mnfriend said:

MN Star Tribune seems surprised they didn’t get the scoop: http://www.startribune.co...559478242/ (Just a repeat of the New Yorker story. The New Yorker story/ introduction to the book stands alone. Guess Prince could trust this writer, seems he kept his cards breasted until the right time) [Edited 9/6/19 20:41pm]

Wow. They say it's an "unlikely story".

Hamad said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Oh really? Then obviously he did a bunch of interviews with magazines like Jet and Ebony in the 1980s, right? Oh wait...

Oh stop it you

.

If I was wrong, you'd be able to counter what I said with evidence. Meanwhile, I can simply point to the Rolling Stone interviews and MTV interview etc.

jdcxc said:

Hamad, there are way more Black writers, musicians and artists who agree with u. And Prince has ALWAYS worked closely with Black journalists (invited entire NABJ to Paisley), DJ’s and music industry insiders...talk to Cynthia Horner or The Electrifying Mojo.

.

So to prove me wrong, you mention ONE event from 2015, and one DJ, and you namedrop a person without pointing to any evidence. That's "always"? Again: prove me wrong. List all those times where Prince helped out black-owned businesses in the 1980s. I can point to his exclusive interview with MTV, or his exclusive interviews with Rolling Stone.

BartVanHemelen said:

jdcxc said:

Hamad, there are way more Black writers, musicians and artists who agree with u. And Prince has ALWAYS worked closely with Black journalists (invited entire NABJ to Paisley), DJ’s and music industry insiders...talk to Cynthia Horner or The Electrifying Mojo.

.

So to prove me wrong, you mention ONE event from 2015, and one DJ, and you namedrop a person without pointing to any evidence. That's "always"? Again: prove me wrong. List all those times where Prince helped out black-owned businesses in the 1980s. I can point to his exclusive interview with MTV, or his exclusive interviews with Rolling Stone.

He did mix it up between black and white publications/businesses prior to his "crossover" in 1984 (Right On, Rock & Soul, Soul Teen), and to be fair, he did not do much of anything with the press between 1983-1990. He did do a pretty extensive interview with Ebony published July 1986 - may be because he had been getting flack in the press for moving away from his soul/funk roots. He also did the pretty extensive radio interview with Mojo after the birthday show which was great, but also very local.

*

But yes, his biggest interviews were with Rolling Stone and MTV in 1985.

What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

Read it with me again: "black ownership". Isn't his own business black-owned to begin with? Wasn't the whole Paisley Park black-owned? Prince was BLACK wasn't he? You're the one who's barking about MTV & Rolling Stones etc but what does that have to do with my initial statement? Being a champion of black ownership starts at home, and he started with himself & his legacy. Whether he helped other black owned businesses or not is another subject entirely, but since you brought it up, we have seen how many people came out of the woodwork talking about Prince' charity work which he never advertised. So where does that leave your precious evidences? By all means stick with them and stfu.

If you're looking to argue for the sake argument, go to the nearest mirror you can find. Otherwise we can do this all night. Not only that you're wrong, but you're a gas-lighting idiot on top of that.

[Edited 9/7/19 17:43pm]

leadline said:

As I mentioned before for those folks that say Prince knew he was going to die, or had nothing left to accomplish, this article shows he had grand future plans way beyond this book. Definitely not the actions of someone who knows they are checking out in a few months.

I would tend to agree - or at the very least, he thought he had enough time to complete the book.

*

This is why I have always laughed at the ridiculous notion by some that "Prince was so broken-hearted from Vanity's passing that he just could not live any longer" or that he "followed her into the afterlife." Okay, sure.

*

Of course he was very upset about her passing, and paid tribute to her in a very loving and respectful way. but based on this article, it seems it was "business as usual" for him immediately following that concert in Sydney. He was excited about the book.

*

It also seems, in typical Prince fashion, that he gave this guy the "run around" about subject, topics, logistics, and everything else in between. This dude has stamina!

Hamad said:

Mystery is a word for a reason indeed. The fact that this autobiography was unfinished, will add the intrigue to his already enigmatic persona, which will encourage people to pay closer attention to the music. After all, didn't he once said everything people need to know about him is in "his music"? He definitely embodied mystery all his life and anyway perhaps its better that somet hings were left unsaid. less is more thats what I think.

