and later down the line sound/ act / be such a racist. This I ask not to stir up old news or overheard gabber but it just baffles me and i wonder how or why it ever happened.. In 84 seeing so many folks from different races and colors both in Princes audience and his group made me think we were on the right track. I have my opinions and will post them later 2 day.

this question needs a serious

answer because prince

is a black man

yes, he is a musician

with universal appeal,

but he is a man of color, first

one has 2 wonder what is in

some folks minds who claim

2 be a prince fan,

yet have issues with

his race

uh oh...

Aren't they the ignorant ones?

i think that's a good question. i know drug addicts who are prince fans and that baffles my mind too. i guess one can justify anything they do. i mean, i know corporate suits that love the beatles...and i'm not even talking about paul mccartney.

someone could also ask why prince changed his tune from "race" to "family name". i guess its all in the mind.

I found an essay called LEE ATWATER AND THE DEATH OF FUNK. If I can find it again I will post it because I think it explains your question.

Prince said when TRC was released that when you hear it your soul would reflect back to you what the meaning of the album was.

When you heard Family Name your soul was bared to you. That's the reason why he closed the album with Everlasting Now and Last December.

Here it is in 2004 and we still have people who judge on appearance. I'm white, the last time I looked I was white when I was a kid in the 80's. I have never judged someone on skin color. I guess I can than my parents for that!

muleFunk said:

and because prince said this mumbo jumbo it must be true, lol.

i mean, the song is great, don't get me wrong. its one of my favorites. i was just pointing out the differences between his mentality in 1993 v. his mentality in 2001. its all good. people are allowed to expand their thoughts.

sumtymes said:

That`s rubbish.
Prince is a human being, first.

prince is black? omg! shock horror!!!

"Mumbo-Jumbo" ?
lol

I think after all of the stuff going on in his life at the time TRC was just a reflection on his life .

The spirit of 1993 was different in 2001.

IMO I think that Family Name was the best response that I have heard to Reagan & the Bushes.

The strange thing about TRC is that it created such a stir among fans who bought Lovesexy.

Rainbow Childre Rise!

boston3 said:

I think a lot of things Prince has done (music and interviews) since 1996(ish) has kind of come across to some people as a little derrogatory to white people, that is, hearing it from someone who has previously spouted on for years about it not mattering what race you are and such.

I'm not saying they had the right opinion, but I am saying that there have been quite a few songs and interviews and speechs that have been perceived as giving the complete opposite message as those views Prince expressed in songs/interviews etc in the past.

Ubiquity said:[quote]

sumtymes said:

That`s rubbish.
Prince is a human being, first.[/quote

Right and he's a man of color but not just black. It's not that simple. The truth is he is representative of various races: European, African, and who knows what else. It's obvious he's not 100% African (not many of us Americans are) so quit acting like he belongs exclusively to one "community".

The diversity of his background is all the more reason for a diverse audience to embrace him not that it should be necessary.

I think this question deserves an answer.
Any answer will just be one man's opinion.
Here is mine.
As long as Prince satyed in his place...met whatever criteria
the fans wanted, everything was cool.

But when he started on that "self-awareness" journey, that's when
feelings that lurked below the surface were exposed.

Family Name...infuriated the fan who was less accepting of all races.
People acted like Lincoln was their daddy or something.

Then that poem...THE MOORES...when Prince wrote that...all hell broke loose!

Comments like these were heard.
"Who does he think he is?
He is a stupid! He should stick to singing!"

Then there were those threads over and over about his race.
He is part this
...part that...he is not black!
My friend showed me a picture of Prince's Mom supposedly to convince me
that he is part something.
His Mom looks just like me...a black woman.
Then Prince refers to himself as a black man...all the time.
Some won't hear that.

Now all being said, the Prince fan who is a racist has stopped being a fan.
He may still like some of the music, but he does not like the man.
Some have even expressed that here..often.

To those who did not buy into the hatred, I congratulate you.

Prince is black? When did this happen?

Well, certainly in the 80's prince didn't fit in any mold; nor musically, nor image-wise. People of all sorts would be drawn in by the music an maybe later on, when he started to profile more and more as a coloured person, some people felt disconnected? just a theory..
Some people don't really listen to the music either and just catch the "image", not the content.
You're never born a racist; you learn by influence... so somewhere along the way, they gott badly influenced.
m

SensualMelody said:

well said.

why r people so shocked that hes black-are u not a prince fan now?P.S.-I dont know if hes all black but im sayin if he is do u feel different about him now?

SensualMelody said:

Wow! That pretty much sums it up. I am contiously amazed at the people who simply CAN NOT accept that Prince is Black. Just about all Black people in America are mixed with something but we are called "Black". But when it comes to Prince...Oh no! He's not black he's mixed. Then don't call any of us Black. Call us all mixed.

chookalana said:

Never knew there was a difference in race colour divide between humanes until I was 18...WOW huh? guess I have EVERYONES IGNORANT ASS PARENTS TO THANK FOR TEACHING THEIR KIDS TO THINK IN THIS LIKENESS, and THOSE KIDS FOR ENLIGTENING ME THAT PEOPLE THINK LIKE THIS, all the way around the board

THANK YOU SENSUALMELODY!!!

muleFunk said:

- ow!

That is the craziest thing I have yet heard Prince to have said. And you bought that?!
[This message was edited Sun Feb 8 15:06:59 PST 2004 by scififilmnerd]

illimack said:

Look, if it's important to you that Prince is black, then good for you. I don't care about his color. I care about music I can relate to. When Prince is on some trip about his race, about being a family man and about having copyrighted the truth, then he is no longer making music that is accessible to everybody.

For me, as a white, gay Prince fan who is not a JW and is not oppressed by the music industry, I go about collecting, enjoying and loving his music by collecting, enjoying and loving his pre-Emancipation releases that was accesible to everyone - them being of color, of different sexual persuasion, of different faith and whatever. He was about love for everybody, not just for black, straight, male, married, Jehova-members of his NPGMC Club. That's narrowing the target audience too far - certainly to a point where I feel excluded.
[This message was edited Sun Feb 8 15:55:24 PST 2004 by scififilmnerd]

P.S. I know Prince made an issue in early interviews of being of mixed origins, but to me he has always been black. (Well, certainly chocolate ) I am as shocked as everyone that a Prince community could harbor racists and homophobes.

And then again, not really, because, well... I've heard homophobia runs rampant in the NPGMC, so why not racism, too?

Thank God I'm here at the Org and not over there. Despite the recent controversial relevations here, I still feel that most people on the Org have the right Prince spirit of love for everyone. We cannot allow the actions of a few to sow mistrust. I still believe that the Org is a better place than the NPGMC because the Org consists of people who are Uptown. Sex and race don't matter.
[This message was edited Sun Feb 8 16:10:41 PST 2004 by scififilmnerd]

AND I say again what did your soul say to you ?

It doesnt have to be about buying what someone is selling,it is about understanding.

If you want to understand you will.
If you don't want to understand you won't.

Peace .

SensualMelody said:

This is the dilemma of EVERY Black person in AMERICA.
As long as you stay in yo place NIGGER you can speak.

Many White people don't know this and it is shocking to hear this kind of thing,but it's true.

To those White people who are not racists .We are not talking to you.We salute you.You were there with us marching and fighting for freedom.

We are talking about the ones who hate deep down in their hearts.The ones who are angry when they see mixed kids or an Black/White couple walking down the street.The ones who cry about affirmative action when they have a Hella job.

You know what I'm talking about.