I remember a while back before I became a serious Purple Head.

I had a conversation with a lady about various music artists and what

she thought about them. I don't remember the others I mentioned,

but I do remember asking her about Prince and in her opinion she

thought that he was overrated. Later on I found this to be funny

because last year around the time of another iconic 80's pop stars'

demise I was working at this hotel. I was training along side a mature

Hispanic woman and she expressed her sadness over his death while

she was divulging this I asked her something about Prince and she was

like "Who?!" that day I wanted to cry because how could anyone not know

about His Royal Badness? Does anybody think our Purple Boy is sorely underrated?

I am guessing that people who think him underrated do not really know the extent of his musicianship, or

the sheer quantity of his music.

I know of countless people who think that Purple Rain was his first (and in some cases) last album.

Maybe if the people who find him underrated knew a bit more about Prince and his career, then they would more than likely change their opinion of him.

Even if those people disliked the music, they could surely not deny his musical ability and work ethic.

I find that a lot of people do not know that Prince is still writing.

People just do not realize that he never stopped.

Only the ~real~ fans know.

I have met people who do not know who he is. I think it's sad.

I know a 25 year old mother of 2 who doesn't even know 1999.

I am shocked!!

to me hes the most underrated artist out there.

npggggirl said:

I find that a lot of people do not know that Prince is still writing.

People just do not realize that he never stopped.

Only the ~real~ fans know.

I have met people who do not know who he is. I think it's sad.

I know a 25 year old mother of 2 who doesn't even know 1999.

I am shocked!!

This true, a youngen under 25 a lot of them don't know of him. My teen daugthers only know who Prince is because of me, there friends haven't a clue who he is. It is sad really coz i remember being a teenager and liking all sorts of my mum generation of music, like the likes of Marley, Lennon, Jimi, EW&F etc.

Just dont understand why its like that really, but it is odd.

[Edited 6/11/10 13:27pm]

fresh123 said:

to me hes the most underrated artist out there.

i agree i think he is hugely underrated i think hes an underrated musician all together

he's enigmatic. even when he was at the peak of his PR fame he was always 'difficult' to like. he's never been easy to package or grab hold off.

and he is underrated. and a large part of that is due to the fact that he has continued to write. he hasn't 'closed' and people like closure before they make an assessment.

but i don't think that should worry us. prince is, by nature, an underground and obscure artist. he always has been. It just happens that one day he suddenly shot to fame. i'm not too sure that was ever really meant to happen, but it drew a line. and suddenly everything was measured by that line

his impact is enormous. his legacy beyond calculation and it continues to grow.

when i hear a lot of music today, i hear him. and i don't think that's just because i know him back to front. heard any 'new' electronic music today? it sounds like prince nearly 30 years ago

is that a long way of saying, 'yes'?

MikeyB71 said:

I am guessing that people who think him underrated do not really know the extent of his musicianship, or

the sheer quantity of his music.

I know of countless people who think that Purple Rain was his first (and in some cases) last album.

Maybe if the people who find him underrated knew a bit more about Prince and his career, then they would more than likely change their opinion of him.

Even if those people disliked the music, they could surely not deny his musical ability and work ethic.

I agree!

so long as he keeps releasing songs like Gold & Purple, Cause & Effect, Hot Summer etc then yeah, he'll be considered over-rated LOL

I don' t think so at all. Those of us who are of a certain age give P plenty of credit, and have much appreciation for what he did and does.

A lot of the youngun's don't know him, and that's ok. If they are not exposed to his music, they won't know him, and that's appropriate. Time is passing, new era, new music, new musical heroes.

Definitely the most underated artist there is

Yes he is.

Partly due to his choices and to others ignorance.

jimino1 said:

so long as he keeps releasing songs like Gold & Purple, Cause & Effect, Hot Summer etc then yeah, he'll be considered over-rated LOL

Of course. He could record his farts and people here would still say it's his new masterpiece.

1980-83 underrated

1984 fairly rated

1985 - 1988 criminally underrated

1989 - 1996 somewhat underrated

1997 - present overrated.

[Edited 6/12/10 20:13pm]

DarlingNikki1025 said:

Does anybody think our Purple Boy is sorely underrated?

Anybody that doesn't know about Prince or his music has been living under some rock ... LoL

Since "we" are fans, it's all a matter of what "we" think, not anyone else. Prince is a musicians musician like my man ?uestlove has said.

