terrig said:

Noodled24 said:

He did the same thing on "Marz", throwing down the race card for no apparent reason. In this day and age it just sounds like a clumsy PR soundbite.

21st century, oh what a shame
That race still matters

WTF is wrong with you, seriously?

Here's why black lives matter - and here's why Marz is a timely commentary ....

- Black people experience MORE police brutality than any other group in the USA, those are facts.

- They have every right in the world to band together and complain, protest LOUDLY and STRONGLY until there is measureable change effected.

- Yes police brutality is rampant and others are effected, but until black people (and supporters of every hue) chose to protest EN MASSE no one gave a single fuck.

- By using #BlackLivesMatter the message that Black People in our society DO MATTER. Our society shows them at every turn that they don't matter, unless they are athletesm or rock stars. There is not a single thing wrong with saying Black Lives Matter. It doesnt mean other people don't matter, but it's important to say OUT LOUD AND OFTEN that Black Lives Matter, because until it starts HAPPENING - NO ONE MATTERS.


Prince fans who have an issue with Prince commenting on issues that affect him and everyone he's EVER KNOWN in his family and community need to check reality. Being rich and black doesn't mean he's not affected. He was so succinct, it hit like a laserbeam, and it was brilliant, without overshadowing anyones win. (unlike douchbag kanye)

Black people live with the race card presented to them every waking moment of every damn day .... if you can't realize that you should just not even speak on the subject.

Race still matters in the USA, especially if you're anything other than white. To think otherwise is offensive, racist and ignorant.

[Edited 2/9/15 15:00pm]

I'm in the UK didn't know Blacklivesmatter.com was a charty. I now understand what he was refering to at the grammys. You could have saved yourself some typing and just posted the web address.

I still think the line in Marz is clumsy at best. As is your pointing and calling me racist. Let's not pretend "Mars" is "Glory".

[Edited 2/9/15 17:21pm]

LotusMama said:

Ya know...it really does not surprise me that anyone here on the org would disagree with ANYTHING Prince has to say....that has been done and no doubt will continue. What gets me is that by not really understanding what he said and the issue that surrounds it has brought out so many folk that do not truly realize how racist they really are.

The late 70's & early 80's brought about this battle cry "I am color blind". My response then and my response now..."You are a fool!" If when you (no matter who you may be) look in the mirror everyday of your life and not see that you are not Green...you are fully aware of what color you are and what color you are not.

Black people...African Americans have always known what color they are (no matter what shade, eye color, or hair texture) and have never needed a mirror for clarity. Along with this comes how we have been treated in a country that has been built on the backs of our ancestors. Now after over 400 years we are still not treated as equal in all regards or with the respect of other races. If you do not find a problem with that then YOU are the problem...period.

So when Prince, a Blackman, makes a statement that includes Black Lives Matter...there is the audacity of some fans(?) to insinuate that he not only deny the issue but his race in the process.

Recognize this is just what racist do. Willie Lynch may or may not be ficticious but the theory has been in full effect for over 400 yrs. Divide...Divide...Divide

Until covert racist thought is eliminated from the minds of those who are color blind, those living with racial privelidge, those just plain blind or flat out racist we will unfortunately have these issues and discussions. The org is not immune.

It's so silly for some fans to be angry at a comment that reflects the truth of a societal ill. Often times, whenever Prince says anything of concern regarding the Black community, so many fans try hard to make excuses of what he says, because they can't seem to accept that he has actual concerns for his own community , and they will try to say he wasn't serious, doesn't know what he's talking about, just trying to fit in, etc., etc., We hear these same comments from many of his fans. The bottom line is that some have issue with Prince identifying with the Black community, but don't really want to say that out loud, and often use those type of excuses to cover how they really feel.

Many in this society seem to be blind to the fact, that this country was built on a system of racism, and with that system, racist beliefs were and are born from it, as well as, false white supremacy beliefs. If anything, those are the tactics that racially divides America, not the people who recognize and expose those brainwashing tactics as the main culprits,behind the American racial/economic/class divide. And some of those tactics, are the reasons why racial profiling and police brutality exists.

#stilllaughingatsomeoftheridiculousreactions

[Edited 2/9/15 17:45pm]

rusty1 said:

Prince is a nut job. He's a JW.. When i became a fan back in 1984, I never thought he would lose his mind one day.. He doesn't care about his fans.. No box sets & unreleased concerts etc.. It's too bad that Prince went crazy somewhere A long the way.. If he was normal there would've been a 30 th anniversary tour & deluxe edition of Purple Rain. Hey Prince u don't live in the past.. But when you're in concert it's "You all remember the 80's".. prince is a psycho

You've been a Prince fan since '84 and are just now noticing he's weird.. eh.. that's interesting.

[Edited 2/9/15 17:51pm]

ashynevermind said:

black and proud? Then why did he spend years claiming to be part Italian? He wishes he could be...

Do you understand that most "black" people are ethnically mixed? "Black" is a social racial category. It says nothing about ethnic makeup or the national heritage of ones ethnic ancestry.

I'm beginning to feel that it isn't so much that Prince is black, but that he's embracing being instead of embrassed of being black. Who else gets slammed for embracing who they are with it's joys and ills?

The Grammy's in general was garbage and Prince didn't help the situation.

Prince History Lesson:

Deleted - if you wish to provide your hardcore version of truth, do so with civility.

Langebleu - moderator

rusty1 said:

If you told Prince in 1984 that he would lose his mind & become a Jw.. He would've laughed & said no way Will i end up being a 57 yr old who is just plain Crazy

I don't see how he's lost his mind. Just because he says and does things that are contrary to what you want doesnt mean hes crazy. It just means he's living HIS life, not yours, nor you his.

ashynevermind said:

Prince History Lesson: he only started to cater to the black community after the silly name change.....he started appearing on Soul Train and doing interviews with black mags he never gave the time of day to before, why can't people see that? You know he felt all that was beneath him until he wasn't a superstar anymore, prove me wrong orgers...

Prince (circa 1979) says you are full of shit. And so does prince.org.

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He catered to the black community from day one.

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[img:$uid]http://i563.pho.../img:$uid]

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[img:$uid]http://i563.pho.../img:$uid]

His love of ice cream cones also goes waaaaay back.

[Edited 2/9/15 18:12pm]

this was not the first time Prince made a statement in support of black social issues

MARCH 29, 2012

Prince Shows Support for the Trayvon Martin Protest

music legend Prince is seen court-side at a basketball game donning a black hoodie with large scripted letters in red. The caption simply read “Suspicious?” Brilliant!

ashynevermind said:

Prince History Lesson:

Deleted - if you wish to provide your hardcore version of truth, do so with civility.

Langebleu - moderator

Now that we gotta good look at ya...heard your rant and such...knowing how ya feel and all...if you hate Prince so much...you are here why?

Hater 'Bye!

ashynevermind said:

And I'll say it, of the many concerts of his I've attended the majority of those present were white

Yes, a lot of Prince's fans are white. So were most of Jimi Hendrix's fans. You know why? Because they played rock music and are two of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.

ashynevermind said:

Prince History Lesson:

Deleted - if you wish to provide your hardcore version of truth, do so with civility.

Langebleu - moderator

Prove you wrong? His racial identity is still the same since he's been born, but you sound kind of angry for Prince embracing who he always was. I don't think it was Prince who was disillusioned about his race, I believe it was many of his fans who ignored he was Black all along and they were comfortable with that illusion.

I also believe many fans are not educated on the various skin shades that exists within many Black American families, and so many have their own stereotyped views of what Black families look like. I also think many fans got confused with Prince's racial identity, based on the Purple Rain movie, when his character parents in the movie were cast as an interracial couple. That seemed more like the idea of the producers/directors to draw in a multiracial audience. Think money, like those who promoted the film in the hopes of attracting a multiracial audience at the time.

