To us in Europe he was the ultimate performer..a total 1 off utter genuis able to unite a multi-racial audience at the drop of a hat..Jesus how many days notice did he give us for arena gigs [crazy fool!]

However I think it is now safe to assume that for the African American community he was finally recognised for a being a central figure & a very important voice on their behalf to the rest of the world. He was not afraid to raise issues & many, many examples of what he did for the community are out there. The reconnection started in 94/95 with the fall out from WB & he gradually came back through to his final days. From the outside looking in the whole world is in mourning BUT when I look & listen to the African American community it goes wayyyyy beyond. There's no BS analysis of artistic integrity, his apparent commercial mistakes, carping on about people he may have treated badly back in the 90's etc there's just a real sense of loss for 1 of their own that towered above all others in terms of talent BUT also in terms of the vast good he did behind the scenes for the community. There's also the recognition of support he gave to artists of colour across all age spans. In short he did so much good & invested millions.

Perfect example: When the Balitmore single came out the community came out with nothing but appreciation, love & respect especailly for the shows that followed, the video etc...non black folk [in general] however moaned about how lightweight & simplistic the song was i.e. they just didn't get the significance of the issues around it.

Many might be offended but I stand by my observations..1 look at the Billboard Tributes vs BET sums it up neatly!

Really? Do we have to do the, "Who was Prince more important to" thing? That question is unanswerable. How about we be individuals touched by the presence and work of an individual instead of playing identity politics with everything?

Yup.

Genesia said:

Really? Do we have to do the, "Who was Prince more important to" thing? That question is unanswerable. How about we be individuals touched by the presence and work of an individual instead of playing identity politics with everything?

Bunsterdk said:

perfectly reasonable question methinks...compared to some of the comments on here?!

thread


If ya wanna discuss race issues......... politics and religion forum.