From Rolling Stone, 946, April 15, 2004
http://www.rollingstone.c...870&cf=377

The Immortals
By Ahmir Thompson

Prince was forbidden in my closed, Christian household. He was somewhere between Richard
Pryor -- whom we absolutely couldn't listen to -- and a stash of porn. In junior high, my
parents would put thirty or forty dollars in an envelope, and that would buy a card that would
cover a month of school lunches. It was November of 1982, and I took my thirty-six dollars
and purchased Prince's 1999, What Time Is It?, by the Time, and the Vanity 6 album. I
starved that whole month.

"Little Red Corvette" from 1999 was one of the first regularly played songs by a black artist on
MTV; Prince crossed boundaries like that all the time. In the first five songs on Sign 'O' the
Times, he sprawls across James Brown, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, the Beatles and Curtis
Mayfield in five easy swoops and maintains his own identity. But it's Purple Rain that was a
crowning achievement, not only in Prince's career but for black life -- or how blacks were
perceived -- in the Eighties. It's the equivalent of Michael Jordan's 1997 championship
games: He was absolutely just in the zone, every shot was going in. "When Doves Cry" is
one of the most radical Number One songs of the past twenty years. Here's a song with no
bass line in it, hardly any music. I hear people speak of the Neptunes all the time, like,
"Oh, man, this is some new shit!" "When Doves Cry" is a precursor to the Neptunes' one-note
funk grind, a masterpiece of song with just a drum machine and very little melody. Anyone
who saw 8 Mile, if they're over thirty, the first words out of their mouth are, "Oh, I liked that
film the first time I saw it. It was called Purple Rain."

Prince must be one of the most bootlegged artists of the rock era -- on a weekly basis I
listen to a bootleg called The Dream Factory, which would later be known as Sign 'O' the
Times. His ability to create on the spot is mind-boggling. Like a hip-hop MC freestyling,
he executes ideas off the top of his head in a very convincing manner. But there must be
at least twenty ways to prove that hip-hop is damn-near patterned after Prince, including
his genius, blatant use of sexuality and the use of controversy as a way to get attention. I
don't think any artist before had used that level of sex to get in the door and be accepted
by the mainstream. I wonder what his mind state was in 1980, standing onstage in kiddie
briefs, leg warmers and high heels without a Number One hit. That was a risk. Also, Prince
created the image of what we now know as the video ho -- he was a pioneer of objectifying
and empowering women at the same time. Jay-Z often talks about ghostwriting for other
artists; Prince is notorious for ghostwriting. Not only that, but he invented different aliases for
himself in a way that rappers have adopted -- he was Jamie Starr, or Joey Coco, Alexander
Nevermind or the Starr.

I met Prince in 1996, and I was prepared for the grasshopper voice, the one that he always
uses at award shows, but he was totally normal. Just like you and me, except he's Prince.
We played together a few times, and one of my hero moments of all time is after a concert
in New York when me, him and D'Angelo got onstage and played for about a half-hour. His
silence in the last two or three years has bothered me. It's really a shame that his fight for
independence from the labels was a David and Goliath battle that he had to fight alone,
and he's still fighting it. But judging from his performance with BeyoncŽ at the Grammys,
I'm happy to say that he hasn't lost a step in his twenty years of doing it. He seemed as
young and as in charge as ever. He definitely seized that moment. In case a few people
counted him out, he's got a few trump cards up his sleeve.

And...
Purpose of posting this was?

There is also an illustration (by Sterling Hundley) ...


http://content.rollingsto...343374.jpg

thanks mama!!!

Luv4oneanotha said:

the same reason why you and i make posts here everyday: to be read and seen.

the hip hop analogy ruined it. not that i dont like hip hop, i do, but its reaching.

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

Agreed Grandmaster Flash was groundbreaking back then

Luv4oneanotha said:

Are you, like, tryin to drop a philosophical bombshell on us dude?

Luv4oneanotha said:

What a dumb ass question

Luv4oneanotha said:

PURPOSE OF POSTING THAT WAS

What does he means when he says Prince has been silent for the last couple of years. He's steady put out music & he did the ONA Tour in 2002!

eldog98 said:

He means that Prince has not talked to him for that time, not that he didn't record or perform.

Quest needs to get in step and check out the Work Cds..lol

all though i liked ahmir thompson's words alot better than outkast's when it came to disussing prince's influence i still was somewhat dissapointed. I read all the articles on the so called 50 immortals, most of them were written by other musicians, i felt some did better capturing the essence of those they wrote about, i felt ahmir didnt capture as much. I wish i had this opportunity, but i am just a fan not a contemporary, i can't remeber all of the articles in detail but Elton John on Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger on Smokey Robinson, Eddie Vedder on The Who, Elvis Costello on the Beatles, Britney Spears on Madonna(NOt) were some of the better articles

DK47 said:

There is no such thing as a dumb question, only dumb people

2freaky4church1 said:

Why, so he can puke at the quality?

Prince was forbidden in my closed, Christian household. He was somewhere between Richard
Pryor -- whom we absolutely couldn't listen to -- and a stash of porn. In junior high, my
parents would put thirty or forty dollars in an envelope, and that would buy a card that would
cover a month of school lunches. It was November of 1982, and I took my thirty-six dollars
and purchased Prince's 1999, What Time Is It?, by the Time, and the Vanity 6 album. I
starved that whole month.

This could be taken directly from my biography...Considering where Prince is now-it's amazing how he was back in the early 80's...If only my parents could see Prince now they would never believe that the man could change so much...And to me it was a natural evolution...

Mr. Thompson has also compared Prince to Yoda in the past. Well, Prince, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and Aretha Franklin. They are all Yoda.

Link: http://www.believermag.co...ompson.htm

I think I love you, Mr. ?.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Don't be too harsh on the poor lamb...I think they still believe this is a message board for Prince brand spaghetti.



So I can see where there'd be some confusion.

Anxiety said:

what, no apollonia brand spaghetti sauce to go along with them noodles?

Aerogram said:

You seem very sure of yourself. The way I read it, he's talking about Prince's musical output, not his personal relationship with him.

wishuhvn said:

I totally identified with that too! Especially since, when I was in 5th or 6th grade (can't remember) I was riding in the car with Moms singing, "head. til you get enough", etc. Then I got a backhand across the mouth. She said WHAT in the HELL do u think u're singing?!? I said, But momma, it's a dance! (And it was at the time, along with the Flirt, which became the Freak -- no, not the Chic one, for all u Angelenos here at the time). We laff about that to this day. Needless to say, that song along with Sister got him banned...which of course made me love him all the more.

I was lucky that my best friend's dad had 1999, so since I was a latch key kid, she and another homegirl would come over to the house and we'd play the album over and over and over and debate in that 7th/8th grade girly way.

What fun!!!

speculator3m said:

True, but modern hip-hop borrows as heavily from Prince as it does from Grandmaster Flash or Run DMC. Lots of Hip-Hop artist site P as an influence, so I don't really think its a reach.

Anxiety said:

LOL! My thoughts exactly, as I was watching "8 Mile"... Kept wondering when Morris Day would pop up.

*for the benefit of those who don't feel like clickin' on it*

mochalox said:

WTF

disclaimer: my act of posting this image in no way endorses said image or it's horrid implications.

TheBoostress said:

This is my life too!!! My Mom and I laugh because I tell her it's her fault that I'm still obsessed with Prince! From the minute she forbid me to play his music I was stuck.