He absolutely did state "if you want to know about me listen to my music." He put all of his feelings, opinions and life experiences into his songs. He communicated to specific people in his songs.

*

Once I listened to his first P&M show at PP on January 21st, 2016 I was floored. He was literally telling his story with both words and his songs chronologically from 3 rys old through Purple Rain on that first night. It was a verbal and musical auto-biography. Just beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt.

*

Interesting that just one week later he contacted the publishers about his idea of writing his memoir.

BartVanHemelen said:

Hamad said:

Prince was always a champion for black ownership, especially when it comes to music & intellectual properties.

.

Oh really? Then obviously he did a bunch of interviews with magazines like Jet and Ebony in the 1980s, right? Oh wait...

Highlighted. Where did I mention Ebony, Jet, MTV or Rolling Stones? Where did I mention anyone except him? Totally random & unnecessary. Your obsessive & obnoxious fetish to correct folks even when there's no argument blinded your senses. Refrain from addressing me from now own please.

violetcrush said:

Hamad said:

Mystery is a word for a reason indeed. The fact that this autobiography was unfinished, will add the intrigue to his already enigmatic persona, which will encourage people to pay closer attention to the music. After all, didn't he once said everything people need to know about him is in "his music"? He definitely embodied mystery all his life and anyway perhaps its better that somet hings were left unsaid. less is more thats what I think.

He absolutely did state "if you want to know about me listen to my music." He put all of his feelings, opinions and life experiences into his songs. He communicated to specific people in his songs.

*

Once I listened to his first P&M show at PP on January 21st, 2016 I was floored. He was literally telling his story with both words and his songs chronologically from 3 rys old through Purple Rain on that first night. It was a verbal and musical auto-biography. Just beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt.

*

Interesting that just one week later he contacted the publishers about his idea of writing his memoir.

Indeed there's much subtlety to unravel, and that's from what has been released officially. Let alone the stuff that ended up shelved in the vault.

Hamad said:

What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

Read it with me again: "black ownership". Isn't his own business black-owned to begin with? Wasn't the whole Paisley Park black-owned? Prince was BLACK wasn't he? You're the one who's barking about MTV & Rolling Stones etc but what does that have to do with my initial statement? Being a champion of black ownership starts at home, and he started with himself & his legacy. Whether he helped other black owned businesses or not is another subject entirely, but since you brought it up, we have seen how many people came out of the woodwork talking about Prince' charity work which he never advertised. So where does that leave your precious evidences? By all means stick with them and stfu.

If you're looking to argue for the sake argument, go to the nearest mirror you can find. Otherwise we can do this all night. Not only that you're wrong, but you're a gas-lighting idiot on top of that.

Agree. Find anything that says Prince was against black ownership. smh

On a sidenote: The evening Dan Piepenbring describes as his first meeting with Prince is also the last time Prince talked to Morris Day. On Jan 29, 2016, both Morris Day and The Time and Judith Hill played @ Paisley Park after dark.

Morris talked about the event here: http://ew.com/music/2017/...ay-prince/

“We knew each other for so long, it was like a family. There’s no perfect relationship. We had business disagreements and stuff like that, but anytime we saw each other, we talked and chopped it up like we just talked the day before.” They were in touch on and off throughout Prince’s final years, and Day is grateful they had one last chance to connect before his death: In January of 2016, Prince called Day and invited him to come to Paisley Park and perform with the Time. “We hung out a little bit before the show, and hung out for a little while after the show,” he says. “The fact that I got to go and hang out with him a couple months before his passing — that is one of the most standout memories for me.”

