What did it really cost P to reach the level of success he has accomplished? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but there are many aspects of the fame game that I believe are straight up Satanic. Take the following songs for eg, off the top of my head (and feel free to add more) where P makes rather loaded statements about his mental state:

'Drive it baby drive it drive this demon out of me' -Lady Cab Driver

'If I sell my soul, now what will it cost?'- The Question of U (darn it that whole song is a question to Satan imho)

'Something's the matter baby, I'm going insane, something inside of me keeps talkin' 2 my brain,
why can't I stop this satanic lust?' - Possessed

Vanity, as we all know, severed ties with all things Hollywood after her crack addiction nearly killed her.. and has said on numerous occasions that she was possessed while being Vanity. I watched her Joan Collins interview shortly after she became born again in Christ were she was quite straight about the level of her possession, making statements such as [paraphrasing here] 'I would wake up in the middle of the night and find myself levitating above my bed', and 'I would walk into my room and see demons surrounding me, sitting on the edge of my bed'. See link to part 1 of the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/wa...dqNkCKsPOc

For decades now, artists have created what we call 'Alter Egos', which are often flamboyant and outgoing 'characters' that are created within the artist for the purposes of being a star. These alternate personalities can be used as escapes for artists who are otherwise quite shy and reserved (P is a perfect eg.). Achieving the level of musicianship, star quality and performance that the worlds biggest stars portray is enchanting and amazing to watch, which is why it takes a supernatural force to bring it out of them. For modern artists, see Beyonce/Sasha Fierce (Beyonce is known for being quite a calm, quiet and grounded person in reality,) Stefani Germanotta/Lady Gaga (check out the few surviving clips of her on youtube before the madness where she seemed miles from this new creation of herself.) And our very own Prince/Camille/Spooky Electric; hell the man even refused the distribution of The Black Album because he deemed it an evil creation. Alter Egos? Fancy term for demonic possession in my book.

My point is, in an age where we are losing our legends on a somewhat daily basis (which is a topic in itself that is to deep for me to elaborate on now).. I would like to offer up some appreciation towards P. He seems to be one of the few that managed to rid himself of the craziness and actually live to tell the tale; hence the Warner Battle (Warner owned his name and everything it was affiliated with. HIS NAME. Isn't that.. wierd?) and imo is his reason for refusing working with major record companies.. he knows the game and knows that there is more than a financial gain expected by these companies for their input. I often hear around and about on this site that the 80's and Warner years were the fans favourite period for his music.. Which imo were the times of his oppression and possession (hence the slave cheek thing later on down the line.) P wasn't creating that music in a free frame of mind, but rather, in his possessed state (hence the album title 'Emancipation' when he finally severed ties.) And to prove our world cruel, that was some of his best stuff. Enter LRC, a song that he wrote in between catnaps (yawn, more like meditative sessions with the devil, who if y'all remember was the head of music before he was cast out of heaven, so often plants inspiration in 'his' artists.) But he has freed himself now, found faith, disowned some of his old yish, and I think we as fans should be supportive, if not happy for him (even if we are slightly bitter about the general decline in the quality of some of his later work.) He's free from the devil and the 'chains that bind' him, and his material post Warner is REAL, its PRINCE, unaffected and under no influence.

So, that's my analysis. It's about as deep as I can get right now without turning this essay into a full blown book. If your interested in this kind of stuff, org note me and I'll hook you up with relevant reading material. But now I ask you guys, what do you think was the cost of his fame? Has there been any out of the ordinary type odd circumstances surrounding or involving P that seemed curious? What's with his inability to maintain long term relationships of any kind? Is he really happy? Even after it all, for some reason I can't fully convince myself of that. Thoughts?

*I know that this kind of thing is pretty deep and not for everyone, but please, if you disagree or have opposing opinions feel free to state them, insuring you are respectful in how you go about it. Looking forward to your thoughts .

Great thread. You don't seem at ALL crazy or anything.

Efan said:

Great thread. You don't seem at ALL crazy or anything.

Sarcasm? Really?

Again, if anyone struggles with articulating their opinions respectfully, please don't expect me to entertain, or even dignify your posts with a response.

Thanks for setting the bar Efan

DorothyParker4 said:

Efan said:

Great thread. You don't seem at ALL crazy or anything.

Sarcasm? Really?

Again, if anyone struggles with articulating their opinions respectfully, please don't expect me to entertain, or even dignify your posts with a response.

Thanks for setting the bar Efan

You are totally welcome. Don't even mention it.