The fact that he has had a multiracial audience over the years, proves it was because of the music and his performance skills as a musician/artist. Having a majority white audience at some shows vs a multiracial one, has nothing to do with the fact that Prince is Black, and that Black fans support him as a musician. It is also no secret Prince's music has attracted and still attracts 'various' audiences from all walks of life. Again that doesn't change his racial identity. His racial identity does not define his abilities as a musician. I've never seen people get so angry at a man acknowledging a societal ill that affects members of his community. He said what he said, and there's nothing anyone can do to change a comment he had the right to express. If anyone is that angry over Prince's concerns for members of the Black community, then it says more about the person who is angered over the comment. You'll be ok.

[Edited 2/10/15 5:31am]

Pokeno4Money said:

ashynevermind said:

And I'll say it, of the many concerts of his I've attended the majority of those present were white

Yes, a lot of Prince's fans are white. So were most of Jimi Hendrix's fans. You know why? Because they played rock music and are two of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.

Most Prince fans are white. And most orgers are white too. And most grammy watchers are young white females waiting to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift or Myley Cyrus. They were probably sad that One Direction wasn't there. Case and point is all the people on twitter who had no idea who Beck was. They probably also had no idea what point Pharrel and Prince were trying to make.

ashynevermind said:

Prince History Lesson:

Deleted - if you wish to provide your hardcore version of truth, do so with civility.

Langebleu - moderator

WOW. I agree that he wasn't right in the way he handled the WB dispute and sometimes totally acted like a spoiled teenager (and most of the other stuff about double albums, films, money, special treatment), but 2 failed marriages? no children? no family? no friends? Odd enough that you equate his inappropriate response to WB as the reason for his divorces.. where's the correlation? It was in horrible taste imo for you to say 'no children' when it's known that Prince lost 2 children (as said by Mayte; I've heard Manuela was also pregnant at one time but I don't know if this is fact)... as much as we'd love to, we don't know Prince like that to know exactly what he wants and when he wants. For all we know, he could have had a child in the past 10/15 years but chose not to. We really wouldn't know. LOL at how you assume he has no friends or family. Hate his attitude all you want but maybe don't make up 'facts' about P's life that you have no idea about? Jagoff parents? Who's the real dick here? LOL.

In no way am I a stan. I can admit that Prince can be and unfortunately, a lot of times IS a dick. But those personal attacks were totally uncalled for. If you don't like the way he left WB or any of his post-1988 work, that's fine... but chill.

As for your last 2 paragraphs, I don't know what you're going on about but I acknowledge that he seemed much more interested in his ancestry and overall talked more about his race (TRC, the celebrations, etc..) but I don't see the negativity in that or any of the deep conclusions you're making. Maybe he just began to show more interest in it? Let's not forget he was channelling James Brown on the 1986 Parade Tour (which is pretty 'black').

IMO, he didn't show cling much of an attachment to being black in the beginning because he was trying to become famous for being HIMSELF. Not famous for being 'that black guy' but famous for being totally kick ass and talented. Which is why he blurred his own race (to make mystique and possibly avoid racism/dismissal from prejudiced people), added Wendy Lisa Bobby Matt etc.. He was trying to gain respect as an artist and not be looked at as just 'black artist'. Once he became famous, it was probably easier for him in the 90s to embrace whatever he wanted (in this case his black audience) because he was already famous and the lines were thinning by then when it came to 'black' and 'white' music.. let's not forget that in 1982 MTV wouldn't play black stars.. there was a lot of racism/stereotypes he was probably trying to avoid

[Edited 2/9/15 19:20pm]

3rdeyedude said:

Pokeno4Money said:

Yes, a lot of Prince's fans are white. So were most of Jimi Hendrix's fans. You know why? Because they played rock music and are two of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.

Most Prince fans are white. And most orgers are white too. And most grammy watchers are young white females waiting to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift or Myley Cyrus. They were probably sad that One Direction wasn't there. Case and point is all the people on twitter who had no idea who Beck was. They probably also had no idea what point Pharrel and Prince were trying to make.

I've noticed he has a lot of white fans as well. For someone so controversial and in-your-face-crazy as Prince, I'm surprised that SO many people from so many different backgrounds nowadays seem to dig him. on social media at least

Pianist and songwriter. Father of Prince and Tyka Nelson

Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Mattie Della (Shaw) and John Lewis Nelson. His parents were both African-American

Pokeno4Money said:

ashynevermind said:

And I'll say it, of the many concerts of his I've attended the majority of those present were white

Yes, a lot of Prince's fans are white. So were most of Jimi Hendrix's fans. You know why? Because they played rock music and are two of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.

