How dumb was Little Richard?

[Edited 6/11/10 19:34pm]

[Edited 6/11/10 19:36pm]

You are full of urself Alamine! Just goes to show you don't know spoohgasit about the record industry. And for one it's not just black artists it's all artists. You are ridiculous! The Beatles got fucked out of their rights, so did the lead singer from Garbage. Pearl Jam left the biz & they're touring & sitting fat & happy. Ani Difranco defied the record industry & she tours & helps new artists all the time. This not as much to do with race as much as it's about the record business & like 2elijah said, snakes. The industry is not upfront if you think this is true u r a fool. Besides, it's all about owning your masters. If you don't own that you are a slave, that's what he's been talking about since he wrote that shit on his face.

This is slavery

this is not

These artist have choices.

The Beatles screwed themselves.

[Edited 6/11/10 23:03pm]

Alamine said:

This is slavery

this is not

Prince is a different kind of slave. he's slave to fame, to money, and to appearances.

2elijah said:

He does mention being around "Yes" people is a "nonproductive environment" and held more value in people who prefer to tell him the truth.

Which is a blatant lie.

Hmm, doesn't the bible say something about lying?

Alamine said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Again, Prince don't know what slavery is and has never expierenced it. Yeah your right he is going to make more money from 3121 CD, as compared to SOTT CD. regardless of the percentage he collects, he will make more cash money off of his WB albums. 10% of a million dollars is more then 90% of 50 bucks.

Prince is still making money from music he released 25+ years ago, yet isn't making money from music he released 10+ years ago, 5+ years ago or even 1 year ago. Yeah, he may have made a lump sum from some of the albums he released since 1996, but that's all there is.

Of course, part of the reason is that he hasn't released anything worthwhile after 1995, but isn't it hilarious that since becoming "free", he's succeeded to completely mismanage the part of his back catalogue that is 100% in his own hands? He's the poster child for why artists shouldn't be incharge of everything.

2elijah said:

Alamine said:

No one put a gun to Little Richard's head, and said sign on the dotted line. Most of this black srtist ended up broke by their own accord and mishandling of their own estate, drugs, women or other dumb stuff they bought. A lack of a formal education will always allow you to be cheated.

That's a poor excuse, and does not give record execs the right to take advantage or cheat musicians/artists out of profits, because they believe some musicians/artists may know little about the business side of the music industry.

Oh please, this happens in life ALL THE TIME. Stupidity and ignorance get exploited.

Oh, and last I checked, Prince WAS educated on how the music biz worked in high school. It was PRINCE who decided to sign the $100 m contract AGAINST the advice of his friends and band members etc.

There's a lot of snakes in that industry, and today, more artists are learning about the business side of it, moreso than they did back in the day; as it was a different era, and much harder for black artists.

Oh please, as if black artists are the only ones exploited. Hint: go look up Vanilla Ice. Or The Rolling Stones.

Oh, and also notice how a lot/most of music biz exploitation these days is happening at rap labels.

So in my opinion, the desperation to get discovered, make money was more apparent back then, because of the times..

Oh please, Prince renewed his contract several times. And back in 1993, Metallica and REM were also renegociating their contracts with WEA-labels; both bands managed to look beyond the $ and instead focused on getting control of their back catalogue.

BTW: The Rolling Stones learned big time from getting screwed by their manager, and have been owning their rights ever since. That's why they've managed to repeatedly license their back catalogue to new companies. How many re-issues have there been of their records now? Gues what? They make millions EACH TIME.

Nothing wrong with self-promotion, by cutting out the middleman, and owning full rights and getting paid for what you create. It may be a bit harder because you don't have the backing of some wealthy exec who would spend money to promote you and get your music and name out there faster, but with the internet and having access to reaching millions of possible consumers, self-promotion isn't such a bad thing for many musicians/artists.

[Edited 6/11/10 19:23pm]

It's not rocket science, and yet here's Prince bitching about radio not playing his songs, and meanwhile screwing his fans via DRM-protected WMAs and failed websites.

BartVanHemelen said:

Alamine said:

Again, Prince don't know what slavery is and has never expierenced it. Yeah your right he is going to make more money from 3121 CD, as compared to SOTT CD. regardless of the percentage he collects, he will make more cash money off of his WB albums. 10% of a million dollars is more then 90% of 50 bucks.

Prince is still making money from music he released 25+ years ago, yet isn't making money from music he released 10+ years ago, 5+ years ago or even 1 year ago. Yeah, he may have made a lump sum from some of the albums he released since 1996, but that's all there is.

Of course, part of the reason is that he hasn't released anything worthwhile after 1995, but isn't it hilarious that since becoming "free", he's succeeded to completely mismanage the part of his back catalogue that is 100% in his own hands? He's the poster child for why artists shouldn't be incharge of everything.

This. This. This. This. This.

Oh, and....

Yeah, what he said.

Prince can liken himself to Ike Turner all he wants. Ike Turner was, amongst many things, a talented man whose troubles surmounted his creativity and his business savvy - thus ruining not only his music career, but his marriages. Do we, as fans with a bit of insight into Prince, consider him of the same troubled calibre? Maybe. He's spiritually conflicted, to say the least, but whether or not his spiritual eccentricities owe to his malformed vision of slavery and CONtracts is - i guess - interpreted by the reader. Thus, some people will excuse him for his outlandish claims and take them as gospel because... Why? He's black and has been repeatedly shunned from the music industry either by the companies themselves or the music buying public (who just doesn't want his current music)?

Prince was given multiple opportunities to rule the music industry with an iron fist and every single time he was given this opportunity, he squandered it in greed, naivete, and professional onanism. He could not bear the burden of really contributing to artists under his control because his ego and his deranged sense of entitlement is extremely off-putting. Humility is something decades-lost on Prince. It is because of this arrogance that has many people have succumbed to the Bizarro World Midas Touch (aka, when he touches their career, it dies). It is also because of this that he has suffered so much in the music industry.

Exec after exec has come forward, producers, engineers, agents, bandmembers, dancers, and other people attached to his entourage at one time or another have all said the same thing. Prince is a genius when it comes to crafting songs, but he is willfully negligent when it comes to his own career and the interests of those he employs, much less his posterity or his dreadfully loyal fanbase.

Stop giving him excuses to rely on. His assertion that Yes Men are toxic is laughable at best. In fact, he has surrounded himself with nothing but Yes Men for the better part of 20 years now and it has slowly eroded his legacy. He will, eventually (if not already) dissipate into the annals of rock history as a genius-gone-wrong who had the world in his hands for a good 10 years and proceeded to pluck the petals away one by one until there was nothing left but his own distorted kingdom of sand.

You can praise him for his humble status at the moment all you want. He isn't humble, though. His spirituality is vanity. His studies of history and henceforth his retelling of it is ironic and hollow. For someone who recites black history like a copy editor at News of the World, he certainly raked in the cash hand over fist while those White Men Who Enslaved Him bent over backwards to accommodate his greedy demands and outlandish threats.

All the while, in his house he lays dreaming of being a paragon of black enterprise as his back catalog rots in antiquity. A fresh, rejuvenated SOTT? Never. A deluxe edition of LoveSexy? Not on his watch. Without his superfluous and insipid remixes and remakes of his torch songs, Prince will have nothing to do with those albums... That is, unless he can entice you to go to his concerts (which become more and more vaudeville as the years go by), by saying this is the last time he will perform them. Or he will hum, plink on the piano, or strum a few bars of a song that is entirely incongruous with his current "religion" just so the hair on your arms stand up in anticipation before chugging into a full version of "Pass the Peas" or "The Christ".... Barf.

Thanks for the interview with Ebony, P. No, really. We needed another dissertation on black poverty and how black people are/were/will be/can be/should be/would be from the mouth of someone who can give away a half assed album for free with a newspaper and still make 2 million dollars while the US government forecloses on the houses of artists like T-Boz (you know, your favorite band, right?) and others.

Physician, heal thyself.

Spinlight said:

Prince can liken himself to Ike Turner all he wants. Ike Turner was, amongst many things, a talented man whose troubles surmounted his creativity and his business savvy - thus ruining not only his music career, but his marriages. Do we, as fans with a bit of insight into Prince, consider him of the same troubled calibre? Maybe. He's spiritually conflicted, to say the least, but whether or not his spiritual eccentricities owe to his malformed vision of slavery and CONtracts is - i guess - interpreted by the reader. Thus, some people will excuse him for his outlandish claims and take them as gospel because... Why? He's black and has been repeatedly shunned from the music industry either by the companies themselves or the music buying public (who just doesn't want his current music)?

Prince was given multiple opportunities to rule the music industry with an iron fist and every single time he was given this opportunity, he squandered it in greed, naivete, and professional onanism. He could not bear the burden of really contributing to artists under his control because his ego and his deranged sense of entitlement is extremely off-putting. Humility is something decades-lost on Prince. It is because of this arrogance that has many people have succumbed to the Bizarro World Midas Touch (aka, when he touches their career, it dies). It is also because of this that he has suffered so much in the music industry.

Exec after exec has come forward, producers, engineers, agents, bandmembers, dancers, and other people attached to his entourage at one time or another have all said the same thing. Prince is a genius when it comes to crafting songs, but he is willfully negligent when it comes to his own career and the interests of those he employs, much less his posterity or his dreadfully loyal fanbase.

Stop giving him excuses to rely on. His assertion that Yes Men are toxic is laughable at best. In fact, he has surrounded himself with nothing but Yes Men for the better part of 20 years now and it has slowly eroded his legacy. He will, eventually (if not already) dissipate into the annals of rock history as a genius-gone-wrong who had the world in his hands for a good 10 years and proceeded to pluck the petals away one by one until there was nothing left but his own distorted kingdom of sand.

You can praise him for his humble status at the moment all you want. He isn't humble, though. His spirituality is vanity. His studies of history and henceforth his retelling of it is ironic and hollow. For someone who recites black history like a copy editor at News of the World, he certainly raked in the cash hand over fist while those White Men Who Enslaved Him bent over backwards to accommodate his greedy demands and outlandish threats.

All the while, in his house he lays dreaming of being a paragon of black enterprise as his back catalog rots in antiquity. A fresh, rejuvenated SOTT? Never. A deluxe edition of LoveSexy? Not on his watch. Without his superfluous and insipid remixes and remakes of his torch songs, Prince will have nothing to do with those albums... That is, unless he can entice you to go to his concerts (which become more and more vaudeville as the years go by), by saying this is the last time he will perform them. Or he will hum, plink on the piano, or strum a few bars of a song that is entirely incongruous with his current "religion" just so the hair on your arms stand up in anticipation before chugging into a full version of "Pass the Peas" or "The Christ".... Barf.

Thanks for the interview with Ebony, P. No, really. We needed another dissertation on black poverty and how black people are/were/will be/can be/should be/would be from the mouth of someone who can give away a half assed album for free with a newspaper and still make 2 million dollars while the US government forecloses on the houses of artists like T-Boz (you know, your favorite band, right?) and others.

Physician, heal thyself.

He said Ike Turner was one of his influences referencing Ike's music, he didn't liken himself to Ike's personality or Ike's life's troubles. I think some fans are taking some of what he said out of context.

He also did not say anything about black poverty, Where'd you get that? He specifically stated that Blacks are still a very "beautiful and industrious people" and used "Black Wall Street" and the "Harlem Renaissance" as examples of a time when black wealth and ownership thrived. He basically stated that the long term "white monopoly of ownership of black music " needs to be done away with, obviously believing that there should be more "diversity in ownership", bordering on equal opportunity and freedom of ownership for musicians/artists.

[Edited 6/12/10 7:05am]