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Emancipation era 1996-1997 This record is very personal to me, I got everything out of my system with it. When I wrote it, I was a free man and a happy man and a clear man. You'll hear much more clarity and joy in it. I let the music dictate what I want, Citizen Kane is a long movie; maybe this is my Citizen Kane. I've got nobody to answer to now. This is one of the most satisfying things I've ever done.- Prince
My writing has changed immensely, Getting married has really got me focused. Songs come to me a lot easier. This album-I could almost see the whole thing done in my head. The common thread is love-even the angry songs I tried to resolve positively. -Prince
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rel November 19, 1996 Emancipation
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Disc.2
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Disc.3
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I always listen 2 the Title track of an album to see how the rest of the songs fit
Ever since I was a little baby CHORUS: Ever since that Eve did unto Adam, alright CHORUS Johnny please, huh, when I was on my knees CHORUS (Emancipation) {repeat in BG} Hey! Emancipation Emancipation © 1996 Emancipated Music Inc. - ASCAP
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August 10. 1997
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Alternate configurations | |
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1. The Jam Of The Year
Band Prince (vox, guitar), Kirk Johnson (drums), Rhonda Smith (bass), Morris Hayes (keyboards), Kat Dyson (guitar)
Guest(s) Michael Nelson (trombone), Kenni Holmen (tenor saxophone), Kathy J. (baritone saxophone), Dave Jensen (trumpet), Steve Strand (trumpet)
  "The Freedom Train Rolls In Minneapolis; Live Performance And Video Simulcast Via Satel"Chanhassen, Minneapolis - "Free at last! Free at last! God Almighty, we're free at last!" was the chant that began the birth of the Emancipation era. Broadcast live around the world by MTV, VH1 and BET in a rare show of cross-network unity, The show was filmed, and used as a live broacast for MTV, BET and VH1 networks. Press release (NPG Records: 22 November, 1996):
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delighted millions with a liberating performance at his Paisley Park Studios. celebrating both his artistic freedom and the November 19th release of his new album Emancipation on NPG records,
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MUSICIAN (1997)
APRIL 1997 * MUSICIAN The Sound of Emancipation THE WEIRD COMPLEX, anchored on the Minnesota tundra like a space probe on the moon. The paranoia over tape recorders. Those gaudy evocations of martyrdom on his last Warner Bros. albums. Twenty years of provocative imagery and sullen seclusion. And now, that business with his name. . Nothing about the artist once known as Prince is easy to explain. The surreal vibe at Paisley Park doesn't clear things up either; here his employees and intimates call him "Boss" and pass beneath Orwellian reproductions of the unpronounceable glyph that has become his signature. Real or illusory, all of this is distraction. Though all the hype made good copy, none of it is as impressive as hearing the Artist actually play. . Which is why we're in Studio C, the smallest recording room at Paisley Park, the former Prince's sanctorum, on the evening of the first serious blizzard of the year. As it is, there's plenty of room for the band, which is spread out against one wall. In sweater and black beret, keyboardist Mr. Hayes is on a riser in the far corner, surrounded by synths, a bag of popcorn perched atop the customized Plexiglas frame of a Hammond B-3. Guitarist Mike Scott, the latest addition to the band, is trying out a few funky licks on his Gibson 335, while Kat Dyson uses her Tele to shower the room with samples from her Rocktron Chameleon. Bassist Rhonda Smith is next to Dyson, and to her left Kirk A. Johnson, the Artist's drummer and co-producer, sits behind a pile of electronic and acoustic drums. . "Okay, here we go," Johnson announces. Four stick clicks, and the band begins jamming through a selection of titles from the Artist's recently released triple CD, Emancipation. Listening to them is something like shifting through a transmission and feeling each gear sliding into place. Johnson's beat, a rock-hard kick drum, drives this machine; they hit the changes perfectly, leaving the skid marks. . The doors open, and the Artist walks in. The band doesn't acknowledge the entrance, but there's a change in the air. He's short, even in his high-heeled white boots, but there's nothing fragile about him. He's wiry rather than delicate, with a businesslike, confident charisma; you might say he acts like he owns the place. . On the far side of the room is what looks like a violet concert grand piano, with the word "beautiful" scripted in white on one side. It's actually a Roland A-90 built into an artificial frame. The Artist plants himself here, rocking back on the heel of his left boot and tapping fast eighth-notes with the toe of his right foot as he comps furiously with the group. His licks are nimble, with quick cross-hand runs threading through jazzy voicings. After a minute, he spins away from the keys, strides toward the band, and straps on one of his custom-built guitars. Here, too, he plays with blazing intensity, wailing through bluesy lines that end with emphatic cadences and a defiant foot stomp. . Later, when Smith excuses herself to run an errand, the Artist picks up his Washburn bass and winds up killing on it too. But by then he's made his point: This guy is, if anything, underrated as a player. If he were starting out today, unburdened of his reputation, freed from all the excess baggage and left with only his music, he would still blow us all away. . The problem is that he doesn't have that option anymore. When he goes on the Today show, the first thing Bryant Gumbel tells his viewers is that the Artist was known to his high school friends as Skippy. One cringed with sympathy for the Ex-Prince, who seems fated to be called to the carpet again and again for the sins of eccentricity. Of course, it's also true that he is the architect of his image. If he got burned by the press, the match was lit in his hands. . So it is with his two most recent trials, the name change and the long dispute with Warner Bros. On his 35th birthday, June 7, 1993 -- only a month after announcing his decision to retire from recording -- Prince declared that he was changing his name to a morphed male/female symbol. Warners wasn't thrilled with this development, which in retrospect was a portent to the semi-public struggle to follow. The issue was control -- specifically, ownership of his masters. Though he insisted in various interviews that he bore no grudges, the Artist had no problem adorning his final Warner releases with images of oppression that skirted the line of self-pity: The only mystery was why the Artist felt the need to publicly bash his label of eighteen years. . Whatever the reason, the end of his Warners contract last November began what the Artist considers to be his liberation. Thus, when Musician sat down with him behind the API console in Studio A, the Artist seemed almost elated at the prospect of actually talking about his music. He folded himself into a chair, swung his legs over the edge, gestured expressively, broke into frame-shaking explosions of laughter. The man was obviously having a good time, as was the interviewer, except for one problem: The Artist's interrogator would not be allowed to use a tape recorder. (In what Paisley Park officials apparently considered a sign of the Boss' good will, we were permitted to take notes.) While Musician wasn't singled out -- this restriction has applied to all print interviews for years -- it was nonetheless an annoyance, especially given our obligation to turn an hour's worth of hurried scrawl into accurate information. For this reason, we suggested that, in the interest of getting it right, he might reply to a series of follow-up questions via fax once we got back to New York and deciphered our notes. Delighted with the idea, he agreed. What follows is a two-part encounter with the Artist. The first was real, there in Studio A. The second was virtual. From start to finish, the subject was music. | |
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You've said that Emancipation was created in a freer climate than that under which you recorded for Warner Bros. Yet there doesn't seem to my ears to be a significantly "freer" sound on the new album than in your earlier work. Well, when you're in the creative process, the first thing you naturally think about is the "bombs," the great ones that you've done before. You want to fill in the slots on your album with the songs that will make everyone the happiest: fans, musicians, writers, and so on. I used to try to fill those gaps first whenever I was trying something new, or wait to challenge myself to do another great one. This means that you think about singles: time constraints, for example, and the subject matter. [For that reason] my original draft of "Let's Go Crazy" was much different from the version that wound up being released. As I wrote it, "Let's Go Crazy" was about God and the de-elevation of sin. But the problem was that religion as a subject is taboo in pop music. People think that the records they release have got to be hip, but what I need to do is to tell the truth. So one element of creativity missing for you in the Warner years was that freedom to say what you wanted to say in your lyrics. Right. I had to take some other songs, like "A Thousand Hugs and Kisses" and "She Gave Her Angels," off the Warner albums because they were all about the same subject. But now I can write a song that says, "If u ask God 2 love u longer, every breath u take will make u stronger, keepin' u happy and proud 2 call His name: Jesus" [from "The Holy River," on Emancipation], and not have to worry about what Billboard magazine will say. Plus I'm not splitting the earnings up with anyone else except the people who deserve to have them. The people here in my studio will reap the benefits of how Emancipation does, not people in some office somewhere who didn't contribute anything the music. Now, the record industry can be a wonderful system, if you want to go that route. After all, some people don't want the hassle of getting on the phone and talking to retailers about their own records; they want someone to do it for them. I'm just not one of those people. So lyrically you've got more freedom than before. What about the music itself? If you're working in a happier atmosphere, you'll hear things differently and play them differently. "Courtin' Time" [from Emancipation] is different from "Had U," from Chaos & Disorder. That whole album is loud and raucous, but it's also dark and unhappy. Same with The Black Album. Your drummer, Kirk A. Johnson, co-produced much of Emancipation. That stems from his being a drum programmer. He's good at using the computer to put a rhythm track together. I don't like setting that kind of stuff up, because a lot of times the song will leave me while I'm doing it. But when Kirk and I work together, we can keep each other excited. I can do all the programming myself. 1999 is nothing but me running all the computers myself, which is why that album isn't as varied as this one. Technology used to play a big part in my music; it only plays a very little part now. Why? The problem was that regardless of what I heard in my head, I'd work with the sounds I had in front of me. Actually, I seldom wrote at any instruments. But I'm definitely into letting sounds dictate...not the way I write a song, but the way I develop my ideas. "In This Bed" [from Emancipation] is experimental; as we were working on it, I put a guitar on the ground and just let it start feeding back. After a while I hit this button and let the feedback pattern repeat. Does this mean that instruments have a soul or a life of their own? Will they end up writing the song? It's like how Mayte and I got married, I took her to see the neighborhood where I was raised as a baby. When we got there, everything was gone: The house where I grew up, all the buildings, everything had been torn down, except this one tree that I used to climb on when I was a kid. That's all that was left. So I went over to this tree, put my hand on it, and let the memory of that time flow back into me. If that's what energy is all about, if this tree could remind me of something, even if it looks raggedy and old, that's the most beautiful thing. The sounds in my music are chosen with a lot of love too, and always with the idea of which color goes with which other color. How do you know whether to do the bass part in a song on synth or bass guitar? I'll listen to the kick drum. The bass guitar won't go as deep as the synth, and the kick drum tells me how deep I have to go. My original drum machine, the Linn, had only one type of kick. I think I had the first Linn. I did "Private Joy" [from Controversy] with a prototype of that Linn. Do you use the Roland TR-808, the rapper's choice, for bass drum sounds? Sure. I used that on "Da, Da, Da" [from Emancipation]. But I need to remind you that I'm not a rapper. I'll do rhythmic speaking. "Style" [from Emancipation] calls for words to be spoken, but you can't [vocally] riff on it. It's like James Brown: he'll talk his whole song, but he's not a rapper either. There's music behind my groove; it's not just loops and sample. On "Courtin' Time" you drew a lot of big-band phrasing for your vocal parts; the whole thing comes from swing jazz. So why did you stick with a backbeat rhythm track, instead of loosen it up into more of a swing feel? I wanted it to be a dance record. [Saxophonist] Eric Leeds played me this record, Duke Ellington Live at Newport, with that long saxophone solo [by Paul Gonsalves, on "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"]. He was telling me that one reason the solo went as long as it did was that this lady jumped up on a table and started dancing to the rhythm, so naturally nobody wanted to quit. That's the vibe I'm trying to capture. I played "Courtin' Time" with Eric once for twenty minutes, and he was wailin' that whole time. That's why even people who are into hip-hop still get "Courtin' Time." Like "Courtin' Time," "The Holy River" stands out on Emancipation as a departure for you in terms of the rhythm. Well, the melody came first on that one. Sometimes I'll be walking around and I'll hear the melody as if it were the first color in the painting. If you believe in the first color and trust it, you can build your song from there. Music is like the universe: Just look at how the planets, the air, and the light fit together. That's one reason why Emancipation is so long -- because of the sense of harmony that keeps it all together. "Soul Sanctuary" is more of an orchestral experiment, with a mixture off what sounds like Mellotron string lines, harp, and marimba. I'll start a track like that piece by piece. I'll have a color or a line in mind, and I'll keep switching things around until I get what I'm hearing in my head. Then I'll try to bring to Earth the color that wants to be with that first color. It's like having a baby, knowing that this baby wants to be with you. You're giving birth to the song. Was that a real or a sampled harp on "Soul Sanctuary"? That was a sampled harp. I wanted to be able to play it perfectly, and while I can play a few simple things on a real harp, the sample helped me get it the way I wanted it. Samples are good for music; you almost can't compare "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night," the uptempo song from Sign o' the Times, with "The Human Body" [from Emancipation] because of the difference that samples make. Yet your songs don't rely on samples in a structural sense. Unlike a lot of dance-oriented musicians, you use samples to adorn rather than to support a tune. I am so glad you said that! I've heard a whole lot of musicians who have had a hit record and then come to Paisley Park to set up and jam with the New Power Generation. Now, I'm not a judge, but I know when I see someone jamming and when I see someone drownin' [laughs]! I have to pull their plug and save some of their asses. Man, learn your instrument! Be a musician! You can't call yourself a musician if you just take a sample and loop it. You can call yourself a thief, because all you're doing is stealing somebody else's groove. Just don't call it music. How can you tell when the song you're working on has potential? Well, see, I can't say anything about that, because I hate criticizing music. If you judge something, maybe that means you get judged back someday. I wouldn't tell you that some song you wrote isn't any good. I wrote this song called "Make Your Mama Happy" that would probably frighten you. And this other song I wrote, "Sexual Suicide," has this horn section that's nothing but baritone saxes; it sounds like a truck coming at you. So who can say? You don't rate any of your songs as more noteworthy than others? The thing is, everybody has an inner voice. Mayte and I are into this thing now of wondering whether we're supposed to get up out of bed when we wake up. If you sleep past this point when you're supposed to get up, then you're groggy for the rest of the day. It's the same thing with songs: Each song writes itself. It's already perfect. I remember when Miles Davis came to my house. As he was passing by my piano, he stopped and put his hands down on the keys and played these eight chords, one after the other. It was so beautiful; he sounded like Bill Evans or Lisa [Coleman], who also had this way of playing chords that were so perfect. I was wondering whether he was playing games with me, because he wasn't supposed to be a keyboard player. And when he was finished, I couldn't decide whether it was him or an angel putting his hands on the keys. The point is that you recognized something in what Miles was doing, a kind of excellence that you might not hear in the work of other musicians. For me, excellence comes from the fact that God loves me. But what is excellence? You've heard about these people who will bomb a building and kill all these people in God's name. You could say that they did an excellent job at what they were trying to do, right? Now, when I look at my band, Dyson is a different kind of guitar player than Mike. She looks cool, she has that kind of punk attitude. But that's her; that's not Mike. Lisa was never an explosive keyboard player, but she was a master of color in her harmonies; I could sing off of what she had with straight soul. I don't know if the people in the band I'm with now will go on to greatness on their own, but everything they do gives me something that I need right now. You don't differentiate between musicians either? You don't point to this person as a better player than that person? God gave us all gifts. If we accept that, we'll all do the best that we can do. Miles took some soul-type players and put Keith Jarrett on top of that; it was magic. And Fishbone -- are they good or not? The last time I saw Fishbone, the drummer played the whole gig facing the wall. But in that kind of craziness there was a certain kind of excellence too. Still, you presumably audition musicians for your bands. That means you have to put them on some kind of scale to rate one as being better, or at least more appropriate to your needs, than another. Well, "auditions" ... The idea of a judge is in there somewhere, and I don't want to be a judge anymore. A lot of people criticized the last band that Jimi [Hendrix] had, but they were able to start and stop at his will; they were right for him at the time. I've even hired dancers whose only job was to be there and make me feel good. See, anybody can play with me. I can play with any musician and make them sound good, and they can bring something to me. This hit me when I married Mayte and accepted my name for what it is.
With that, the Artist suddenly stood and stretched. "My band will me if I don't get in there with them," he announced, bringing the interview to an end. Within a week or two I had translated and transcribed my notes, then called Paisley Park to arrange for the follow-up Q-and-A. The Artist picked up the phone -- "You're not taping this, are you?" were his first words -- and asked me to send the questions his way via fax. Within a day he had them, and a couple of days later his replies were in my hands. Here, as written, is the final round: What are the positive sides of music software? Could you cite examples were running a certain program yielded results that you could not have obtained otherwise? The body of a human (when healthy) runs like a sequencer. It was obviously programmed a long time ago by an absolute genius. This was the notion behind the groove "Human Body" on Emancipation. Every track of the song is its own "cell," so 2 speak, running in harmony with its "cellmates." A living being of sorts is created every time computers are put 2 use this way. No other way yet discovered would be as rewarding. You noted that one element of using music technology is that the instruments themselves might end up "writing the song." While some artists seem to consider this a reason not to pursue sequencing and sampling, as if the products somehow shift control of the creative process away from the person, you take a more intriguing view, as if you have an almost organic partnership with the tool of your trade. How, then, do you get to know a new instrument? Something very soul-like attracts me 2 some instruments moreso than others. It starts with the sound and then the shape. I dig instruments that appear as if the makers were in love with them. Some of your most memorable songs have been structurally pretty simple; if you write a lead sheet of, say, "We Gets Up" [from Emancipation], what you see is pretty much rooted on the I chord, with minimal melody. What, then, distinguishes a song that doesn't rely on unusual chord changes or an extended melody? One-key songs designed 2 put the participant in a trace are best filled up with sound provoked by the spirit more than, say, a structural melody that's best complemented by color. This 2 me is the root of funk: the choices one makes. You've had a number of customized guitar designs over the years, including the "white guitar" from Purple Rain; to what extent does playability factor into your design for these instruments? I have compromised playability 4 the look of an instrument in many instances. Keyboards, though, have 2 have "the touch." Everything is sort of patterned after the 1st violet piano I received as a gift in 1986. Chords are important. Every note in a chord is a singer 2 me. This approach gives music its life. 2 look at music this way is a reason 4 living, as far as I'm concerned. You're set up at Paisley Park for analog as well as digital recording. What are the pluses and minuses of the two technologies? Warmth. Digital is faster. Analog...well, the kick drum on analog sounds like a fat dude getting stomped in the back with a timbaland! It's all personal preference. What approach do you take in rehearsing a new band? Again, let everybody play their strengths. Because Rhonda's so smart, 4 example, I tend 2 lean toward bassier grooves moreso than with my other bands. She has a nuclear future sure! What are your thoughts about the state of songwriting today? I will always respect people like Duke Ellington -- someone who has their own style and just watches music change around them. Carlos Santana has more fans now than when he played Woodstock! You're preparing to tour. Do you find that you compete with the high standards you've set for yourself in past tours? What insights about performing can you share with artists who are working with limited budgets in relatively funky venues? My own competition is myself in the past. "At war with himself." Y'all said it 1st. 2 the new artists: Be wild and all else follows. | |
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^What a great interview. So much of what he said about songwriting is just perfect. | |
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This is a great interview! This part from the interview hit close to home for me. My childhood home and neighborhood (in Detroit's deadliest neighborhood) are also mostly destroyed, but certain landmarks are still there and instantly bring back memories. . It's like how Mayte and I got married, I took her to see the neighborhood where I was raised as a baby. When we got there, everything was gone: The house where I grew up, all the buildings, everything had been torn down, except this one tree that I used to climb on when I was a kid. That's all that was left. So I went over to this tree, put my hand on it, and let the memory of that time flow back into me. If that's what energy is all about, if this tree could remind me of something, even if it looks raggedy and old, that's the most beautiful thing. |
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The Oprah Winfrey Interview October 1996 1.) If I Was Your Girlfriend 2.) Sleep Around
Transcript of The Oprah Winfrey Show Show Number: 1103a6ka Interviewed by - Oprah Winfrey
OPRAH WINFREY voiceover: He used to be a mystery. 0{+> : I'd sort of shied away from doing interviews. OPRAH voiceover: He used to be Prince. OPRAH: What do I call you? OPRAH voiceover: Now in his first TV interview, he reveals his new identity. 0{+> : That's the other person in me. We haven't determined what sex that other person is yet. OPRAH voiceover: Meet his new bride. OPRAH: And what do you call him? OPRAH voiceover: Go inside his fascinating world. Hear your favorite song. OPRAH: Can I hear a little bit of "Purple Rain"? OPRAH voiceover: And experience a concert you'll never forget. (Footage of performing). You'll be talking about this one. 0{+> : I have something for you. OPRAH: I will keep this.
OPRAH: What a day, what a day, what a day, what a day. What a day. It is an event. The artist formerly known as Prince is here! And whether you're a fan or not, his first TV interview is full of surprises. This is one everybody's going to be talking about. Wish I was in a beauty shop later today, honey. He is shy talking in front of an audience; however, he is anything but that on stage. His extraordinary talents began at a very early age.
OPRAH voiceover: He was born Prince Rogers Nelson in 1958. Never the typical boy next door, Prince was a young musical genius who used music as an escape from life in a turbulent household. Prince ruled pop music in the '80s, thrilling audiences with his risqué performances and his sexual lyrics. (Excerpt from "Cream" video)
When he wasn't turning out his own top 10 hits, he was spinning gold for others like Sinead O'Connor... (Footage from O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" video) ...Sheena Easton... (Footage from Easton's "U Got the Look" video ...and Chaka Khan. (Footage from Khan's "I Feel For You" video). Millions of fans literally worship the Prince of "Purple Rain." (Footage of Prince singing Purple Rain")
In 1992, he signed the biggest record contract in the business, but things soured and Prince spent the last few years battling his record label. (Excerpt from "Controversy" video) The controversy was over artistic control. Prince protested by scrawling 'Slave' on his cheek. He also changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. Today he is a new man with a beautiful bride who just gave birth to their first child. Now he's finally free from his record contract and is celebrating with a new CD set called, appropriately enough, "Emancipation."
OPRAH: Well, because -- because he changed his name to a symbol, everybody was asking me, "What are you going to call him?" I had no idea until our first meeting at his recording studio. OPRAH voiceover: Paisley Park is an impressive 65,000 square foot complex The Artist built to be his state-of-the-art music video and film recording palace in suburban Minneapolis. The building is seen in his latest video, "Bet Ya [sic] By Golly, Wow." I went there for our first meeting.
0{+> : Hey, hey, hey. OPRAH: Hey, hey, hey. Great to see you. 0{+> : Thanks so much for coming. OPRAH: Oh, I'm thrilled to be here. 0{+> : Look at you. OPRAH: Look at you. Oh, you're pretty. 0{+> : ...(Unintelligible). OPRAH: You're pretty--really pretty. How's every little everything? 0{+> : Couldn't be better. OPRAH: Really? Couldn't be better? 0{+> : Yeah. OPRAH: This is a nice place you've got here. I thought I had a nice place. 0{+> : It was all plain before, but we colored it up for... OPRAH: This is cool. First of all, what do I call you? 0{+> : Friend, I hope. OPRAH: Friend. Friend's good. Friend's good. You know that a lot of America and the world is confused about this whole name--what should, how to address you. What the symbol means. And I want you to clarify it for us all. 0{+> : Well, just like Muhammad Ali... OPRAH: Mm-hmm. 0{+> : ...and Malcolm X... OPRAH: Mm-hmm. 0{+> : ...people like that change their name, and some people take names that are hard to pronounce. OPRAH: Mm-hmm. 0{+> : And it just so happens I picked one that you can't pronounce. I don't know how to pronounce it even. If ever... OPRAH: You don't even know to pronounce it. 0{+> : Yeah. If ever--if ever I'm told, you'll be the first to know. OPRAH: Uh-huh. How to pronounce it. 0{+> : Yeah. OPRAH: So how did it come about? The symbol came to you and the symbol is like a combination of female and male? 0{+> : Yes. OPRAH: And that is why you're now --we-- we have no name for you. 0{+> : Well, you do have a name for me. And the interesting thing about it is that some people think sometimes it's me trying to pull a power play or something like that. OPRAH: Oh... 0{+> : I mean, you can type it on a type writer. I can give you the computer font. OPRAH: Yeah. I've seen how you do it. 0{+> : And so... OPRAH: We're going to show you right now on the screen how you do it on the typewriter. TYPED ON TV SCREEN: 0(+> OPRAH: So it wasn't about publicity or did you even recognize or think that it would cause this much of a stir about what your name was or what you were no longer? 0{+> : On the publicity tip, I --I could... OPRAH: It wasn't calculated. 0{+> : Yeah, I could do without that, yeah. OPRAH: Yeah. I've seen you referred to many times as The Artist, but what do your friends call you, just folks I've seen around here? 0{+> : I find it quite interesting some people now call me 'Sir.' OPRAH: They just call you 'Sir'? 0{+> : Mm-hmm. They've never called me that before. OPRAH: That's interesting. 0{+> : Yeah. OPRAH: Do you think it left some people around here a little confused? 0{+> : At first, yeah. Kirk Johnson: I was his best man at his wedding. I co-produced the "Emancipation" album. I'm now his drummer, used to be his dancer. I called him... 'Hey, boss. Hey, man. Hey, bro.' Annie: This is Arlene and I'm Annie. Arlene: I'm his personal assistant. How we call him? Very hard question. Sometime we walking down the hall and I will have to say, 'Excuse me, can I talk to you?'
Annie: And when I talk to him I say, 'Sir?' that way, I got his attention.
Ms. Kim Berry: My name is Kim Berry. I'm his personal hairstylist, and I call him 'Boss.'
Ms. Nelle Garcia: I'm Nelle Garcia. I'm Mayte's mother. He is my son-in-law. I sometimes call him son-in-law and sometimes I call him son.
OPRAH: Well, most people call him simply The Artist. He describes his new three-D -- CD set "Emancipation" as the album he was born to make. I've been listening to it during my workouts every day. (Footage of OPRAH working out [to the title track])
OPRAH: It's great to work out to. I've been listing to it. (From footage) Ow! Free, free, free, freedom.
Loving every--loving every cut. Feeling freedom myself. Here to perform some of his hits from the Prince days is The Artist and New Power Generation, welcome The Artist!
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performs ["Do Me, Baby" - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"]
OPRAH: Next, you'll meet the woman who entered the Artist's soul and captured his heart. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.
0{+> : This album is probably the most joyous one I've made. It's by far the most romantic because I've never been this much in love.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm. Did you think you'd find a love like this?
0{+> : Yeah, it was a dream
OPRAH: It was a dream?
0{+> : Right, I -- almost willed her to me.
(Footage performing "I Would Die 4 U)
OPRAH: Well, his erotic onstage image is quite different than the soft-spoken man I talked with who dreams of having a big family.
OPRAH: "Sex in the Summer." This is a song that featured the ultrasound heartbeat of your baby?
0{+> : Yeah. What we did was take a microphone and place it on Mayte's stomach and move it around with the gel until we got the right spot. And then (imitates heartbeat) you know, you start to hear that And then we put the drums around that. That's the baby.
OPRAH: When you heard that sound for the first time, what did you think or feel about yourself?
0{+> : I was pretty much speechless.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : It--it really grounds you, it makes you realize that things you thought wee important aren't really. That's what it meant to me.
OPRAH: "Let's Have a Baby" is such a beautiful song. I've got to tell you, my friend The Artist is in love, you-all--in love--gone, in love. I met his new bride during my visit to Paisley Park.
OPRAH voiceover: If you spend any time around the newlyweds, it's very clear that he has found his 'most beautiful girl in the world.' They first met in 1990 and married just this year on Valentine's Day.
OPRAH: Tell us the story when you saw her outside at a concert. I think it was in Germany, and you just said in passing to a friend...
0{+> : I saw her and her mother outside a concert in Frankfurt. And I said, 'That's my future wife.' Just as, you know...
OPRAH: Mm-hmm. And what did you think? First of all, you're introduced to Prince, and I understand you-all became friends. Did you think. 'This is my future husband'?
MAYTE: No.
OPRAH: You didn't? What did you think?
MAYTE: Well, I mean, I was 16 when I met him, so just the idea of meeting him -- I was really scared before I met him.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm
MAYTE: And then when I met him, I just felt this -- I was just calm and I didn't feel nervous.
OPRAH: Mm. The couple say they are soul mates and believe they knew each other in a previous life.
0{+> : I feel like she was either my sister or we were the same person or something in another life. It -- there's a closeness that -- that you know is right and you don't argue with.
OPRAH: Well, isn't this all kind of weird?
0{+> : Well, it depends on how you look at life.
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: It seems to me -- I would just s -- say this is a description of the two of you. I'm -- when he talks about you, there's a thing that happens in his eyes.
0{+> : I -- I do feel that I've come closer to who I aspire to be by being with her.
OPRAH: Really?
0{+> : Mm-hmm.
OPRAH: And what does she do for you that you didn't -- that you didn't have alone?
0{+> : She makes it easier to talk to God.
OPRAH: Really?
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: Oh, I could cry. Was it like a traditional ceremony? Like there's a minister and...
0{+> : Yes.
OPRAH: ...'You take and you say and until death do us' -- the whole thing?
0{+> : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. We had a very small wedding. We only invited friends and family -- mostly family. And there was a big empty section in the church. And she said that she's glad that it was empty because it left room for the angels.
OPRAH: Is he romantic?
MAYTE: He's romantic, yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah. I'm thinking, if he ain't romantic, who is?
MAYTE: He's very romantic.
OPRAH: Like romantic how? Life rose petals in the -- you know, in the bed and the bathtub and the...
MAYTE: Well, that's just -- well, roses. But for me, the most romantic thing that he's done is -- is write these beautiful songs for me.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : You know? "Let's -- Let's Have a Baby," because of that, I mean, I got pregnant. (Excerpt from "Let's Have a Baby")
OPRAH voiceover: It's been rumored that the couple's baby boy was born with health problems, and the reports have fans concerned.
What is the status of your -- your -- your baby, your pregnancy, your...
0{+> : Well, our family exists.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : We're just beginning it.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : And we've got many kids to have, a long way to go.
OPRAH voiceover: And that's all The Artist and his wife choose to say at this time. But while touring Paisley Park, he showed me their newly decorated playroom.
Oh, wow.
0{+> : And here's my favorite room.
OPRAH: The children's to be, the children's to come?
0{+> : Yes, ma'am.
OPRAH: The child in you, or just the children?
0{+> : Oh, the children, yeah.
OPRAH voiceover: And all those rumors about their baby -- well, the Artist shared this with us.
0{+> : It's all good. Never mind what you hear.
OPRAH: He said that he wants to -- in 10 years, he's going to have babies crawling all over him, on his ears and around his neck and calling him 'Daddy.' Do you want the same thing?
MAYTE: Oh, yeah. I never wanted it more.
OPRAH: Ten -- you really want 10, you think?
0{+> : It's up to her.
MAYTE: I hope I get some twins in there so I can...
OPRAH: Take a break. When you call him, what do you call him?
MAYTE: When I met him, I didn't call him Prince. I never called him that. Because I didn't see him as that person.
0{+> : She slipped out of that, didn't she?
MAYTE: What did I call him? I never -- I -- I just talk to him. You know, people always say, 'Well -- well, what if you need him to bring you something, pass the tea or something?'
OPRAH: That's right.
MAYTE: I just say...
0{+> : She sa -- you say, 'Hey.'
MAYTE: Hey, Hey.
0{+> : She says, 'Hey.'
OPRAH: So you just go around the house -- you -- so you never call him -- you never -- you never slip and say...
MAYTE: Because I never did.
OPRAH: Because you never did call him.
MAYTE: So it's not a...
OPRAH: 'Hey, you.'
MAYTE: ...big issue for me. It's, 'Hey.'
0{+> : Man, I would drop -- I would drop the tea if I heard 'Prince' come from the kitchen. I'd (imitates dropping something).
OPRAH: Would you really?
0{+> : Oh, man. It would scare me to death.
OPRAH: Does he make you laugh?
MAYTE: Oh, yeah.
OPRAH: Is he fun?
MAYTE: Yeah.
OPRAH: Does he tell jokes?
0{+> : No, I'm not.
MAYTE: Yes, you are.
0{+> : I don't tell jokes. I'm serious.
OPRAH: Yeah.
MAYTE: No.
OPRAH: Really? (Excerpt from "U Got the Look" video)
OPRAH: When we knew him as Prince, he was romantically linked with Sheena Easton, Kim Basinger, Vanity... (Excerpt from Vanity's "Nasty Girl" video)
OPRAH: ...and Apollonia.
Do you ever, you know, run into your past girlfriends or...
0{+> : Very seldom.
OPRAH: Very seldom.
0{+> : No. When I got married...
OPRAH: What's your relationship with them?
0{+> : None.
OPRAH: None?
0{+> : I mean, once -- once I got married, it just -- the phone stopped ringing.
OPRAH: Really?
0{+> : It stopped ringing, yeah.
OPRAH: Uh-huh. What would you like to say about your relationship? Will it be forever?
MAYTE: Just -- yes, it -- it will be forever.
OPRAH: Well, you know, many people think the artist formerly known as Prince is flat-out weird. You-all know a lot of people think that. So I asked him how he responds to those opinions. And you'll find out if he regrets anything from his sexy, sexy past. But first, remember this one? (Excerpt from "Kiss" video)
(Excerpt from Little Red Corvette" video)
OPRAH: We're talking to the usually reclusive and media-shy artist formerly known as Prince, who's famous for singing about sex and sex and sex and more sex.
OPRAH: I wanted to know do y -- what all the sexually provocative song titles over the years have meant. You know, where -- does it mean that you were just really into sex? We have this image of you behind the purple doors just kind of having sex.
0{+> : Oh, my goodness.
OPRAH: The wildest -- swinging from the -- there are doves in the ceiling and it's just the -- that's the image.
0{+> : Well, hey...
OPRAH: "Horny Toad." "Jerk Out," "Private Joy," "Sex Shooter," "Do It All Night," "Do Me, Baby" -- you know all those.
0{+> : Yeah, but you know, I've written some -- thousand some-odd songs.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
I went to a Prince concert probably -- oh, m -- must have been 10 years ago. I felt parts -- that it touched parts of myself that I didn't know I had.
0{+> : Mm-hmm
OPRAH: And I ended up going out doing things I didn't normally do. (Footage from "Prince & The Revolution Live")
OPRAH: Do you ever regret anything?
0{+> : No, because I think it's all part of the experience of life and growing. And it's gotten me to this place. You take one thing out of that and the structure falls, you know?
OPRAH: Mm-hmm
0{+> : So, I'm -- I'm quite content.
OPRAH: The creative environment is like a wild wonderland that some may find a little unusual.
OPRAH: I'm thinking I must be very attractive in this light.
0{+> : How do I look?
OPRAH: Yeah, you're looking good. Yi, yi, yi, yi. What is this?
0{+> : Studio B.
OPRAH: Studio B.
0{+> : For black light.
OPRAH: I must say, you have a very interesting place. It's just like your mind -- very interesting.
0{+> : I'll take that as a compliment.
OPRAH: Just in case you were wondering, there really are doves at Paisley Park.
OPRAH: Have you ever perceived yourself as being -- I know you must perceive yourself as being different. Have you ever perceived yourself as being weird in any way?
0{+> : Mm, yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah?
0{+> : Yeah. But, understand, everything is relative. Not weird to me...
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : ...but probably weird as compared to...
OPRAH: And you're living in Minneapolis of all places.
0{+> : Minneapolis, yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : I will always live in Minneapolis.
OPRAH: Right. Do you -- do you -- you will always live here?
0{+> : Mm-hmm.
OPRAH: Why?
0{+> : It's so cold, it keeps the bad people out.
OPRAH: I believe that. When you go -- do you like go to the mall?
0{+> : The last time I went to the mall I took about 400 people out with me, so I don't do that much anymore.
OPRAH: You don't do that?
0{+> : No
OPRAH: Really? Do you do like when we would perceive to be normal, everyday stuff? I mean, are you always this pretty? On a -- like on a normal day, I mean, I -- you would -- you would look this good.
0{+> : On a normal day, I'm clean.
OPRAH: You're clean?
0{+> : I'm clean on a normal day. I'm -- it...
OPRAH: All the time. What do you most want people to k now about you? What do you -- first of all, what do you think the perception is?
0{+> : Well, I'm sure after the past two years or so, it's become quite strange.
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : I hear -- I hear they're calling Diana the artist formerly known as princess now. I mean, it it's gotten to that point, then...
OPRAH: OK. So people think you're weird.
0{+> : Yeah
OPRAH: They think you're strange. What do you want them to know?
0{+> : The -- the music.
OPRAH: Well, The Artist is known for his imaginative outfits, you all know. Next, we're going to go inside his special wardrobe room where all of his clothes are made. That's why he's always so pretty.
(Footage of performing "Purple Rain")
OPRAH: But during our conversation. The Artist shared a very personal discovery he's recently made about himself. This is very interesting.
0{+> : Recent analysis has proved that there's probably two people inside of me. There's a Gemini. And we haven't determined what sex that other person is yet.
OPRAH: did you say, 'I'm not even sure what sex it is -- or he or she or -- is'? Did you say that?
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: I thought I heard that. What I'm getting from you is that you are very much in touch with both sides of yourself, your masculine and feminine side.
0{+> : Mm-hmm.
OPRAH: Uh-huh. And so people grew up thinking that you're weird or that you're gay because of it. And that never bothered you?
0{+> : Hey, whatever floats the boat, you know.
OPRAH: Whatever peanut butter's your jelly.
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : There you go.
OPRAH: It's literally like another personality you're talking about?
0{+> : Well, what they seem to find was that it was some -- someone I had created when I was five years old.
OPRAH: Really?
0{+> : Mm-hmm. For whatever reason, I'm not sure yet. But I hope to find out.
OPRAH: 'They,' like psychologists, therapists?
0{+> : Well, actually, I found out...
OPRAH: Uh-huh.
0{+> : ...because I took some -- I took some -- went through therapy.
OPRAH: Uh-huh.
0{+> : So...
OPRAH: And you found out that...
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: ...there is another person...
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: ...living inside you?
0{+> : This is turning into a Sybil interview.
OPRAH: Yeah, really. Does that person have a name that we could call?
0{+> : That -- that -- that's what is so interesting to me, is that I -- that I think that that's why I changed my name. I think that's who I am now.
OPRAH: Really?
0{+> : I -- I -- yeah. I very much feel divorced from Prince.
OPRAH: You really do?
0{+> : Yes.
OPRAH: Being sm -- being of smaller stature, did it ever make you question yourself, question your -- I don't know -- ability to -- to get dates, get women in the beginning?
0{+> : No. N -- No. It questioned my ability to play basketball, because I like to hoop, but...
OPRAH: Did you ever feel ridiculed as a child because of your size?
0{+> : Mm-hmm.
OPRAH: You did?
0{+> : Oh, yeah. All the time.
OPRAH: And how did you handle that?
0{+> : That's probably when that person got created...
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : ...you know, somebody to care about you and love you and be your friend and not ridicule you.
OPRAH: Uh-huh. OK, what would they call you?
0{+> : Just everything they could think of -- anything small.
OPRAH voiceover: In 1984 Prince starred in the movie "Purple Rain" about a singer from an abusive household, a story much like his own.
OPRAH: Your father was an abusive man, right? That's what I've read, but I nev -- never know what's true and what's not.
0{+> : He -- he had his moments.
OPRAH: What is the most autobiographical scene in "Purple Rain" for you?
0{+> : I -- I'll say that it was probably the scene with -- with me looking at my mother, crying. (Excerpt from "Purple Rain," courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)
0{+> : There was a time when we didn't live together.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : When I met him again he was the -- a jewel. He was the most beautiful person I knew. And we are again en -- estranged. But hopefully we can hook up again. If not, you know, this is his experience, you know? And he is living his experience and what he wants. I'm living mine the way I want. You know, it would be cool if they hooked up, but, hey, you can only hope.
OPRAH: Well, have you ever wondered where The Artist gets all his clothes? Well, on a tour of Paisley Park, I found out .
0{+> : Let me show you these.
OPRAH: Let me get this straight. There's just a department that just makes your clothes?
0{+> : Just me. This spells, 'Welcome.'
OPRAH: This does? Yeah.
0{+> : "Raspberry Beret." (Excerpt from "Raspberry Beret" video)
OPRAH: What size is your waist?
0{+> : Twenty-seven.
OPRAH: Twenty-seven. Isn't that delightful?
0{+> : Yeah, I like that. That I'd wear again. (Excerpt "Sexy MF" video)
0{+> : We don't wear this no more.
OPRAH: We don't wear this no more, no.
Well, when you want something new, do you just come up and say, 'You know what I'm feeling like? I'm going to do OPRAH. I need something in cream.' Did you tell her...
0{+> : They are constantly making clothes, every week.
OPRAH: That's nice. (Photographs of in different outfits)
OPRAH: Somebody is on staff making the clothes every day. Next, one of my favorite experiences with the artist formerly known as Prince. This would be a dream come true for any of his fans. It certainly was for me.
(Excerpt from "Diamonds and Pearls" video)
OPRAH: Well, one of my favorite experiences at Paisley Park was going to the place where The Artist creates his music.
0{+> : Let me show you my piano.
OPRAH: What are you going to play for me?
0{+> : What do you want to hear?
OPRAH: Can I hear a little bit of "Purple Rain"? We have a purple piano. ( plays "Purple Rain" on the piano)
OPRAH: Thank you for doing that.
0{+> : You're welcome.
OPRAH: Was music an escape for -- for you in childhood?
0{+> : Yes...
OPRAH: It was?
0{+> : ...very much so.
OPRAH: And it was a way you took yourself away?
0{+> : Hours and hours and hours away.
OPRAH: You taught yourself to play at seven years old.
0{+> : Yes.
OPRAH: Do you remember your first song?
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: You do? ( plays the theme from "Batman")
OPRAH: The music comes to your head and then you come here, or sometimes you're here and then the music just comes out.
0{+> : Mm-hmm. ( sings a song ["Forever In My Life"])
0{+> : It's -- JFK...
OPRAH: Played this at his wedding.
0{+> : Right.
OPRAH: That was his first dance.
0{+> : Phew. Yeah.
OPRAH: Thank you, Prince. Oh, thank you -- why don't -- you should slap me. You should just slap me.
0{+> : No, I won't do that.
OPRAH: OK. You should just -- I -- thank you, friend.
0{+> : Friend.
OPRAH: Thank you, friend.
OPRAH: What a gentle, sweet man. Wonderful soul, he is. In 1992 Prince -- he was Prince then -- signed a $100-million contract with Warner Bros. Records, the biggest deal in the industry. But their deal turned into a public feud over who would have the control. In protest of that contract, The Artist scrawled the word 'Slave' on his face. You all remember this phase. (Footage of Performing)
OPRAH: All those years before -- all those years -- times you were walking around with 'Slave' on the side of your face, what was that all about?
0{+> : To clarify that so many people don't get the wrong impression, I -- I never meant to be compared to any slave in the past...
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : ...or any slave in the future. The slavery that I had undergone was in my mind and -- as well as the business that I was in. We inked a $100-million deal with Warner Bros....
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : ...or any slave in the future. The slavery that I had undergone was in my mind and -- as well as the business that I was in. We inked a $100-million deal with Warner Bros....
OPRAH: Mm-hmm.
0{+> : ...and that turned out to be a little less than desirable.
OPRAH: A hundred million dollars did?
0{+> : The deal.
OPRAH: The whole deal...
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: ...what all that meant?
0{+> : Yeah. It's like I was saying before, you -- you can go in to record, you can go in to do some form of art, and if you -- you have any sort of chains on you, it's not going to come out as cool as it could be.
OPRAH: So you felt, as an artist , enslaved?
0{+> : Yes.
OPRAH: Mm-hmm. It sounds like you've grown.
0{+> : No, I'm pretty much the same size.
OPRAH: You know.
0{+> : Yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah.
0{+> : I -- I -- I really do feel I have, inside.
OPRAH: Do you think that it would have happened to you had you not been enslaved?
0{+> : Oh, no. Absolutely not. And I -- you know, I -- some days I want to just call up the folks at Warner Bros. And just. 'I love you, man.'
OPRAH: Really?
0{+> : Yeah, just...
OPRAH: Because?
0{+> : Of the journey, and they're are part of the experience. I -- I'm thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to be here talking to you, you know? This record is really important for me because it's the first time that I've recorded an album, a complete album, in a state of complete freedom.
OPRAH: Will we feel the emancipation?
0{+> : Yeah, I think so. What -- what you have to understand is I play most of the instruments myself. So when I go in to do the guitar track, this is a happy, free man recording.
OPRAH: We're going to hear what freedom sounds like, America. (Footage and OPRAH in the recording studio)
OPRAH: That's fabulous.
0{+> : Freedom is a beautiful thing.
OPRAH: Freedom is a beautiful thing. (Footage of and OPRAH in the recording studio)
OPRAH: That's fabulous, isn't it? That is fabulous. 'Emancipation, break the chain, break the chain.'
OPRAH: Next, The Artist performs a new dance song he wrote about the way a man should treat a woman. It's on the album -- CD set "Emancipation." We'll be right back.
(Excerpt from "1999" video)
OPRAH: Well, The Artist wrote many songs on the latest three-CD set "Emancipation" that are very personal and reflect where he is in his life today. And we know he's in love. Well, this one is called "Sleep Around" and tells how to keep a woman happy. "Sleep Around" from the CD -- three-CD set "Emancipation." The Artist.
performs ["Sleep Around"]
OPRAH: The Artist! What fun. Next, highlights from our visit with my new friend. Back in a...
OPRAH: I just have one question. I want to ask one question. How many -- ho -- I wanted to ask him one question before we left. How many more songs do you think you have inside yourself?
0{+> : Oh, one a day at...
OPRAH: One a day?
0{+> : ...I hope, until I die.
OPRAH: One a day. The CD is called "Emancipation." You're going to love it. You can work out to it. It's a spiritual kind of thing. You can do the -- whatever you want to do to it. It's a fabulous new CD set. Thank you, friend, and New Power Generation.
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June 28. 1997
6/28/97 United Center The Guy formerly know as Prince on stage lighting the way saturday night.
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OldFriends4Sale said:  Love that one. What? | |
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Love Emancipation. Disc 2 is beautiful and the title track is funk heaven. White Mansion is just too cute-luv it. | |
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Also In This Bed I Scream showcases just how beautiful Princes voice really is-beautiful song. | |
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OldFriends4Sale said:
Luv it. | |
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Did anyone mention Kate Bush?
A3(°) | |
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Plastic production. Prince 4Ever.  | |
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