I've decided to give up trying to get people to listen to Prince without prejudice. I could play a Prince track without someone knowing that it's Prince. They're totally diggin' it, but when I tell them who it is, they no longer like the music. I wonder why people are so afraid to admit that they like Prince and/or his music?

My conclusion: Prince has long been perceived as a lascivious freak, and no matter how good the music is, many people are stuck on his more bawdy lyrics and raunchy antics/videos than on the fact that he's a musical genius.

I'm curious. What do you guys think? Do you think Prince's image as a "sex obsessed freak" has distracted most people from his true genius? Why or why not?

NOTE: I think being rauchy helped Madonna, Janet, Britney and others. Why not Prince?

Yeah, and John Lennon was always just a loveable moptop, David Bowie's still a drag queen, and Janet Jackson is little more than Penny on "Good Times".

Anxiety said:

It was never about raunchy, that is a media spin. Prince was about freedom and courage. Now he just wants to get paid.