I thought the only time Prince did drugs, was during the Black Album. That is why in the video it says don't buy the Black Album, Im Sorry, for like a second or 2. As for Prince at the JB show, when was that?

evreed said:

i saw a bootleg through some sidemen player friends of mine in the music biz, but i heard it was circulating online. the time period was during prince's purple rain/m.j.'s thriller era. jb first asked mike to join him onstage to sing a bit after spotting him in the audience, and then micheal, like a little kid , whispered in james' ear that prince was in the audience (it was really cute on mike's behalf cause he was all giggly and bashful about it). so james invited prince up too, and he was clearly FUUUUU** UP and got up there an acted a stone fool. he was too far gone to do ANYTHING, and basically played a couple jacked up chords, screeched into the mike once, proceeded to do some little hip swaying dance where it looked like he was feeling NO pain, and then accidentaly knocked over a damn prop column standing to the side of the stage while he was stumbling off of it. love me some prince live performances, but that was pure tragi-comedy, bless his heart...

Prince has been known to drink like a fish ,but no known drug binges except for the Black episode .
NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE !!!!!

ReeseStrongnight said:

i thought i was the only one that said that

Wasn't the Black Album episode supposed to be ecstacy or lsd or something? I just can't seem to buy the whole crack thing that was brought up in an earlier thread, especially when you consider Prince's work ethic. It would be next to impossible to maintain while on hard drugs. Not to mention the numerous anti-drug stances he's taken in his music.

Perhaps I'm being nieve but wouldn't it be even more foolish to believe something verbatum from someone we don't know from Adam? That's just my 2 cents.
[This message was edited Wed Mar 24 0:03:00 2004 by xpertluva]

"cocaine becomes charming..." old friends 4 sale.

Who knows. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Whatever, he made some of the best music he ever did or will right there when he may or may not have been getting

OH yea, the video I mentioned was the Alaphabet St video.

TheFrog said:

xpertluva said:

It was E, allegedly in the club when he went to test the reaction to the album.

Something about this was recently brought up in a PM to me from 'butterballz84' that I found interesting, in that he/she thought the lyrics to Superfunkicalifragisexi were about being on MDMA (E) - before this I'd thought that he might have done E for the first time that night in the club, but the lyrics can definately be interepreted as describing the effects of E.

As I'm typing, I am feeling a bit intrusive, I realise this is none of our business, but for an artist like Prince who puts their life into their lyrics, it's natural for fans of the work to want to know more about the artists life, to understand the songs more, because they mean something to us, so I don't feel too guilty for probing into an artists personal life, they do invite us in to an extent.

Even if you've never done E, the effects are widely known - Any way, read the lyrics with this in mind.....

If your body needs water, keep dancin’
Cuz U oughta keep the blood flowin’ down 2 your feet
Brother Maurice’ll be ’round in a minute
With a bucket filled in it - squirrel meat
The blood real good if U drink it real fast
But the aftertaste just lasts and lasts
So if U kiss somebody, U wanna party all night (Alright!)

Superfunkycalifragisexy, oh! Ahh! {x2}

See, if U do 2 much, your skin'll be sensitive 2 the touch
The first person that touch U, U wanna fuck
U take ’em 2 your crib and U tie ’em 2 a chair
And U make funny faces till they get real scared
Then U turn on the neon, then U play with yourself
Till U turn ’em on

Superfunkycalifragisexy, oh! Ahh! {x2}

This beat is on time
Refined and designed 2 make U do the do
Superfunkycalifragisexy

This chair goes round and round
I feel like a clown cuz I'm stripped down
It's all fun and games till the very next day
Till, damn, U don't remember my name
Maybe I'll see U next Thursday night
Maybe I won't, but that's alright
Cuz in my possession there's a signed confession that says
I was the best U’d ever had
2 bad (Ow!)

This beat is on time
Refined designed 2 make U do the do
Superfunkycalifragisexy, oh! Ahh! {x2}

Baby, keep the blood flowin' down 2 your feet
Brother Maurice’ll be ’round in a minute

Superfunkycalifragisexy, uh
Superfunkycalifragisexy

This beat is on time
Refined and designed 2 make U do the do
Superfunkycalifragisexy

In 7 measures, I want somebody 2 scream

Superfunkycalifragisexy

If your body needs water, keep dancin’
Cuz U oughta keep the blood flowin' down 2 your feet
Brother Maurice’ll be around in a minute
With a bucket filled in it - squirrel meat
If U can't beat 'em, join 'em
Slammin'!

This beat is on time
All of the time
So refined
Specially designed 2 make U do the do (2 make U do the do)
Super...

In 7 measures, I... I want somebody 2...

Romance1600 said:

Interesting point. I know that P had experimented with a few drugs and alcohol prior to this, and had pretty much declared them out of his life by this point (he's too much of a control freak to allow himself to get too screwed up), but I can see how he might have gotten into E around this time period. It had only been recently declared illegal, and many folks were declaring it as a wonder drug that was actually good for you, helping you get in touch with repressed feelings. To someone like Prince, who had a whole lotta issues with his feelings, I can see how he would find the drug alluring. He probably did it a few times, until the infamous night in question. After having a bad reaction, he probably gave it up for good (he certainly beefed up his anti-drug stance on the Lovesexy album and tour, declaring God as the only drug he needed). This would certainly explain his extremely anti-X declaration on "The Future".

Wow, thanks Romance 1600! I never thought to go back and look at the lyrics that way.
And when I scored a vinyl copy way back in 88, I had no idea was X was....

Eugnj420

ReeseStrongnight said:

This I've got to see but where?

Far be it from me to call someone a hypocrite. I always found it ironic that his lyrics are riddled with anti-drug messages when it seems evident he has done extensive experimenting at the very least. I just accept that as yet another contradiction in the work of a complex guy.

Body don't wanna quit. Gotta get another hit.

Romance1600 said:

Damn, I haven't check those lyrics in a long time, yeah, does sound like there was some hidden meaning intertwined in those lyrics. This made me think about his track "The Future". If you think about the groove to this track it's has a house feel, which we know a common sonic landscape for "E".

I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So I can't go like a jerk

Systematic overthrow of the underclass
Hollywood conjures images of the past
New world needs spiritually
That will last
I've seen the future and it will be

I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So I can't go like a jerk

Yellow Smiley offers me X
Like he's drinking seven up
I would rather drink 6 razor blades
Razor blades from a paper cup
He can't understand, I say 2 tough
It's just that I've seen the future
And boy it's rough

I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So U can't go like a jerk
No, no

I've seen the future and it will be
Wait a minute

Pretty pony standing on the avenue
Flashin' a loaded pistol, 2 dumb 2 be true
Somebody told him playin' cops and robbers was cool
Would our rap have been different if we only knew?

I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
If there's life after, we will see
Don't go out like a jerk

Systematic overthrow of the underclass
Hollywood conjures images of the past
New world needs spiritually
That will last
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be

I've seen the future and it will be

I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be

"Think about the future"

I find it somewhat haunting considering when this track came out, shit, I didn't even know what "X" was back then, now it's almost as common as "Crack".

Speaking of X, I have a friend who swears up and down that Spooky Electric refers to a side effect of chronic ecstasy use that makes you feel like you're getting a sudden electric shock through your body. He thinks Prince was using it as a metaphor for addiction and general excess.

Not saying I buy this theory, which probably has some chemical inspiration of its own. Just sharing.

That line in the Future is obviously about E, but it is not an endorsement/celebration of the drug - it is a derogatory and overt reference 'X' is a (largely U.S.) slang term for MDMA/Ecstasy.

Which supports the 2nd hand and eye witness reports that he was using 'E' upto 1987 at least, and after the bad trip that led to the cancellation of the Black album, he quit using and retreated into a very orthodox religious sensibility about drug use.

ReeseStrongnight said:

This person is right. I think it happened around 83 right before Purple Rain was to come out and after the 1999 tour. I look at it and I believed too he was Fucked Up. He also kept rubbing his nose and he just seemed real nervous and maybe nothing could calm him down except a hit. I know he has been known to supposedly fire employees if they're caught using and he has had past girlfriends using, but he is the boss and he can't fire himself and with all that stuff around from other users, how can you not be curious about it. I believe he's tried cocaine, E, and probably other stuff, but he probably didn't let it control and destroy his life or his musical abilities and thank God his looks. Everybody doesn't get messed up like Bobby and Whitney or Leif Garrett(who?)
I guess he had some control factor after all.

I don't think Prince used drugs. I saw the Jb thing and I don't think he was fucked up. He often played the bad boy/brat at the time. And he sometimes rubs his nose (and not only in this video). The fact also is that Prince is shy and not very at ease with people he doesn't really know. If you look carefully after a few goofy things, the man takes control of the band for a little while. When he gets outta stage he doesn't hit the column but he makes it fall. a few friends of mine got this same opinion.

I too rub my nose quite alot in front of people and i swear I'm not into coke.

marcdeondotcom said:

-----
yeah i saw that performance , thought he was pretty cool though everybody was expecting him to sing but he just grabbed a guitar, jammed some funk with JB,s band, screamed into the mic and walked off! typical prince style.

the prince/mj/jb performance is still widely available on p2p networks, not metioning any names, it lasts about 5 mins / 47 mb download.

Bah, he was not on drugs during that performance. You people obviously just don't know what it looks like to be really fucked up on hard drugs. And why the hell would he have been using them at a public place like the JB concert. Whaddya think? Was he snorting in the audience? "Excuse me people, a very important rock star person is going to blow off his head with some hoot now. Could you all look elsewhere?"

freakebear said:

I don't think it's evident that he's done extensive or any kind of experimentation.

If there are anti-drug messages then why is it contradictory? If he had experimented this could be why there are anti-drug messages...

Evident based on the cumulation of stories, as well as his sometimes erratic behavior and decision-making. And contradictory because you should practice what you preach.

That's just what I believe. As always, your mileage may vary.

Novabreaker said:

I haven't seen that video in years and years, so I won't comment, but coke and E are not considered hard drugs.

And as for going to a public event and using coke - HELLO - people don't sit at home and watch Wheel of Fortune whilst doing lines - Coke is a drug that is used socially, one can easily slip into the toilets and take a toot, or slip a quip line in the limo - Cocaine the drug that fuels Hollwood.