I'm not sure what magazine interviews have to do with black ownership. And why just focus on the 80s?

icecreamcastle777 said:

“The book would allow him to seize the narrative of his own life. Once, he said, he’d seen one of his former employees on TV saying she thought it was her God-given duty to preserve and protect the unreleased material in his vault. “Now, that sounds like someone I should call the police on,” he told me. “How is that not racist?” People were always casting him—and all black artists—in a helpless role, he said, as if he were incapable of managing himself. “I still have to brush my own teeth,” he said.” He was talking about Susan Rogers. He said the same thing in that 2015 Ebony Interview that was taken down. Some people on here love saying he was crazy and incoherent in that interview. Looking at this article he’s still repeating some of the same stuff he talked about in that interview. He never backpedaled on what he had to say about Susan Rogers or the song The Beautiful Ones connection to Vanity. This just shows that The Ebony Interview was one of the realist interviews Prince ever did.

Prince should've been grateful to Susan Rogers, who began the process of curating his vast recordings. Since his passing, in interviews, she's celebrated him and defended his legacy. To the end, unfortunately, he was supercilious and unforgiving.

Note: I've been trying to excise 'should' from my vocabulary... but that's just been a personal goal since I don't think it serves me well.

I was trying to remember where I'd read recently about differing interpretations of an action from black/white perspectives... I can't remember. But, I did find this from a novel I'm reading, p. 93 of

'Sag Harbor' by Colson Whitehead:

The day our electricity went out, NP sauntered in late, wearing a fresh Jonni Waffle shirt his mother had washed for him. His mother was no weekend parent. She was a teacher by profession, and dashed out to Sag, packed for the summer, as soon as the final school bell of the year started ringing. He said hi to Nick, slapped my hand, and then looked at my hair and, with a glance at Martine, said, "You sure you want to leave it all exposed like that? You want a hat?"

I said, "Shut up, bitch." I'd been experimenting with "bitch," trying it out every couple of days. Going well so far, from the response.

Nick flicked NP's arm with his finger. "Why you got to instigate something all the time?" he asked.

NP headed straight for the soda machine and shouted out, "Martine, you get enough Pistachio this time?" winking at us over his fake diligence.

The Head-Patting Incident had occurred the week before, after a post-lunch rush. It was a hot day, steaming, riling the natives. The waffle-cone supply was low when the rush hit, and of everybody on shift, I was known as a clutch waffle-roller, knocking them out at an enviable rate when the pressure was on, not that such a skill was worthy of envy, but you get the point, I got the job done without sacrificing quality and with few rejects. The rush ended on a brutal note when a family of six, mom and dad and their nattering brood in every species of khaki shorts - Sansabelt, pleated, hip-hugging elastic - decided it would be neat if they all had banana splits. Which were our absolute bane beause everyone thought the banana split was very exotic and so they eyeballed every step of the construction process and traded notes afterward, with one of the group inevitably complaining when their split had a smidgen less fudge than their companions'.

Eventually, the family beat it out the door. The guys behind the counter, and me in my waffle perch, began to relax. Martine emerged from the back and, observing my accomplishment, the stack of cones, said, "Great job, Benji, those are some real cones you got there," and he patted me on the head. Two bounces.

I stiffened. I think I heard NP's jaw drop. Martine was out the door with his briefcase.

What the," I said.

NP came around the counter. "Yo, Martine just patted you on the head like you were a pickaninny."

"I'm not his --" I started.

"White man patted me on the head like a pickaninny, I'd kick his ass, shit."

"Martine is black," Nick said. "He was just saying, 'Good job, brotherman.' "

"That's some racist shit right there," NP said. "Pat a black man on the head."

There has been far too little research done in the area of what drives white people to touch black hair. What are the origins of the pet, pat, bounce their fingers in the soft, resilient exuberance of an Afro, a natural, a just-doin'-its-own-thing jumble of black hair? It's only hair -- but try telling that to that specimen eyeing a seductive bonbon of black locks, as the sweat beads on their forehead and they tremble with the intensity of restraint, their fingers locked in a fist in their pocket: I cannot touch it, but I must. A black-hair fondler has a few favorite questions that they like to ask when they fondle. "How do you comb it?" "How do you make it do that?" "How do you wash it?" With a pick; just does it; shampoo. Jerkoff.

A good starting point for such a study might be a metropolitan preschool, where the races are forced to mix with each other. Let the camera roll. The hours of footage, capturing the white schoolteacher's pats of her charges' nappy heads -- good-morning hello, after-recess howdy, end-of-day farewell -- will be a fruitful avenue of research. It's an ancient curiosity, no doubt, one that finds its first full expression during slavery. The contact of the two races on a daily basis, on New World soil, as they breathe its strange air. Picture the slavehoder as he surveys his property, both animate and inanimate, walking between the rows of the slave shacks, the field niggers standing at attention. He passes a young boy with bright eyes, round cheeks . . . and an irresistible 'Fro, untamed, almost flirtatious. Is it. . .can it be. . .winking at him? He will pet his property and pet is the correct verb, for these are animals before him.

I had punched a white classmate or two or three, some boys and a girl, in the stomach or the eye, during my early elementary-school years for inappropriate 'Fro-touching. "I just wanted to see what it felt like." I punched them according to my father's lessons. In each case, the principal called our house that evening, my mother answered, my father listened to one side of the conversation, came to a boil, asked for the phone, and then schooled Mr. Aletta in the finer points of black history, patiently, inexorably. That was a long time ago.

NP started a campaign. In slow moments he'd whisper, "It's like lamb's wool," with a tone of wonder in his voice.

When I returned form my ten-minute break, he'd squeak excitedly, "I love its kinky texture."

And also, "It springs back so fast."

And merely "Nappy!" if he was feeling pithy.

Nick said, "He's black, I'm telling you," and that's how things went for a time. What had been Martine's intent? Caught between NP's indictment that I'd been punked, and Nick's vision of racial solidarity. I was in the middle, bending as usual in the direction of whatever breeze was blowing through me that day. The day our electricity went out, I inclined toward NP and his vision of eternal, unending race warfare.

What are you going to do about it? What are you ever going to do about anything?

As an aside, do you think that Colson Whitehead would be a good person to be involved in the Prince documentary as a writer? At the end of 'The Underground Railroad', for which he won the National Book Award, he writes in the Acknowledgments: "David Bowie is in every book, and I always put on Purple Rain and Daydream Nation when I write the final pages; so thanks to him and Prince and Sonic Youth."

[Edited 9/9/19 10:26am]

RobotFix said:

^^ But why does anyone think it's their business to "preserve his music" in the first place? If he never had a vault, there would still be the music he did give - and a lot less bitching. It's like the actual person creating the stuff is lost on you guys. He is a commodity to you now, and the commodity is the most important thing. More, more more. It really is a sickness - picking another human apart down to the bones, even in death.

Anyway, this is off-topic to the thread, there are open threads right now discussing this.

icecreamcastle777 said:

“The book would allow him to seize the narrative of his own life. Once, he said, he’d seen one of his former employees on TV saying she thought it was her God-given duty to preserve and protect the unreleased material in his vault. “Now, that sounds like someone I should call the police on,” he told me. “How is that not racist?” People were always casting him—and all black artists—in a helpless role, he said, as if he were incapable of managing himself. “I still have to brush my own teeth,” he said.” He was talking about Susan Rogers. He said the same thing in that 2015 Ebony Interview that was taken down. Some people on here love saying he was crazy and incoherent in that interview. Looking at this article he’s still repeating some of the same stuff he talked about in that interview. He never backpedaled on what he had to say about Susan Rogers or the song The Beautiful Ones connection to Vanity. This just shows that The Ebony Interview was one of the realist interviews Prince ever did.

Prince connected one lyric form The Beautiful Ones to Vanity in that Ebony article, which was "the beautiful ones you always seem to lose", and his connection to that lyric was that she had quit the film. This completely makes sense. Even the lyric, "the beautiful ones always smash the picture" makes sense in connection with Vanity. However, the rest of the lyrics do not.

*

When asked directly about Susannah Melvoin in that Ebony interview he evaded a direct response, and gave two completely opposite answers - one, stating that he was not writing about anything "carnal" - the lyrics were of a spiritual nature, and then two, stating that he was writing the rest of the lyrics for the scene in the film. Those two responses are not even remotely similar.

*

Then, at his January 21st 2016 P&M show, just before playing The Beautiful Ones he clearly and slowly said to the audience, "sometimes singers have the courage to tell you...and if they are male, don't let them lie to you. We ALL write songs to "cop" girls." That new and surprising statement from him completely aligns with what has always been written about this song - that Prince was trying to get Susannah to choose between him and her boyfriend at that time.

*

Prince was just pissed off that several of the 80's associates had contributed to the recent Biographies that had been released during that time - specifically Alan Light's book, because he and Alan were friends for many years, so I'm sure Prince read his book. To me it couldn't be more obvious.

*

This was his "realist" interview?? His last comment about comparing himself to another popular musician (I forget the name) who didn't have people around him, because he was too good, and then saying "it be quiet around here" was very sad to me, and also very transparent. I think he was a very lonely guy.

[Edited 9/9/19 14:27pm]

^^ UGH

poppys said:

Why was the Ebony interview taken down btw?

Hamad said:

poppys said:

^^ But why does anyone think it's their business to "preserve his music" in the first place? If he never had a vault, there would still be the music he did give - and a lot less bitching. It's like the actual person creating the stuff is lost on you guys. He is a commodity to you now, and the commodity is the most important thing. More, more more. It really is a sickness - picking another human apart down to the bones, even in death.

Anyway, this is off-topic to the thread, there are open threads right now discussing this.

You'll NEVER win with that person. They think they know EVERYTHING!

ChocolateBox3121 said:

mnfriend said:

violetcrush said:

icecreamcastle777 said:

“The book would allow him to seize the narrative of his own life. Once, he said, he’d seen one of his former employees on TV saying she thought it was her God-given duty to preserve and protect the unreleased material in his vault. “Now, that sounds like someone I should call the police on,” he told me. “How is that not racist?” People were always casting him—and all black artists—in a helpless role, he said, as if he were incapable of managing himself. “I still have to brush my own teeth,” he said.” He was talking about Susan Rogers. He said the same thing in that 2015 Ebony Interview that was taken down. Some people on here love saying he was crazy and incoherent in that interview. Looking at this article he’s still repeating some of the same stuff he talked about in that interview. He never backpedaled on what he had to say about Susan Rogers or the song The Beautiful Ones connection to Vanity. This just shows that The Ebony Interview was one of the realist interviews Prince ever did.

Prince connected one lyric form The Beautiful Ones to Vanity in that Ebony article, which was "the beautiful ones you always seem to lose", and his connection to that lyric was that she had quit the film. This completely makes sense. Even the lyric, "the beautiful ones always smash the picture" makes sense in connection with Vanity. However, the rest of the lyrics do not.

*

When asked directly about Susannah Melvoin in that Ebony interview he evaded a direct response, and gave two completely opposite answers - one, stating that he was not writing about anything "carnal" - the lyrics were of a spiritual nature, and then two, stating that he was writing the rest of the lyrics for the scene in the film. Those two responses are not even remotely similar.

*

Then, at his January 21st 2016 P&M show, just before playing The Beautiful Ones he clearly and slowly said to the audience, "sometimes singers have the courage to tell you...and if they are male, don't let them lie to you. We ALL write songs to "cop" girls." That new and surprising statement from him completely aligns with what has always been written about this song - that Prince was trying to get Susannah to choose between him and her boyfriend at that time.

*

Prince was just pissed off that several of the 80's associates had contributed to the recent Biographies that had been released during that time - specifically Alan Light's book, because he and Alan were friends for many years, so I'm sure Prince read his book. To me it couldn't be more obvious.

*

This was his "realist" interview?? His last comment about comparing himself to another popular musician (I forget the name) who didn't have people around him, because he was too good, and then saying "it be quiet around here" was very sad to me, and also very transparent. I think he was a very lonely guy.

[Edited 9/9/19 14:27pm]

.

Violetcrush said: "Then, at his January 21st 2016 P&M show, just before playing The Beautiful Ones he clearly and slowly said to the audience, "sometimes singers have the courage to tell you...and if they are male, don't let them lie to you. We ALL write songs to "cop" girls." That new and surprising statement from him completely aligns with what has always been written about this song - that Prince was trying to get Susannah to choose between him and her boyfriend at that time."

.

[Edited 9/9/19 23:10pm]

icecreamcastle777 said: