muleFunk said:

All of this is a last gasp at fame by folk who wouldn't be famous if Prince never crossed their paths.

Yes, and that includes SheilaE, The Rev., Andre Cymone, etc. etc. etc.

I don't believe half of them would be famous without Prince. They are profiting off of his death....

PennyPurple said:

laurarichardson said:

//This how you honor someone look at what Andre Cymone is doing. He knows a lot and has always given little or no information about why Prince even came to stay with his family. He is not out making a living with gossip. He is keeping the music alive. She had to have known the media would take the tidbits and make it negative to get click=money. The media wants us to believe that Prince was recreational drug user for 30 years and never missed a step. According to him he never had any medical issues is entire life as if he was some human person. You know he never had any flaws and so much as a bad day. The whole thing is absurd. He simply was another person who did not want to married at that time to that person. No reason for any women to carrying on about her ex for 20 years. What is she going to do in 10 years or 20 years from now.https://blog.thecurrent.org/2017/03/in-concert-and-conversation-prince-peers-pay-tribute-at-sxsw/ [Edited 3/19/17 5:40am]

She had to have known the media would take tidbits and make it negative?...Did Andre Cymone know that the media was going to use him in a bad way when he sat down with them for the This is how it happened (or whatever) the show is called? NO he didn't. He even made a statement about it.

She and Andre have in the business for years now. No one can be that naive after being in the business for so long. She knows full well that certain statements are going to catch fire and be twisted and turned for whatever reason. She was with Prince in 90s and saw that the media don't play if the have negative information to play with.

Purplestar88 said:

PennyPurple said:

She had to have known the media would take tidbits and make it negative?...Did Andre Cymone know that the media was going to use him in a bad way when he sat down with them for the This is how it happened (or whatever) the show is called? NO he didn't. He even made a statement about it.

She and Andre have in the business for years now. No one can be that naive after being in the business for so long. She knows full well that certain statements are going to catch fire and be twisted and turned for whatever reason. She was with Prince in 90s and saw that the media don't play if the have negative information to play with.

Then so did Andre.

rogifan said:

muleFunk said:

100 % truth.

AND April still hasn't arrived.

I can't agree about Bill Cosby and I think Whitney and Michael took themeselved down but it is true that while Prince was alive there was very little if any scandal attached to him, especially the last 10-15 years of his life. The public loves scandal and it sells magazines and provides page views so if the media can now manufacture some around Prince they'll do it in a heartbeat.

Just remember this about the Bill Cosby character assassination.

He came out hard against Trump in 2012.

At least 5 models briging alligations against him worked for Trump's modeling agency at one time or another.They also were used at the Playboy Mansion where Cosby was playing around.

PennyPurple said:

Purplestar88 said:

She and Andre have in the business for years now. No one can be that naive after being in the business for so long. She knows full well that certain statements are going to catch fire and be twisted and turned for whatever reason. She was with Prince in 90s and saw that the media don't play if the have negative information to play with.

Then so did Andre.

http://prince.org/msg/5/438406

I don't drop Shelia in this at all because she was still playing with him even though they had disagreements. She even did the Unsung episode where she spoke about the relationship about him and that was before his death. Her book came out before his death.

That's why Mayte's book is getting the attention from me .

See, I can't see all of these past associates doing tributes as them just trying to keep Prince's memory alive. Every one of these artists have been trying to make a name for themselves since they've been with Prince, trying to capture the fame and glory that Prince had or that they experienced while they were Prince. They have all tried to have solo careers with varying degrees of success, or lack of success. Now that Prince is gone, suddenly they are all touring again, making money from these tours, or from his image or symbol. These aren't tributes at all. These are struggling artists, realizing Prince's fan base will support them and attend their gigs because they were associated with Prince, performing Prince's songs, touring and making money OFF their association with Prince. IF they had not been associated with Prince, do you think they would even get half of the attendance at these gigs that they do? If these were true tributes, instead of pocketing all the money they make from these tours they would be donating at least some of the profits to charitites that Prince might have supported or any charity (knowing his sense of philanthropy) to continue his legacy in that way. But they aren't. The proceeds from these concerts go in their pockets. And they will continue to do these concerts for as long as the Prince fans decide to support them because of their association with Prince.

muleFunk said:

I don't drop Shelia in this at all because she was still playing with him even though they had disagreements. She even did the Unsung episode where she spoke about the relationship about him and that was before his death. Her book came out before his death.