I could give a damn what somebody I meet on the street thinks about Prince. Hell my own mother and (step)father can't stand him and I'm like "sounds like a personal problem" ... LoL

Yes he is

I think he's highly underrated, but like Prince there are actually people who don't know much about MJ. I work with a few people who only knew MJ for the child molestation alllegations and nothing else.

Yes, he definitely is. Prince influenced many, many artists today yet he doesn't receive much credit for it. He even influenced his peers.

A lot of young people dont know about Prince because he's so damn private and controlling. I mean, what artist doesnt want his videos showed on You tube? Prince doesn't, LOL. But Purple Rain is still on TV quite often....u would think they wld at least know Prince from that.

But Prince keeps his name out of the limelight with a few exceptions like the Superbowl performance and American Idol....and he's not controversial...well, not anymore. so there r no scandals, no drug use, etc. And besides, most 20 something year olds were raised into hip hop music. This kid who works at a grocery store told me that Lil Wayne is the best rapper of all time and he said - Jay Z is garbage. I was like...wow, I didnt even know how to respond to that - I was in shock.

fantasticjoy said:

I think he's highly underrated, but like Prince there are actually people who don't know much about MJ. I work with a few people who only knew MJ for the child molestation alllegations and nothing else.

Shit, whateva, everyone knows MJ. My 10 year old cousin is a huge fan....MJ touched everyone and was always in the news so its impossible to not know who he is.

fantasticjoy said:

I think he's highly underrated, but like Prince there are actually people who don't know much about MJ. I work with a few people who only knew MJ for the child molestation alllegations and nothing else.

Eh. Everyone knows MJ. Even the people that only knew him because of his allegations have heard a handful of his songs. I wouldn't even compare MJ's status to Prince's. Most people just know a few songs off the Purple Rain LP. Idk why people on here make it a point to bring MJ up. *Kanye shrug*

[Edited 6/22/10 19:53pm]

I think there is a difference to being underrated and not being as well known as you should be. Where Prince is registered I feel he gets a fair deal. Also I think people feel that he is underrated due to current output. I feel this is just due to the restrictions Prince puts on things (And i'm not criticising him for that). We just live in a society that is just too media savvy so they dont go looking for it-if it aint landing on your doorstep-people don't generally care. This is not just music-this is life.

goat2004 said:

NO, HE IS DEFINATELY NOT UNDERRATED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.

Concerning my last comment, for those who think I brought up my statement about MJ is not to compare MJ and Prince. Although I do agree as someone has said Prince didn't reach a higher status because he's a very private person. As well as he didn't do the best promotion for his work. I really think the Purple Rain Rain soundtrack could have done better if he hadn't stopped pushing it and quickly releasing another album. Also I agree fighting to keep his musi cand videos off the internet doesn't help either, but apparently he's finally realising that. On the other hand MJ went out of his way to promote his music and did so as long as he could stay on the charts. As well as MJ was more public friendly and welcomed the media and fans inside a big part of his personal life.

I think he is both underated to casual music listener and often overrated by us the hardcore. I have a co worker who is in an indy rock band early to mid 30's who views him as purple rain guy, bought SOTT at a discount bin and now he's hooked wanting to know about the whole body of work. We tend to give him a lot of props for being so prolific in his output, and many of us use his ability to mass produce as argument of his greatness compared to others. John Wooden, the great basketball coach once famously said "never mistake activity for achievment" and that is a lesson that is often lost on us. He did a lot to obscure his genuis, but a lot of what he did is consistent with his personality and i appreciate that about him. Theres an old Hollywood allure about him that i find dignified in an era where people with a tenth of his talent allow all out cavity searches from the media-just to stay in the news. His versitility also hurt him, how many rocker friends did i hear from after his RRHOF & Super Bowl performances. Those people considered him a song and dance man, MJ with a lot more raunch they didnt know how accomplished he was as guitarist. How he is percieved by critics and listeners will always be as enigmatic as his image, and i'm sure he wouldnt want it any other way.

i think prince is very underrated, from his singing techniques to his guitar skills to his song writting skills. someone as influential as prince should be known for all generations. people my age today (im 15) when they think of prince the only two songs that come to mind are "purple rain" and "when doves cry". IM OBSESSED WITH PRINCE.and its like people now days dont really no him.