Prince has paid a high price for his decisions in maintaining his control over his craft. It has cost him dearly in family, friends, and gleaning other extended ventures (movies and such) in that way. Satanic, no as His belief in God has helped to insulate him and keep him in the business this long and to be elevated to high esteem in the eyes of his peers. His stances have not always made him liked, but he has stayed steady to the course he believes God destined him to become as an artist.

mzsadii said:

Prince has paid a high price for his decisions in maintaining his control over his craft. It has cost him dearly in family, friends, and gleaning other extended ventures (movies and such) in that way. Satanic, no as His belief in God has helped to insulate him and keep him in the business this long and to be elevated to high esteem in the eyes of his peers. His stances have not always made him liked, but he has stayed steady to the course he believes God destined him to become as an artist.

all true-I think it has cost him dearly in maintaining close relationships-he can't. But we still luv him

Mzsadii: Could you explain a little more about how his decisions have lost him family and friends.. who.. the circumstances etc. I think it's apparent that two consistent themes in P's early output were sex and God. I don't doubt that he always believed in God, but I think he seems to be a more disciplined follower now. We all know he was destined to be a musician.. but I just don't see how God elevated him to the level he reached when his early material revolved around sex, incest and other ungodly things. If anything (and this isn't a personal opinion but one I have heard, considered and understand) his mixing of God and Sex in his work can be considered blasphemous..

KenKamKen: I don't have enough information knowledge or evidence to support your first two theories (1999/PRN) so I won't comment on what I don't know.

'His mesmerizing presence hypnotized fans the world over' - I think this is an excellent description of P's hold on us fans and the extent to which he connects. I also found your trance comment quite interesting, I definitely think that there is a distinct difference in P the performer and P the person, and as I stated previously, I believe it to be 'alternate personas' coming in to play.

Also, thanks a bunch for bringing up the proteges, that is a topic onto itself and I'm trying to discipline this response before I write another essay lol, but orgnote me and we'll get detailed . I'm not sure of specific secret societies he may have joined, but as you stated, I do feel he made some sort of pact to achieve/perfect his abilities..

I don't feel we are under jeopardy listening to his early work, but I do feel we should be weary of it. I'm a new fan, and the speed at which I got hooked scared me silly. Part of P's genius extends to his knowing of exactly how to craft a song to garner certain emotions in a listener, and that plus possible supernatural influences spells trouble, but also spells big bucks, hence why musicians do it..

Nursey: Nice to see you pop up here, I've seen some of your posts and you crack me up

Who cares what is evil or not, we are all the same...one way or the other...

PS Personal note, when I see footballers and other so called whatevers earning silly amounts of money per week, then what Prince does is totally normal...embrace insanity

The whole biz is kind of evil.

It is kind oif weird how a lot of folks associated with him went and found Jesus.

I mean writhing in your bikini briefs on stage in front of children, singing Darling Nikki night after night, having a band member simulate fellatio as choreography...in retrospect this is some really insane shit here.

No wonder he is holy rollin..I kind of feel dirty regarding how much of his material Ive just let take me in. He like a pied piper of sin taking you down, that's how devilishly intoxicating his shit was.

I have all his shit and then some. But if you're chrisitan you aren't supposed to have any other idols before God (The Ten Commandments was onb last week and I got reminded again of that one lol).

His skills are that of a tale of a crossorads meeting with Old Scratch. With so much skill and talent and vision, one would think he would have set it off with more moral material instead of the basically pornographic material he was consumed with.

If there's a heaven or a hell, there's a lot to atone for. Even with the last decade being a rock stars sermon of righteousness. Because he neeed ot be pulling a Vanity and a Dez and leaving the limelight for religion and leaving the concerts, cd releases etc alone. There's a story that Bill Withers told of a music biz party that was the catalyst for him to leave the biz for years back in the day. The biz is full of all the things that are morally ugly (and of course there's some good as well Im sure). I would love to ask him if and how he has reconciled with past even though it's none of my business and I need to worry 'bout my own. And here I was talking in a thread regarding Hide The Bone a few hours ago. Lawd save us all in this purple ..sickness (wickedness?).

DorothyParker4 said:

rdhull said:

The whole biz is kind of evil.

It is kind oif weird how a lot of folks associated with him went and found Jesus.

I mean writhing in your bikini briefs on stage in front of children, singing Darling Nikki night after night, having a band member simulate fellatio as choreography...in retrospect this is some really insane shit here.

No wonder he is holy rollin..I kind of feel dirty regarding how much of his material Ive just let take me in. He like a pied piper of sin taking you down, that's how devilishly intoxicating his shit was.

I have all his shit and then some. But if you're chrisitan you aren't supposed to have any other idols before God (The Ten Commandments was onb last week and I got reminded again of that one lol).

His skills are that of a tale of a crossorads meeting with Old Scratch. With so much skill and talent and vision, one would think he would have set it off with more moral material instead of the basically pornographic material he was consumed with.

If there's a heaven or a hell, there's a lot to atone for. Even with the last decade being a rock stars sermon of righteousness. Because he neeed ot be pulling a Vanity and a Dez and leaving the limelight for religion and leaving the concerts, cd releases etc alone. There's a story that Bill Withers told of a music biz party that was the catalyst for him to leave the biz for years back in the day. The biz is full of all the things that are morally ugly (and of course there's some good as well Im sure). I would love to ask him if and how he has reconciled with past even though it's none of my business and I need to worry 'bout my own. And here I was talking in a thread regarding Hide The Bone a few hours ago. Lawd save us all in this purple ..sickness (wickedness?).

You are really an insightful one

I bolded one of your quotes (excuse the awful english lmao) but there was so much in there that is on point! When/if you really start thinking about it.. its obvious that somewhere along the lines something is OFF. Since when, as you so rightly said, was dancing in bikini briefs and singing overtly explicit lyrics deemed normal? I agree with you that he should have used his gift more morally, but Prince was used by the industry (yes, like a slave) to portray and normalise a specific image/agenda, and it clearly worked, hence him garnering fans that mostly consider some of his most outlandish behaviour as normal and 'just Prince'. I didn't see him rolling about with that image and creating such a sexual stir before the limelight, so I don't deem any of it as who he is, but rather who he was made to portray. On the bright side, apart from being a super fan of the music, I really respect Prince for breaking away from it all. It was a really gutsy thing to do as not many have managed to do so.. and remain alive. I wouldn't call him wicked or anything, dang I still love the guy lol, but what he promoted and was involved in back then was of a wicked nature. But thats what the industry does: sucks you in and pulls you in so deep that the end is usually a cross between drugs, death or insanity. My advice to myself and all of you here, protect your soul at all costs in these last days. Heaven and Hell is real, and if it weren't mass media and the industry wouldn't be trying so hard to corrupt us and drag us down with them. Take the above as you will.

rdhull said:

I sometimes think the answer to this kind of question is often simpler than you would expect. The truth is I believe, firstly, Prince is apparently extremely intelligent and has an IQ which is perhaps higher than the average person. Whilst this gives people who are blessed with such a brain, a truck load of talent and skills in their chosen field, often people who are intellectually gifted have trouble forming meaningful relationships with other people. They sometimes lack empathy or understanding of other people, which can hinder their social skills.

In the case of Prince specifically, it was noted in one of the biographies I read about Prince lately, that Prince seemed to sometimes struggle to understand why his band members couldnt keep up with him musically. Prince as we all know, has an unprecedented level of skill in creating and playing music. Very few musicians will ever come close to having the talent that he does. Yet its quite possible that Prince just sees his gift as something normal, and its possible that it might be easy for him to forget that most musician in his bands, whilst they may be extremely competent in playing their chosen instrument, they will still not have the skill, energy and patience to do what he wants them to do to his satisfaction. And it can ultimately become awkward to both parties.

Also it needs to be stated that when you reach the heights of success of artists like Prince, Michael Jackson and Madonna, you also become mixed up in the whole "pop star" machine. During the height of their successes in the 1980s, Prince and Michael Jackson undoubtedly had a team of people around them pretty much 24/7 doing anything and everything that Prince and Michael Jackson required. When you become accustomed to a lifestyle in which people are basically throwing themselves at you and bending over backwards to do whatever you want, it can be very easy to begin change as a person. Suddenly you may develop an inflated opinion on your own worth. When ego and arrogance begin to set in, you then are more likely to make decision that perhaps arent always the best decisions.

Whatever the case may be, Prince seems to have settled down a bit in recent years. Some of this will be because "Prince Inc" is probably a fair degree smaller now than it was in 1986 for example, and also, Prince as a person has undoubtedly just matured.

DorothyParker4 said:

rdhull said:

The whole biz is kind of evil.

It is kind oif weird how a lot of folks associated with him went and found Jesus.

I mean writhing in your bikini briefs on stage in front of children, singing Darling Nikki night after night, having a band member simulate fellatio as choreography...in retrospect this is some really insane shit here.

No wonder he is holy rollin..I kind of feel dirty regarding how much of his material Ive just let take me in. He like a pied piper of sin taking you down, that's how devilishly intoxicating his shit was.

I have all his shit and then some. But if you're chrisitan you aren't supposed to have any other idols before God (The Ten Commandments was onb last week and I got reminded again of that one lol).

His skills are that of a tale of a crossorads meeting with Old Scratch. With so much skill and talent and vision, one would think he would have set it off with more moral material instead of the basically pornographic material he was consumed with.

If there's a heaven or a hell, there's a lot to atone for. Even with the last decade being a rock stars sermon of righteousness. Because he neeed ot be pulling a Vanity and a Dez and leaving the limelight for religion and leaving the concerts, cd releases etc alone. There's a story that Bill Withers told of a music biz party that was the catalyst for him to leave the biz for years back in the day. The biz is full of all the things that are morally ugly (and of course there's some good as well Im sure). I would love to ask him if and how he has reconciled with past even though it's none of my business and I need to worry 'bout my own. And here I was talking in a thread regarding Hide The Bone a few hours ago. Lawd save us all in this purple ..sickness (wickedness?).

You are really an insightful one

I bolded one of your quotes (excuse the awful english lmao) but there was so much in there that is on point! When/if you really start thinking about it.. its obvious that somewhere along the lines something is OFF. Since when, as you so rightly said, was dancing in bikini briefs and singing overtly explicit lyrics deemed normal? I agree with you that he should have used his gift more morally, but Prince was used by the industry (yes, like a slave) to portray and normalise a specific image/agenda, and it clearly worked, hence him garnering fans that mostly consider some of his most outlandish behaviour as normal and 'just Prince'. I didn't see him rolling about with that image and creating such a sexual stir before the limelight, so I don't deem any of it as who he is, but rather who he was made to portray. On the bright side, apart from being a super fan of the music, I really respect Prince for breaking away from it all. It was a really gutsy thing to do as not many have managed to do so.. and remain alive. I wouldn't call him wicked or anything, dang I still love the guy lol, but what he promoted and was involved in back then was of a wicked nature. But thats what the industry does: sucks you in and pulls you in so deep that the end is usually a cross between drugs, death or insanity. My advice to myself and all of you here, protect your soul at all costs in these last days. Heaven and Hell is real, and if it weren't mass media and the industry wouldn't be trying so hard to corrupt us and drag us down with them. Take the above as you will.

very interesting point, true that.

I think you are reading much more into it than is there.

Prince created an alter ego or two - that's show business: it's about provoking interest and intrigue with your potential audience. Shock people with some suggestive sexual references - throw in some lyrics referring to or drawing analogies with religious archetypes. It'll cause a stir. Open with the Lord's Prayer, and then have the musicians wear lingerie. Always thank God on your record sleeves and include hidden messages about the Lord, but also cross-dress and feign masturbation using the neck of your guitar.

Soon enough, the critics and journalists will be paying attention, calling you 'His Royal Badness', the political classes will be demanding censorship - and people will be buying your music, attending your films and flocking to your concerts in droves. Some will even think you've made a pact with the devil!

Of course there will be one or two that will even claim 'I must have been in under the influence of Satan at the time: I saw demons' .... when in fact they had been foolish enough to take hallucinatory substances.

The thing is, from the beginning of his career he interjected lyrics about God, so the faith was always there, and maybe that's why he never fell by the 'wayside' like so many other musicians/artists that have been pulled into the bottom of the barrel of the music industry. It seems he was always focused on the business side of his career, and knew exactly what he wanted, and got it, despite all the attention he received from the early days of shock and awe in his music career.

His faith in God, seems to be what kept his strength and avoidance from not falling victim to the industry. He was smart enough to realize as a young artist, that he didn't want anyone taking control of his creativity, it was his art/craft afterall. I also think, like any other individual, we all go through our life experiences, and Prince put those feeling in his music and shared that with his fans. He never seemed afraid to express his emotional side, like many men are afraid to do, based on societal stereotypes related to the strength of men. His curiosity/questions/experiences about life related well with many of his fans in his lyrics too, however bold they were, and that boldness, shock and awe, however sexual and religious at the same time, drew in the curiosity and astonishment of his fans.

I would say looking back, he was going through his trials and tribulations of life, like any other, questioning life's challenges, like most of us do--figuring out what's right from the wrong, some searching for contentment or spiritual peace in their lives. One can say he successfully seduced the minds of his fans with his music, and with many of his stage performances, he presented 'acts' that were pretty much sexually related, without question, and some laced with religious overtones. Many fans associated what they saw on stage, and attached that to his personal life, but no one ever knew if the person onstage or the acts he presented on stage, was the real 'Prince' offstage, because often times many fans forget to separate the person on stage with the person(ality) off stage, and many fans tend to see the person onstage, as who they want them to be or the fantasy they create of him, for themselves, maybe to fill a void in their lives. So just like you're asking the questions as what 'cost' did he have to pay for the price of fame and fortune?

Well, I do believe only he knows the answer to that question, as to what he feels it may have cost him on a personal level. As fans, we can only speculate, based on what was presented to us from him over the years. Now with all the former band members, personal friends/ex-wives/ex-girlfriends, etc. of course once in a while, you will hear bit and pieces of stories told from 'some', not all of them, from their personal experiences with him, but I think at this stage in his life, when you see him on stage, he pretty much looks more content and at peace with himself, doesn't seem to be 'fighting his demons' so-to-speak, if ever there were. He projects himself as one who has matured, found spiritiual peace, and enjoys performing his music and stage performances. He doesn't seem to have anything to prove of himself anymore, in regards to using 'shock and awe' tactics, like in the early days of his music career. Prince, at this stage in his life, seems content, and focused on his music/musicianship and that of his current band members. Just my two cents and a bag of chips.

[Edited 4/15/12 5:42am]

langebleu said:

I would have to agree with langblue. I like the post from the original OP. It is a unique way to look at Prince.

In regards to Satanic, I would have to disagree. P's music has had religous tones throughout. He is free to worship as he pleases. That don't mean I have to agree, but worship or not, to call one wrong, is not the correct approach.

I think with fame, Prince has lost a lot. It is due to his success and his ability to get lost into a world he created thru that success.

From my reading, Prince experienced a less than pleasant childhood for various reasons. Music was his escape. As he blew up and become a star, music was in essence his vindication. It comforted him and afforded him the security from a world that was somewhat cruel to him.

In my opinion, I think Prince is deep down unhappy and isolated. His choices were a double edge sword. I believe he has somewhat accepted this, he continues to perform and record. He enjoys his name in the lights, but is content on the slower pace he is at.

When Prince began, he was ambitious and hungry. He was pretty cutthroat. I don't blame him. It is a tough business. To accomplish what he has done is amazing. Most artists have side jobs while making it big. Prince pretty much has done music and nothing else.

I read here, on the Org, much disconcerning reviews of the work recently released. I was out of the Prince loop for almost 8 years while in the military, always deployed, hard to keep up. I have changed over time and grown. Prince's music does not influence me like before, for those reasons. I use to be young, think of peace, not war. However, One Song, he speaks of not choosing, but in essence, not choosing is a choice. Anyways, the tracks are good, but different times, different influences.

DorothyParker4 said:

What did it really cost P to reach the level of success he has accomplished? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but there are many aspects of the fame game that I believe are straight up Satanic. Take the following songs for eg, off the top of my head (and feel free to add more) where P makes rather loaded statements about his mental state:

'Drive it baby drive it drive this demon out of me' -Lady Cab Driver

'If I sell my soul, now what will it cost?'- The Question of U (darn it that whole song is a question to Satan imho)

'Something's the matter baby, I'm going insane, something inside of me keeps talkin' 2 my brain,
why can't I stop this satanic lust?' - Possessed

Vanity, as we all know, severed ties with all things Hollywood after her crack addiction nearly killed her.. and has said on numerous occasions that she was possessed while being Vanity. I watched her Joan Collins interview shortly after she became born again in Christ were she was quite straight about the level of her possession, making statements such as [paraphrasing here] 'I would wake up in the middle of the night and find myself levitating above my bed', and 'I would walk into my room and see demons surrounding me, sitting on the edge of my bed'. See link to part 1 of the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/wa...dqNkCKsPOc

For decades now, artists have created what we call 'Alter Egos', which are often flamboyant and outgoing 'characters' that are created within the artist for the purposes of being a star. These alternate personalities can be used as escapes for artists who are otherwise quite shy and reserved (P is a perfect eg.). Achieving the level of musicianship, star quality and performance that the worlds biggest stars portray is enchanting and amazing to watch, which is why it takes a supernatural force to bring it out of them. For modern artists, see Beyonce/Sasha Fierce (Beyonce is known for being quite a calm, quiet and grounded person in reality,) Stefani Germanotta/Lady Gaga (check out the few surviving clips of her on youtube before the madness where she seemed miles from this new creation of herself.) And our very own Prince/Camille/Spooky Electric; hell the man even refused the distribution of The Black Album because he deemed it an evil creation. Alter Egos? Fancy term for demonic possession in my book.

My point is, in an age where we are losing our legends on a somewhat daily basis (which is a topic in itself that is to deep for me to elaborate on now).. I would like to offer up some appreciation towards P. He seems to be one of the few that managed to rid himself of the craziness and actually live to tell the tale; hence the Warner Battle (Warner owned his name and everything it was affiliated with. HIS NAME. Isn't that.. wierd?) and imo is his reason for refusing working with major record companies.. he knows the game and knows that there is more than a financial gain expected by these companies for their input. I often hear around and about on this site that the 80's and Warner years were the fans favourite period for his music.. Which imo were the times of his oppression and possession (hence the slave cheek thing later on down the line.) P wasn't creating that music in a free frame of mind, but rather, in his possessed state (hence the album title 'Emancipation' when he finally severed ties.) And to prove our world cruel, that was some of his best stuff. Enter LRC, a song that he wrote in between catnaps (yawn, more like meditative sessions with the devil, who if y'all remember was the head of music before he was cast out of heaven, so often plants inspiration in 'his' artists.) But he has freed himself now, found faith, disowned some of his old yish, and I think we as fans should be supportive, if not happy for him (even if we are slightly bitter about the general decline in the quality of some of his later work.) He's free from the devil and the 'chains that bind' him, and his material post Warner is REAL, its PRINCE, unaffected and under no influence.

So, that's my analysis. It's about as deep as I can get right now without turning this essay into a full blown book. If your interested in this kind of stuff, org note me and I'll hook you up with relevant reading material. But now I ask you guys, what do you think was the cost of his fame? Has there been any out of the ordinary type odd circumstances surrounding or involving P that seemed curious? What's with his inability to maintain long term relationships of any kind? Is he really happy? Even after it all, for some reason I can't fully convince myself of that. Thoughts?

*I know that this kind of thing is pretty deep and not for everyone, but please, if you disagree or have opposing opinions feel free to state them, insuring you are respectful in how you go about it. Looking forward to your thoughts .

DorothyParker4 said:

What did it really cost P to reach the level of success he has accomplished? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but there are many aspects of the fame game that I believe are straight up Satanic. Take the following songs for eg, off the top of my head (and feel free to add more) where P makes rather loaded statements about his mental state:

'Drive it baby drive it drive this demon out of me' -Lady Cab Driver

'If I sell my soul, now what will it cost?'- The Question of U (darn it that whole song is a question to Satan imho)

'Something's the matter baby, I'm going insane, something inside of me keeps talkin' 2 my brain,
why can't I stop this satanic lust?' - Possessed

Vanity, as we all know, severed ties with all things Hollywood after her crack addiction nearly killed her.. and has said on numerous occasions that she was possessed while being Vanity. I watched her Joan Collins interview shortly after she became born again in Christ were she was quite straight about the level of her possession, making statements such as [paraphrasing here] 'I would wake up in the middle of the night and find myself levitating above my bed', and 'I would walk into my room and see demons surrounding me, sitting on the edge of my bed'. See link to part 1 of the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/wa...dqNkCKsPOc

For decades now, artists have created what we call 'Alter Egos', which are often flamboyant and outgoing 'characters' that are created within the artist for the purposes of being a star. These alternate personalities can be used as escapes for artists who are otherwise quite shy and reserved (P is a perfect eg.). Achieving the level of musicianship, star quality and performance that the worlds biggest stars portray is enchanting and amazing to watch, which is why it takes a supernatural force to bring it out of them. For modern artists, see Beyonce/Sasha Fierce (Beyonce is known for being quite a calm, quiet and grounded person in reality,) Stefani Germanotta/Lady Gaga (check out the few surviving clips of her on youtube before the madness where she seemed miles from this new creation of herself.) And our very own Prince/Camille/Spooky Electric; hell the man even refused the distribution of The Black Album because he deemed it an evil creation. Alter Egos? Fancy term for demonic possession in my book.

My point is, in an age where we are losing our legends on a somewhat daily basis (which is a topic in itself that is to deep for me to elaborate on now).. I would like to offer up some appreciation towards P. He seems to be one of the few that managed to rid himself of the craziness and actually live to tell the tale; hence the Warner Battle (Warner owned his name and everything it was affiliated with. HIS NAME. Isn't that.. wierd?) and imo is his reason for refusing working with major record companies.. he knows the game and knows that there is more than a financial gain expected by these companies for their input. I often hear around and about on this site that the 80's and Warner years were the fans favourite period for his music.. Which imo were the times of his oppression and possession (hence the slave cheek thing later on down the line.) P wasn't creating that music in a free frame of mind, but rather, in his possessed state (hence the album title 'Emancipation' when he finally severed ties.) And to prove our world cruel, that was some of his best stuff. Enter LRC, a song that he wrote in between catnaps (yawn, more like meditative sessions with the devil, who if y'all remember was the head of music before he was cast out of heaven, so often plants inspiration in 'his' artists.) But he has freed himself now, found faith, disowned some of his old yish, and I think we as fans should be supportive, if not happy for him (even if we are slightly bitter about the general decline in the quality of some of his later work.) He's free from the devil and the 'chains that bind' him, and his material post Warner is REAL, its PRINCE, unaffected and under no influence.

So, that's my analysis. It's about as deep as I can get right now without turning this essay into a full blown book. If your interested in this kind of stuff, org note me and I'll hook you up with relevant reading material. But now I ask you guys, what do you think was the cost of his fame? Has there been any out of the ordinary type odd circumstances surrounding or involving P that seemed curious? What's with his inability to maintain long term relationships of any kind? Is he really happy? Even after it all, for some reason I can't fully convince myself of that. Thoughts?

*I know that this kind of thing is pretty deep and not for everyone, but please, if you disagree or have opposing opinions feel free to state them, insuring you are respectful in how you go about it. Looking forward to your thoughts .

I agree . I think that his fans should feel happy for him that he is not still a pawn of satan. But i guess some just don't get it . The entertainment industry is much different from the inside .

Much Love & Yah bless !!

[Edited 4/17/12 22:18pm]

langebleu said:

I think you are reading much more into it than is there.

Prince created an alter ego or two - that's show business: it's about provoking interest and intrigue with your potential audience. Shock people with some suggestive sexual references - throw in some lyrics referring to or drawing analogies with religious archetypes. It'll cause a stir. Open with the Lord's Prayer, and then have the musicians wear lingerie. Always thank God on your record sleeves and include hidden messages about the Lord, but also cross-dress and feign masturbation using the neck of your guitar.

Soon enough, the critics and journalists will be paying attention, calling you 'His Royal Badness', the political classes will be demanding censorship - and people will be buying your music, attending your films and flocking to your concerts in droves. Some will even think you've made a pact with the devil!

Of course there will be one or two that will even claim 'I must have been in under the influence of Satan at the time: I saw demons' .... when in fact they had been foolish enough to take hallucinatory substances.

All perfectly logical and sensible without talk of demons, posession or any other nonsense.

DorothyParker4 said:

Vanity, as we all know, severed ties with all things Hollywood after her crack addiction nearly killed her.. and has said on numerous occasions that she was possessed while being Vanity. I watched her Joan Collins interview shortly after she became born again in Christ were she was quite straight about the level of her possession, making statements such as [paraphrasing here] 'I would wake up in the middle of the night and find myself levitating above my bed', and 'I would walk into my room and see demons surrounding me, sitting on the edge of my bed'.

Sounds like she was still tripping to me. Of course she was floating and seeing demons, as a religious nutter that's her vocabulary, in reality she probably had coldsweats and shit the bed.

Vanity was just another party-hard star who ran back to the bossom of organised religion when the shit hit the fan - *cough* reminds me of someone else *cough*

That is actually the other side of what you're talking about I guess - Like famous people may put a wall to guard themselves, creating a public image or alter-ego - when that ego is smashed to pieces, they retreat into something else for safety and to alleviate their guilt - often that thing is religion, especially if they were raised that way (lots of prodigal son, feeling of being protected/nurtured psychology 101 here).

DorothyParker4 said:

What did it really cost P to reach the level of success he has accomplished? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but there are many aspects of the fame game that I believe are straight up Satanic. Take the following songs for eg, off the top of my head (and feel free to add more) where P makes rather loaded statements about his mental state:

'Drive it baby drive it drive this demon out of me' -Lady Cab Driver

'If I sell my soul, now what will it cost?'- The Question of U (darn it that whole song is a question to Satan imho)

'Something's the matter baby, I'm going insane, something inside of me keeps talkin' 2 my brain,
why can't I stop this satanic lust?' - Possessed

Vanity, as we all know, severed ties with all things Hollywood after her crack addiction nearly killed her.. and has said on numerous occasions that she was possessed while being Vanity. I watched her Joan Collins interview shortly after she became born again in Christ were she was quite straight about the level of her possession, making statements such as [paraphrasing here] 'I would wake up in the middle of the night and find myself levitating above my bed', and 'I would walk into my room and see demons surrounding me, sitting on the edge of my bed'. See link to part 1 of the interview here: http://www.youtube.com/wa...dqNkCKsPOc

For decades now, artists have created what we call 'Alter Egos', which are often flamboyant and outgoing 'characters' that are created within the artist for the purposes of being a star. These alternate personalities can be used as escapes for artists who are otherwise quite shy and reserved (P is a perfect eg.). Achieving the level of musicianship, star quality and performance that the worlds biggest stars portray is enchanting and amazing to watch, which is why it takes a supernatural force to bring it out of them. For modern artists, see Beyonce/Sasha Fierce (Beyonce is known for being quite a calm, quiet and grounded person in reality,) Stefani Germanotta/Lady Gaga (check out the few surviving clips of her on youtube before the madness where she seemed miles from this new creation of herself.) And our very own Prince/Camille/Spooky Electric; hell the man even refused the distribution of The Black Album because he deemed it an evil creation. Alter Egos? Fancy term for demonic possession in my book.

My point is, in an age where we are losing our legends on a somewhat daily basis (which is a topic in itself that is to deep for me to elaborate on now).. I would like to offer up some appreciation towards P. He seems to be one of the few that managed to rid himself of the craziness and actually live to tell the tale; hence the Warner Battle (Warner owned his name and everything it was affiliated with. HIS NAME. Isn't that.. wierd?) and imo is his reason for refusing working with major record companies.. he knows the game and knows that there is more than a financial gain expected by these companies for their input. I often hear around and about on this site that the 80's and Warner years were the fans favourite period for his music.. Which imo were the times of his oppression and possession (hence the slave cheek thing later on down the line.) P wasn't creating that music in a free frame of mind, but rather, in his possessed state (hence the album title 'Emancipation' when he finally severed ties.) And to prove our world cruel, that was some of his best stuff. Enter LRC, a song that he wrote in between catnaps (yawn, more like meditative sessions with the devil, who if y'all remember was the head of music before he was cast out of heaven, so often plants inspiration in 'his' artists.) But he has freed himself now, found faith, disowned some of his old yish, and I think we as fans should be supportive, if not happy for him (even if we are slightly bitter about the general decline in the quality of some of his later work.) He's free from the devil and the 'chains that bind' him, and his material post Warner is REAL, its PRINCE, unaffected and under no influence.

So, that's my analysis. It's about as deep as I can get right now without turning this essay into a full blown book. If your interested in this kind of stuff, org note me and I'll hook you up with relevant reading material. But now I ask you guys, what do you think was the cost of his fame? Has there been any out of the ordinary type odd circumstances surrounding or involving P that seemed curious? What's with his inability to maintain long term relationships of any kind? Is he really happy? Even after it all, for some reason I can't fully convince myself of that. Thoughts?

*I know that this kind of thing is pretty deep and not for everyone, but please, if you disagree or have opposing opinions feel free to state them, insuring you are respectful in how you go about it. Looking forward to your thoughts .

langebleu said:

I think you are reading much more into it than is there.

Prince created an alter ego or two - that's show business: it's about provoking interest and intrigue with your potential audience. Shock people with some suggestive sexual references - throw in some lyrics referring to or drawing analogies with religious archetypes. It'll cause a stir. Open with the Lord's Prayer, and then have the musicians wear lingerie. Always thank God on your record sleeves and include hidden messages about the Lord, but also cross-dress and feign masturbation using the neck of your guitar.

Soon enough, the critics and journalists will be paying attention, calling you 'His Royal Badness', the political classes will be demanding censorship - and people will be buying your music, attending your films and flocking to your concerts in droves. Some will even think you've made a pact with the devil!

Of course there will be one or two that will even claim 'I must have been in under the influence of Satan at the time: I saw demons' .... when in fact they had been foolish enough to take hallucinatory substances.

Nice thought provoking thread Dorothyparker 4 and it's a good thread.

I don't think there was anything demonic in early Prince. He pushed boundaries and he could have actually been rejected by society for it but it was obviously what much of society appreciated at the time. MJ had an opposite image and Prince took another path free from convention.

However, I do think that the religious tones at the time were genuine & a sign of what most of us go through in my journeys; we want the concept of God but we don't understand why it's opposite exists in the world, so we reject it. Or we continue playing with the ideas of both.

I also don't think his alter-egos were mentally thought out either. I think it was just natural evolution and necessity being the mother of invention. Small town boy to super megastar. I don't think Prince is lonely, I think he's content with the life he's had so far. Yes at a certain moment he was being pimped by Warner but he got out it all on his own and took a major risk. But he's still famous today and that must give him deep satisfaction deep down.

There are famous people who are able to have intimate close relationships. We don't know if Prince does or not because he wisely keeps himself out of the spotlight & we can only speculate. But psychologically, attachment bonds are formed in youth and it's common that when those are disrupted, the adult will struggle later to really bond. That is a kind of genetic programming, the brain is a marvellous apparatus.

That Prince has committed himself to his religion is a sign that he is able to commit in some sense. So I don't think that area has been the cost of fame and fortune, maybe just life and his experiences. I do agree though that fame manages to taint and tarnish many but I think he's dealt with the fame really well. Maybe it is exactly because he has always gone his own way or maybe (as another thread was talking about re: talent etc) that it was destiny.

I'm sure it can be lonely at the top because you will always feel different to the rest. Considering Prince's background (early and important one) I'm sure he's happy with how he's channelled his talent, making a great living by doing what he loves and there cannot be many things he wishes for. He can surrounded with people making music if he needs and he can retire to recharge when he desires. Best of both worlds.

Prince has always put the creator in the mix, but he was straddling the line quite often. Maybe that's why he stayed in Mpls all those years. Hollywood is a haven for all the pitfalls of the famous. He was wise to avoid all of that. That doesn't mean that he wasn't offered the world on a platter. That's part of reaching that level of success. You really have to have your wig screwed on tight to avoid losing your soul.

I was kinda curious about his statements to Oprah about having two people living inside of him. It was kinda strange really. The Batman outtake,"Dance With The Devil" could be interpreted as satanic. It's certainly one of Prince's beautiful melodies. Though dark in nature, I don't think it's an ode to the devil, but the opposite.

The music industry used to have the now "classic rock" bands like Sabbath and Zeppelin to promote these kind of themes, but now it's the top pop and hip hop stars that takes the message to the masses.

tl;dr

Efan said:

Great thread. You don't seem at ALL crazy or anything.

yes you have a point, sometimes when i listen to his warner stuff i think he must have been on drugs. his music used to be a reflection of our world, it was cutting edge in terms of style and sound, when i first got into his music i basically studied it like a history book, even when he wore rollerskates in gangster glam that captured the moment, but now i don't see that in his music, except black sweat which i thought the sound complimented the songs theme. what really bothers me now, and it didn't before... is the song Orgasm, not sure but now it makes me really think he was out of his mind when he released that on the album, as a female i am not into hearing porn audio from a woman when i just want to listen to some real music. but i guess those were warner years, the years where quite frankly i think he was on pills, drugs, ganga what not. not sounding negative, not saying it was satanic quite the opposite, it was spiritual and artistic. i mean when he says when i blow that mind baby i'm gonna drive you crazy, he is saying get a higher experience than the norm, see behind the curtains, look from your soul not anyone elses. also in chelsea rogers which is one of my favorite songs to get in a good mood he says cause she's too original from her head down to her feet. has anyone noticed that 20ten in terms of sound is like dirty mind? why can't he be more reflective of the times anymore? my 2 cents.