That's why Mayte's book is getting the attention from me .

But Sheila was among one of the first to use Prince's symbol on an item and sell it. Do you think Prince would have appreciated that? And the last time she performed with Prince was back in 2008, I think. And didn't they have a falling out of some kind? I don't think Prince ever reached out to her again, did he?

benni said:

See, I can't see all of these past associates doing tributes as them just trying to keep Prince's memory alive. Every one of these artists have been trying to make a name for themselves since they've been with Prince, trying to capture the fame and glory that Prince had or that they experienced while they were Prince. They have all tried to have solo careers with varying degrees of success, or lack of success. Now that Prince is gone, suddenly they are all touring again, making money from these tours, or from his image or symbol. These aren't tributes at all. These are struggling artists, realizing Prince's fan base will support them and attend their gigs because they were associated with Prince, performing Prince's songs, touring and making money OFF their association with Prince. IF they had not been associated with Prince, do you think they would even get half of the attendance at these gigs that they do? If these were true tributes, instead of pocketing all the money they make from these tours they would be donating at least some of the profits to charitites that Prince might have supported or any charity (knowing his sense of philanthropy) to continue his legacy in that way. But they aren't. The proceeds from these concerts go in their pockets. And they will continue to do these concerts for as long as the Prince fans decide to support them because of their association with Prince.

Yep, that's the truth. I even recently saw a picture of Mayte and her mother and her mother was wearing a symbol necklace Her mother could not stand him- we all know this from the Ex's show. So, it was strange to see her wearing a symbold necklace.

Superfan1984 said:

benni said:

See, I can't see all of these past associates doing tributes as them just trying to keep Prince's memory alive. Every one of these artists have been trying to make a name for themselves since they've been with Prince, trying to capture the fame and glory that Prince had or that they experienced while they were Prince. They have all tried to have solo careers with varying degrees of success, or lack of success. Now that Prince is gone, suddenly they are all touring again, making money from these tours, or from his image or symbol. These aren't tributes at all. These are struggling artists, realizing Prince's fan base will support them and attend their gigs because they were associated with Prince, performing Prince's songs, touring and making money OFF their association with Prince. IF they had not been associated with Prince, do you think they would even get half of the attendance at these gigs that they do? If these were true tributes, instead of pocketing all the money they make from these tours they would be donating at least some of the profits to charitites that Prince might have supported or any charity (knowing his sense of philanthropy) to continue his legacy in that way. But they aren't. The proceeds from these concerts go in their pockets. And they will continue to do these concerts for as long as the Prince fans decide to support them because of their association with Prince.

Yep, that's the truth. I even recently saw a picture of Mayte and her mother and her mother was wearing a symbol necklace Her mother could not stand him- we all know this from the Ex's show. So, it was strange to see her wearing a symbold necklace.

Yeah, Mayte's mother just ... Well, the one thing we can say about Mayte's mother that we've seen is that she is very opportunistic. Thus why Mayte came into his world.

206Michelle said:

Superfan1984 said:

benni said:

See, I can't see all of these past associates doing tributes as them just trying to keep Prince's memory alive. Every one of these artists have been trying to make a name for themselves since they've been with Prince, trying to capture the fame and glory that Prince had or that they experienced while they were Prince. They have all tried to have solo careers with varying degrees of success, or lack of success. Now that Prince is gone, suddenly they are all touring again, making money from these tours, or from his image or symbol. These aren't tributes at all. These are struggling artists, realizing Prince's fan base will support them and attend their gigs because they were associated with Prince, performing Prince's songs, touring and making money OFF their association with Prince. IF they had not been associated with Prince, do you think they would even get half of the attendance at these gigs that they do? If these were true tributes, instead of pocketing all the money they make from these tours they would be donating at least some of the profits to charitites that Prince might have supported or any charity (knowing his sense of philanthropy) to continue his legacy in that way. But they aren't. The proceeds from these concerts go in their pockets. And they will continue to do these concerts for as long as the Prince fans decide to support them because of their association with Prince.