Exactly. I don't think that it occurs to some that Prince is really a Black man.

2elijah said:

ashynevermind said:

Prince History Lesson:

Deleted - if you wish to provide your hardcore version of truth, do so with civility.

Langebleu - moderator

Prove you wrong? His racial identity is still the same since he's been born, but you sound kind of angry for Prince embracing who he always was. I don't think it was Prince who was disillusioned about his race, I believe it was many of his fans who ignored he was Black all along and they were comfortable with that illusion.

I also believe many fans are not educated on the various skin shades that exists within many Black American families, and so many have their own stereotyped views of what Black families look like. I also think many fans got confused with Prince's racial identity, based on the Purple Rain movie, when his character parents in the movie were cast as an interracial couple. That seemed more like the idea of the producers/directors to draw in a multiracial audience. Think money, like those who promoted the film in the hopes of attracting a multiracial audience at the time.

The fact that he has had a multiracial audience over the years, proves it was because of the music and his performance skills as a musician/artist. Having a majority white audience at some shows vs a multiracial one, has nothing to do with the fact that Prince isn't Black, and that Black fans don't support him as a musician. It is also no secret Prince's music has attracts 'various' audiences from all walks of life. Again that doesn't change his racial identity. I've never seen people get so angry at a man acknowledging a societal ill that affects members of his community. He said what he said, and there's nothing anyone can do to change a comment he had the right to express. You'll be ok.

[Edited 2/9/15 19:05pm]

He claimed to be part Italian for years, I'm aware he's black from day one

skywalker said:

ashynevermind said:

Prince History Lesson: he only started to cater to the black community after the silly name change.....he started appearing on Soul Train and doing interviews with black mags he never gave the time of day to before, why can't people see that? You know he felt all that was beneath him until he wasn't a superstar anymore, prove me wrong orgers...

Prince (circa 1979) says you are full of shit. And so does prince.org.

-

He catered to the black community from day one.

-

[img:$uid]http://i563.pho.../img:$uid]

-

[img:$uid]http://i563.pho.../img:$uid]

His love of ice cream cones also goes waaaaay back.

[Edited 2/9/15 18:12pm]

Wow, a single issue...good going.

Off the subject, he's dead on about the chemtrails... but it's not just over black neighborhoods...

ashynevermind said:

Off the subject, he's dead on about the chemtrails... but it's not just over black neighborhoods...

please elaborate.

1contessa said:

Pokeno4Money said:

Yes, a lot of Prince's fans are white. So were most of Jimi Hendrix's fans. You know why? Because they played rock music and are two of the greatest electric guitarists of all time.

Exactly. I don't think that it occurs to some that Prince is really a Black man.

That's a good thing, no? Isn't that the goal ... to view and treat people based on who they are as a person, rather than what their skin color is?

I have never viewed anyone as a great black musician or a great white musican, I view them simply as a great musician ... and Prince's fanbase is proof that the majority of Americans are the same as I.

skywalker said:

[img:$uid]http://i563.pho.../img:$uid]

Is there a way I can un-see that picture? Lawd have mercy ...

A message from Prince.

Pokeno4Money said:

1contessa said:

Exactly. I don't think that it occurs to some that Prince is really a Black man.

That's a good thing, no? Isn't that the goal ... to view and treat people based on who they are as a person, rather than what their skin color is?

I have never viewed anyone as a great black musician or a great white musican, I view them simply as a great musician ... and Prince's fanbase is proof that the majority of Americans are the same as I.

No it is NOT a good thing - especially when men like Prince are denied their right to acknowledge their blackness by white people who hide their contempt for it behind the completely fictional concept of a colorless utopia. Black people have tried to not be seen as black. It doesn't work. Insisting that they constant relinquish blackness for something that the ruling class has never even pretended to accept is the definition of racism.

Gosh... Prince was really cool yesterday...



but - some people in this thread are really nuts: