This was probably the one question I was afraid to ask 5 years ago...

Going in2 it, I was probably the most naive Prince admirer ever...

A lot of people asked me why the hell was I into Prince if a lot of his work rubbed me the wrong way...

I was part of the purple community because I never saw a musician of his caliber before... never really saw what it meant to be a true artist... plus, he was a musical genius... never forgot him since the first time I saw him...

back in the day, there were SEVERAL, maybe dozens of songs he did that had me screaming and running the other way

Darling Nikki & Control to start

one was OBSCENE and blantantly terrified me the first couple times

the other, the cursing rubbed me the wrong way and the title was a little offensive for my tastes

these days... my mindset changed quite a bit between me getting older and just getting exposing to more content... translation: I came across more R-rated movies that had sexual content...

I got through Prince's catalogue of music because I viewed the content as an artistic take on sex. translation: I didn't overthink things

the only songs that still kinda offend me now...

ANIMAL KINGDOM rubbed me the wrong way the first time and never went back

WE CAN FUNK... is there any other way to "test positive for the funk" other than a urinanalysis test?

FEEL U UP- I don't mind the Camille version, compared to the original cut, which, as a female, I found very vulgar and demeaning... or rather, as a female who believes in a relationship based on more than that

ROCKHARD IN A FUNKY PLACE... still kinda rubs me the wrong way cuz there really is no other intepretation beside the obvious

come to think of it, its kinda strange that HEAD and SISTER never offended me and at the time, they were the raciest lyrics I came across in his lyrics at that point

I've never been offended by a song in my life.

I find "Everybody Loves Me" very offensive.

I've never been offended by lyrical content by Prince.

Never. Even when I don't necessarily agree with what he's putting forth, I've just kinda shrugged and paid more attention to the actual music.

I'm not so emotionally invested in Prince's own opinions that if they don't match mine, I can't deal.

When it gets too religious, it makes me want to puke. Things like this "theocratic order" nonsense and "there's no room to disagree" bullcrap.

I became desensitised to Prince's more controversial lyrics years ago. Even when i was young and hearing him talk about having sex with his sister, i wasn't offended. Im not saying incest is cool, because it's not. I'm just saying that personally I've never been offended by anything that he's said. I guess some of his lyrics are shocking so i can understand why someone would view certain ones as being offensive.

Its weird though. I can be offended by the song Becky by Piles and yet, not be offended by Head, Sister or by the rape talk in Extraloveable. For me its more about the music than it is about the lyrics. A song can have the worst, most disturbing lyrics and if i like the music ill listen to it. But not vice versa. I think that's the case with the piles song. To me the lyrics are garbage as well as the music and that's why I'm offended by it. The only exception to the music vs lyrics thing is a song that has racist lyrics. I won't tolerate that kinda talk.

P.S

Rape talk is never really cool.

[Edited 8/3/12 20:14pm]

ludwig said:

When it gets too religious, it makes me want to puke. Things like this "theocratic order" nonsense and "there's no room to disagree" bullcrap.

This was kinda the shit I had in mind.

I'm religious myself but no I don't always agree with a lot of his more fanatical religious content, but even then I don't get pissed off, I just shrug it off like, "Yeah well that's Prince's take on it, and I have mine", and then just tune out the lyrics and focus on the music itself.

Never been offended, I actually think Prince is good at cursing........ It might seem strange to some but I honestly believe he has a definate gift in saying "Four letter words with such dignity & grace". Everyone has sworn at one time or another but in my house when I play Days of Wild or P Control, There is silence & comments like" Damn, That man knows how to swear & he sounds good at it!!! Lyrics of Erotica don't bother me, although when I was younger my friends used to blush & giggle at Do, Me Baby, Head & others, But not me....... Sexual deviate I was......... .

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

This was probably the one question I was afraid to ask 5 years ago...

Going in2 it, I was probably the most naive Prince admirer ever...

A lot of people asked me why the hell was I into Prince if a lot of his work rubbed me the wrong way...

I was part of the purple community because I never saw a musician of his caliber before... never really saw what it meant to be a true artist... plus, he was a musical genius... never forgot him since the first time I saw him...

back in the day, there were SEVERAL, maybe dozens of songs he did that had me screaming and running the other way

Darling Nikki & Control to start

one was OBSCENE and blantantly terrified me the first couple times

the other, the cursing rubbed me the wrong way and the title was a little offensive for my tastes

these days... my mindset changed quite a bit between me getting older and just getting exposing to more content... translation: I came across more R-rated movies that had sexual content...

I got through Prince's catalogue of music because I viewed the content as an artistic take on sex. translation: I didn't overthink things

the only songs that still kinda offend me now...

ANIMAL KINGDOM rubbed me the wrong way the first time and never went back

WE CAN FUNK... is there any other way to "test positive for the funk" other than a urinanalysis test?

FEEL U UP- I don't mind the Camille version, compared to the original cut, which, as a female, I found very vulgar and demeaning... or rather, as a female who believes in a relationship based on more than that

ROCKHARD IN A FUNKY PLACE... still kinda rubs me the wrong way cuz there really is no other intepretation beside the obvious

come to think of it, its kinda strange that HEAD and SISTER never offended me and at the time, they were the raciest lyrics I came across in his lyrics at that point

You need to get a life.

Offended? Why?

Maybe sometimes not all that happy with the religious crap but i guess that's also an American thingee.

I never get offended with sexual lyrics and profanity. The nastier and filthier, the better.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

WE CAN FUNK... is there any other way to "test positive for the funk" other than a urinanalysis test?

Hilarious! We Can Funk is a "duet" with George Clinton, of Parliament-Funkadelic, otherwise known as P-Funk.

"I'm testing positive 4 the funk, I'll gladly P in anybody's cup."

There's a dual meaning here. Yes, George suggests a urinalysis would confirm that he is on the funk, but also, the P in the lyric refers to P-Funk. He does that kind of thing with his own songs all the time.

That said, Feel U Up & Rockhard In A Funky Place are merely titilating when compared to Head, which is downright nasty.

Sex & horniness, whether titilating or even nasty is not demeaning to women. It's natural and it's normal and that's why it has a universal appeal.

P.S.

You didn't mention what you thought of Jack U Off, Erotic City, G-Spot, Scarlet Pussy, Come, etc...

P.S. 2: Electric Boogaloo

Animal Kingdom?!? Really?

djThunderfunk said:

P.S.

You didn't mention what you thought of Jack U Off, Erotic City, G-Spot, Scarlet Pussy, Come, etc...

P.S. 2: Electric Boogaloo

Animal Kingdom?!? Really?

Animal Kingdom kinda stems from the same reason why people speak out against Prince's religious work... I just don't get them vegans...

in my haste, I forgot about a bunch of the ones you listed, so I figured I'd speak on those...

I'd only heard Scarlet Pussy once or twice so I don't remember it too well... but around that point, I think I might have been desensitized enough where it either didnt bother me or I maybe even liked it despite the subjec matter

Jack U Off... dunno, never bothered me... maybe because the music is too fun to really focus too much on it...

often is the case with a lot of Prince's music, the lyrical content is handled so well with his poetic licensing that I can appreciate his take on it...

Come... luckily I found out beforehand that he simulates oral sex on the title track or things could have been really interesting... the first couple times were strange but after that, didnt mind so much
Orgasm... the track came and went the first time and I got over it pretty quickly... I'm probably one of the few people that still listens to it when I hear the record through (and to be fair, there is rarely a time where I only play it for a couple songs)

Erotic City and G-Spot leave an interesting divide...

G-Spot is one of my favorite outtakes... the main hook with the horn section and bassline is SO catchy that I could groove to it for a while

Erotic City, I actually tend to forget about when I'm listing all those Purple Rain b-sides/outtakes because I'd only heard it a couple times... it is catchy as hell, but the chorus is too upfront for my tastes... to this day, I still don't get into it.

looking back, I'm very surprised with myself that I forgot to mention it cuz its at the top of that "offensive" list, easily...

Only offended by his god squad songs. Bible thumping anti semetisim/ anit gay just isn't my style.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

G-Spot is one of my favorite outtakes... the main hook with the horn section and bassline is SO catchy that I could groove to it for a while

1) G-Spot: If you like the outtake, check out Jill Jones' album for the official version of G-Spot. It makes more sense when a woman sings it anyway...

B) Sex is good!

III) Words can only offend you if you let them.

Never have been offended by Prince's lyrical content. However, lyrics have ruined a few songs for me. Like Sister- I dig the song musically, but lyrically, its too creepy.

I'm kinda there with you. I'm young and new to P's music so a lot of his old stuff like freaked me out. Now, Darling Nikki and Do Me Baby, I don't really see how anyone could be offended by those b/c they're not really explicit and personally I love those two, especially Darling Nikki. But I remember a lot of the time I avoided certain songs by title only because I was nervous to listen to it.

Going through Prince's old stuff, a lot of it has me blushing and squirming around awkwardly, I kinda feel GUILTY for listening to some of it. When I first heard P control I was like "Oh God, Did he really write a song with that title?" and then I listened to it, and the chorus is like really catchy so when I went back to listen to it I felt like I was doing something bad. Gett Off, I didn't like at all just because of the theme of the song, I would just skip it. Jack U Off I didn't listen to again because of the title alone and same thing with Head. If I listened to any of the songs like the ones listed above it would be through headphones only, like I was going to get in trouble if anyone found out. But like now, if the song his dirty lyrics but a really catchy tune like Jack U Off I just get used to it and over it, like I forget what he's singing about.

Scarlet Pussy, I've never heard and probably won't ever listen to it lol, I dunno...just makes me feel uncomfortable. If it's just Prince being straight out nasty and explicit and it's not something that can be overlooked...I don't think I can handle that, not at the moment anyway. XD

Being offended, maybe a little. But being embarassed and caught off guard...Uh, YEAH.

Wildboy said:

Only offended by his god squad songs. Bible thumping anti semetisim/ anit gay just isn't my style.

I don't believe that.

Skylightt said:

lovesexy06 said:

Never been offended, I actually think Prince is good at cursing........ It might seem strange to some but I honestly believe he has a definate gift in saying "Four letter words with such dignity & grace". Everyone has sworn at one time or another but in my house when I play Days of Wild or P Control, There is silence & comments like" Damn, That man knows how to swear & he sounds good at it!!! Lyrics of Erotica don't bother me, although when I was younger my friends used to blush & giggle at Do, Me Baby, Head & others, But not me....... Sexual deviate I was......... .

You know what, I have to second this, a lot of my favorite tracks are the ones where he's swearing or saying something extremely sexually explicit.

I get mad when I hear that he's changing lyrics and shit. I'd rather he just not even do the old songs anymore than butcher them like that.

"Gett off" I didn't like for a while... I think mainly because I first heard it thru the music video... the whole orgy motive was just very odd

now I don't mind it so much

"I wanna melt with u"... it was pretty racy the first couple times, but man, something about it just won me over... it and "Darling Nikki" are among my guilty pleasures... love 'em

once I kinda got used to the fact that, yeah, Prince can cuss up a storm... he actually does it very skillfully in his work. Like he'll do it when he needs a word with the right punch to really execute how he feels the situation he's writing about.

I found that pretty admirable actually

compared to a lot of rappers that cuss every other word... I mean, what's the point of that?

these days I'm more liable to agree that it's COOL listening to Prince curse... you really do appreciate something that you know can never happen again

pending he stays with the JW for life

Never, some of Prince's early stuff is very sexually graphic, but its not nasty, I mean he does not call women hos and bitches like all these shit hoppers do.

There's something classy about Prince's seductive music, even when he said "I sincerely want to fuck the taste out of your mouth" he was being profound and sincere rather than saying "Bitch I've gonna fxxk yo ass, y'all big booty ho" like some barely literate thug rapper would.

Prince also made real music, guitars and lush orchestral sounds rather than a machine pumped drum machine beat like most R and B and shit hop songs.

Plus we all know Prince is a horny toad (At least until 1998) and expected all these graphic and oh so sexual songs of his, he was a man of love and sex, not misogynistic garbage and he does not really degrade women in his songs like shit hoppers do.

Trying to think...The original version of "Extra Lovable," I think...had the rape line, that was simply stupid to put in there. That was offensive.

And, since I love beating dead horses, since he put 77 tracks on 20Ten to make fun of all the fans he ripped off for the Lotus website for $77, I felt that was really offensive. Other than that, the only other offensive thing was him always trying to stick the latest slogan or street slang in his music after he turned 35, where he appeard to be following trends instead of setting them. Naming a song "Get Yo Groove On," using "Bling Bling" in My Medallion, using "It's the Bomb," in Rave, and countless other times where it looked like he was going overboard trying to be appealing to young people who mostly could care less about his music. That was offensive to me.

I felt extremely offended by the lyrics of songs like "The Christ", and mainly "Spirituality".

Otherwise I pretty much enjoy Prince the most when he sings about rape fantasies, group sex and coming into girls' mouths.

Adorecream said:

Never, some of Prince's early stuff is very sexually graphic, but its not nasty, I mean he does not call women hos and bitches like all these shit hoppers do.

There's something classy about Prince's seductive music, even when he said "I sincerely want to fuck the taste out of your mouth" he was being profound and sincere rather than saying "Bitch I've gonna fxxk yo ass, y'all big booty ho" like some barely literate thug rapper would.

Prince also made real music, guitars and lush orchestral sounds rather than a machine pumped drum machine beat like most R and B and shit hop songs.

Plus we all know Prince is a horny toad (At least until 1998) and expected all these graphic and oh so sexual songs of his, he was a man of love and sex, not misogynistic garbage and he does not really degrade women in his songs like shit hoppers do.

I completely agree. He's upfront/dirty in a very classy way with his lyrics. My favourite Prince songs are his dirtiest songs - It's like they fill a void I sometimes catch myself playing Prince songs in my head while...getting it on!

Even though he's getting older - I would not mind at all if he went back to performing his dirty songs with the original lyrics. Like wine - better with age

luv4u said:

Wildboy said:

Only offended by his god squad songs. Bible thumping anti semetisim/ anit gay just isn't my style.

I don't believe that.

Believe it.

Back in the 80's, Prince's god was a sexy god. It was ok to have a lot of nasty sex, that was actually a way to get closer to god (ie lovesexy)

But after the incident with P's son and turning to Larry Graham, Prince's ideas about god became rigidly traditional (yawn) and he started preaching AT people. When he started saying Ab Lincoln was a racist, that was sort of a (stupid) offensive moment. The whole 'Mr. Rosenblum' thing on Rainbow children was really lame. I just don't like that stuff. It's a shame it's so tolerated while if you say anything bad about religion you get all types of people crawling up your butt

Wildboy said:

if you say anything bad about religion you get all types of people crawling up your butt

Now that's offensive!!