Agreed. Unless these associates are either performing for free or giving all the proceeds to charity, then they are making money off of Prince.

BillieBalloon said:

Superfan1984 said:

Yep, that's the truth. I even recently saw a picture of Mayte and her mother and her mother was wearing a symbol necklace Her mother could not stand him- we all know this from the Ex's show. So, it was strange to see her wearing a symbold necklace.

The reason she was wearing the moniker of a man she intensely dislikes is because she was promoting the book. The book comes first. Not Prince

You say this like it's fact. Can you please point me to the article or interview or whatever in which she said this? If this is true, I'd like to read whatever you read to see it for myself.

PennyPurple said:

laurarichardson said:

206Michelle said:

So when you say that "Many people said he was not a serious person and he liked to have fun." I agree with that statement generally speaking, but not specifically in the context of this discussion because there is nothing fun about losing a child. Also, people often times use humor/fun things as an escape from reality. I'm not going to go into the dynamics of Prince's humor and having fun; that is a topic for another discussion.

--

As for Mayte, I totally agree that she likely suffered from post-partum depression because (a) she had just given birth and (b) most importantly, her child died. It wouldn't surprise me if her son's death continues to haunt her and cause her pain. She said that she hasn't gotten over it still.

--

My own grandmother had Borderline Personality Disorder. And the fact that she was raped, got pregnant, and then lost that child due to prematurity was probably a big reason for her developing BPD. She never had any other biological children. She had a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy and in the 1950s, the way to save the woman's life was to tie her tubes. She and my grandfather adopted my mother. She still carried around the Social Security/ID card for her biological child, Margaret, in her wallet when she was in her 80s.

--

If I had to go through what my grandmother went through or what Mayte went through, I would probably be pretty f***ed up, too.

--

And no, I don't bring up sad things just for grins and giggles. I bring them up because I want to know WHY. WHY did Prince die the way that he did? WHY did he die face down in the elevator at Paisley Park due to a drug overdose? WHY was he wearing clothes backwards/inside out at the time that he died? WHY did this man whose music touched my life die that way? WHY was he using painkillers? WHY didn't he seek help? Right now, there are a lot of unanswered questions. I know that I am not alone in how I feel. I am human. I have a need for things to make sense. And right now, there is a lack of information, so his death doesn't make sense to me. So I have to make sense of it myself.

--

So here is how I make sense of his death. It is common for people to use painkillers to dull their pain and to fill a void, this is common knowledge. Prince was sick. He had physical pain from years of touring. He also dealt with a lot of trauma and personal tragedies, in other words, emotional pain. Based on what I know about his death, the pain he experienced, and from my own background knowledge/experience (e.g. my grandmother's experience), I can infer that he was using painkillers to dull his physical and emotional pain. Prince did not have a history of using drugs recreationally. I believe that he was using painkillers because he was sick and was self-medicating.

--

WHY was he sick? What was causing his pain? Well, some of this is unanswered. But here's the conclusion that I have drawn based on the information that I have: He had physical pain, but more importantly, he was heartbroken. Based on what I know about Prince, as well as my own experience, I believe that the #1 reason he was heartbroken was the death of his son.

--

The clues are obvious. (1) We know that Amiir's death was so difficult that Mayte says it was the biggest factor in he and Mayte divorcing. I have to take Mayte at her word that the loss of their son devastated their marriage because she was there. It also makes sense because everyone knows that losing a child is about the worst thing that can happen to anyone. (2) His son's death was so difficult that he basically refused to acknowledge that it happened publicly. And then on top of his son's death, (3) he and Mayte had another miscarriage and (4) never had any children. (5) Prince never had any other children who lived, to our knowledge. (6) Prince wanted children, badly. The beautiful song "Let's Have a Baby" makes it clear that he wanted children. He says in interviews, including on the Oprah show in 1996, that he really wanted children. He put Amiir's heartbeat on "Sex in the Summer." He had a playroom built at Paisley Park. (And he wrote the song Future Baby Mama in 2007. Do we know for sure that the song is about himself? No, but it at least suggests that he still was interested in having a child.)

--

Some believe that Prince came to terms with the death of his son. I'm not sure that he did. Prince didn't exactly have the best coping mechanisms. He tried to control everything and he worked constantly. He was a flawed human being like the rest of us. He also sings in the song "Comeback":

If U ever lose someone
Dear 2 U
Never say the words their gone
They'll come back, yeah.

--

Well, did Amiir ever come back? No. Did Prince ever have other children? No. Maybe "comeback" is metaphorical?

--

Then there's the song "Until U're in My Arms Again," which many believe is about his son's death. I believe that it is. It makes sense that it is. And what does he say in the first 2 lines of the song:

All of my life, I’ve never wanted anyone like I wanted U
Every night, I said a prayer to God and his angels

(With this excerpt from Mayte's book, now this second line of the song makes more sense because she says in the excerpt that after she went to the hospital with bleeding, she and Prince prayed every night for their baby.)

The chorus of the song says:

Until U're in my arms again

I know this pain will never end
This broken heart will never mend
Until U’re in my arms again

--

Prince says pretty clearly how he felt in his own songs. He was heartbroken over his son's death.

--

I also know a couple of people who have lost children, one of my grandmothers and a close family friend whose 3rd son died of SIDS about 25 years ago. And based on knowing these people, the loss of a child doesn't go away, it stays with you. And I know personally that when you want children and can't have them, that the desire does not just go away. It doesn't go away until it has been satisfied. What I'm about to say is not easy to disclose publicly, but I know that the desire to have a child/children doesn't go away because my own husband and I are dealing with infertility/sub-fertility right now and it is painful. It is beyond difficult to have doctors tell you that the only fertility treatment that is feasible right now is in vitro fertilization. (By the way, I'm only 30 years old and my husband is 36.) And we have a cat, Shy, whom we love dearly. I call her "my baby" and "my child," and I mean that sincerely, but she does not take the place of having our own human child.

--

So, no, I don't bring up sad things for grins and giggles. I bring them up because in the absence of ANSWERS to WHY Prince died in the way in which he died, I have to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Mayte sharing her story helps to fill in the pieces of the puzzle for me.

--/I am sorry for the things that happened in your family however one can heal with time over any tradegy. I believe Prince was deeply hurt by what happened but he a pattern of pushing forward by throwing himself into his work. Parents died still working. Child dies still working, relationships going bad still working, money troubles still working and I am sure whatever else he had going on. I will not go into having his parents throw him into the streets. I believe he had issues as many people do that have a hard scrable upbringing but I do not believe he dealt with it by being a recreational drug user. You have at least a half a dozen people telling you he had pain. He even mentions surgery in the 2010 Ebony magazine interview. He told Kevin Smith that his knee was frozen and he could not get up. Eric Leeds said he saw him getting shots in knees when they were on the One Night Alone tour. I do not see his issues as any different than professional atheletes they have injuries and they keep playing.

Everyone deals with things in their own way. I don't think Michelle was saying that Prince was a recreational drug user. Or at least I didn't see that in her post. I see her saying, however, that she believed Prince never fully got over the loss of his child. There are many people that lose a child that never fully heal from that. But we all deal with our grief and pain in our own way. Prince's way was to bury himself in work, as evidenced by your statements.

benni said:

laurarichardson said:

benni said:

You say this like it's fact. Can you please point me to the article or interview or whatever in which she said this? If this is true, I'd like to read whatever you read to see it for myself.

//But his face is on the front page of the book. She and her mom are using a trademark symbol to promote the book but it is not about him. Are some of you for real with this B.S

Ahh, so it is your interpretation, not fact. I see. Thanks!

benni said:

BillieBalloon said:

benni said:

But Sheila was among one of the first to use Prince's symbol on an item and sell it. Do you think Prince would have appreciated that? And the last time she performed with Prince was back in 2008, I think. And didn't they have a falling out of some kind? I don't think Prince ever reached out to her again, did he?

After Prince died Sheila said she spoke to him about 8 months before. They had made ammends.

I think they had a falling out over some things she was billed for when on tour with him?

Burying one's self in work/sex/alcohol/shopping, etc. is also a form of denial to keep the pain/addiction/loss/loneliness or whatever the demons may be away. I think both Mayte and Prince over time achieved a level of acceptance or learned to live with it obviously concerning Ahmir's death, but that is something one never gets over. If you watch the YT video, link provided by rap in an earlier post, Prince uses a lot of riddled talk to answer Bryant Gumbel's question about the baby; Mayte is silent. Their pain is visible.

[Edited 3/19/17 8:38am]

benni said:

laurarichardson said:

Menes said:

BillieBalloon said:

benni said:

You say this like it's fact. Can you please point me to the article or interview or whatever in which she said this? If this is true, I'd like to read whatever you read to see it for myself.

Have you seen the picture? Mayte posted it on her instagram about 2 weeks ago, its still there. Maytes mother has bad mouthed Prince.

No, I've not seen the picture. But that isn't what I'm questioning about. You stated that she wore it simply to promote the book and that the book comes first, not Prince. So I was wanting to see where you read that? But if you are just getting it from a picture of Mayte's mom, then ... it's just your interpretation of why she is wearing the symbol necklace. I never watched Hollywood Exes, had no desire to, so I have take others words that she spoke poorly of Prince in the show. But to state with certainty that is the reason she wore the necklace, without anything to support that, is just supposition and interpretation of what you believe her motives to be.

BillieBalloon said:

Superfan1984 said:

Yep, that's the truth. I even recently saw a picture of Mayte and her mother and her mother was wearing a symbol necklace Her mother could not stand him- we all know this from the Ex's show. So, it was strange to see her wearing a symbold necklace.

The reason she was wearing the moniker of a man she intensely dislikes is because she was promoting the book. The book comes first. Not Prince

Oh, shes been the head buzzard from the first contact. She practically wholesaled Mayte's vulva as a sacrificial piece to Prince. I bet she had her hymen checked before auctioning her off to the highest bidder.

People should ask themselves why would a mother allow her 16 year old virgin daughter to engage with one the world's most well known playboys. You know she had to have a long term stratgey for the *uss to pay dividends. I bet you that wont be written with any unpleasantness if it's in the book. The whole lot of them should be qurantined.

benni said:

BillieBalloon said:

benni said:

No, I've not seen the picture. But that isn't what I'm questioning about. You stated that she wore it simply to promote the book and that the book comes first, not Prince. So I was wanting to see where you read that? But if you are just getting it from a picture of Mayte's mom, then ... it's just your interpretation of why she is wearing the symbol necklace. I never watched Hollywood Exes, had no desire to, so I have take others words that she spoke poorly of Prince in the show. But to state with certainty that is the reason she wore the necklace, without anything to support that, is just supposition and interpretation of what you believe her motives to be.

Do you think Nelly wore the necklace 2 weeks ago because shes been listening to Raspberry Beret on full blast and was just having a Prince moment? Come on, 2+2=4 But you wont accept that, its your problem not mine.

I'm not even going to hazard a guess as to why she wore the necklace. I'm not in her mind, I don't know her motivations. I don't know her, period. But I guess you do.

Menes said:

BillieBalloon said:

Superfan1984 said: The reason she was wearing the moniker of a man she intensely dislikes is because she was promoting the book. The book comes first. Not Prince

Oh, shes been the head buzzard from the first contact. She practically wholesaled Mayte's vulva as a sacrificial piece to Prince. I bet she had her hymen checked before auctioning her off to the highest bidder.

People should ask themselves why would a mother allow her 16 year old virgin daughter to engage with one the world's most well known playboys. You know she had to have a long term stratgey for the *uss to pay dividends. I bet you that wont be written with any unpleasantness if it's in the book. The whole lot of them should be qurantined.

That just crude. What's next? First, it's the money, then when did she get with the publicist, then the stomach pump/drugs, the mother/body parts....I may have missed anything about Ahmir.

Can some of you please stop with the "PRINCE WAS NO SAINT" comments whenever you are trying to defend the existance of this book. DUH, everyone knows he is flawed. Its a straw man fallacy. Its implying that those who are angry about the book are doing so because they are believing/promoting the idea that Prince was a saint. they aren't.

Secondly, I don't need to hear again about how he forced people to do shit. Only in some ways was he able to do that...litigation. And that is later when people wanted to sell his shit and write books about him. People did what he wanted because of his fame, his money, his connections, and hopefully-at-least partly because they liked the fucker. If anyone forced mayte to do anything it was her parents. If she ever wanted out of Prince's circle, she could have done it if her parents helped her do so. But if they were pinning their hopes on Mayte, then it would have been impossible for her to do so. Remember Mayte's mom was in the Oprah Show as well. She wasn't fighting what prince was doing. So either Mayte didn't mind doing what she was doing most of the time or she was pressured not just by Prince but ultimately by her parents (either directly or indirectly by their support of the situation). Your parents are always your parents (especially when you are young) but boyfriend/husband (in this age in particular) are often not forever. Remember Prince dumped her, freed her. She and her family would have stayed in his circle as long as they left the door open.

Thirdly, people are able to carry more than one thought in their head at the same time. In other words, Mayte might have justified the creation of this book in her head for many reasons--the need for money, the need to feel empowered because she can say her kids name, anger at the JW's, love for Prince, anger at Prince, as a way to defend his legacy by getting the negative stuff out of the way (becasue someone is going to write that stuff anyow) but doing so with compassion and an attempt at understanding. Prince himself could have several conflicting motives for what he did or said...maybe it wasn't just his ego, his insecurity, and his libido for everything. THe psyche is a complicated varied thing. Stop over-simplifying people.

Fourthly, stop assuming that every woman that Prince mentored or influenced was a bimbo or made of clay. Janelle is not a bimbo. That is too many women to insult. He mentored and told his male musicians how to dress. Are they brainless bimbos with no specific traits of their own that Prince recognized. Like I said earlier, these women were as much his muses and they were his creations. He saw things in them (and it was not just their ability to give in to him). People are too damn cynical about their relationships. Yes, he was manipulative prick sometimes and he did use his talent, fame and money to wield some control, but people don't mind being told what to do if the person doing it also makes them feel appreciated, special, and talented. I believe he loved every woman he helped. Its just that P's brand of love was conditional and spread too thin (and his insecurities often fucked up any potential for longevity) . Love can be flawed like that. (Even Mayte's mom might have several motives for her actions..ambition, money, guilt, forgiveness).

Fifthly, alot of P's behavior is typical rockstar behavior but in a milder form. Mayte being a 16year old he was attracted to but whom he didn't lay a hand on until she was 19...this is tame compared to the behavior of rock stars like Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger, wyman, R. Kelly, Ted Nugent, and even David Bowie who all would be labeled child molesters if people wanted to dig into it (14 year old groupies.) Maybe Mayte doesn't see how people could over react to her age because she lived and worked in that world where underaged groupies were at least somewhat common place. Remember she dated two rock stars--PRince and Tommy Lee.

[Edited 3/19/17 9:09am]

[Edited 3/19/17 9:12am]