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Prince To Release Memoir, A Rare Glimpse Into The Life Of This Mysterious Musician

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 14:00 PST, Mar 26, 2016

Prince is a key figure in global culture and his creative genius has shaped the musical landscape of our lives. Prince, a musical prodigy, signed his first record deal at the age of 17. He is a virtuoso who writes, composes, and produces the majority of his music. He played more than two dozen instruments on his debut album.

Despite Prince’s small stature, he is a talented basketball player and was once a part of the best school teams in the Minnesota state. NME reported that life hasn’t always been very kind to Prince and he has had his share of hard times before making it big. At one point of his struggle, he was so broke he used to hang around outside the local McDonald’s just to smell the food. His struggles reportedly used to make him so angry that his early romantic relationships ended quickly, usually after a matter of weeks.

The extremely talented Prince has long been one of the music industry’s most intriguing figures. Prince is said to be a perfectionist who is highly protective of his music. The Boombox reported that he doesn’t allows journalists to record his voice nor does he allow them to take notes. Prince never listens to his old albums and he considers the internet to be overhyped and outdated.

Now, the legend has announced a deal to write his memoir. The Wall Street Journal reported that the book will be published in 2017 by Spiegel & Grau which made a statement that the book will enable readers to have an unconventional glimpse of his life and work.

Prince became an international sensation with his 1984 album Purple Rain which is often described as one of the greatest albums of all time. Purple Rain was accompanied by a semi-autobiographical film of the same name. The music in the album does not have its own unique style but is in fact a synthesis of various musical styles ranging from rhythm and blues, funk, pop, country, jazz, and even gospel. Earlier, African-American guitarists and musicians who wanted to go into rock music faced insurmountable challenges to break into the field. In 1984, Prince was the rare African-American artist who had the songwriting, musical, and vocal talent to allow him to reach out to the masses with his music.

Prince borrowed ideas, techniques, and style from legends like Jimi Hendrix. However, the music of Purple Rain remains highly genuine, groundbreaking, and exciting. The movie enabled casual fans to witness Prince stepping in as a creative actor and performer. Since his first album, Prince has included at least one rock song full of guitar solos even though he produces music that belongs to the funk genre. Prince and The Revolution revolutionized the genre by making the music unique, enjoyable, and accessible. These were the important breakthroughs that helped other African-American artists like Living Color, Fishbone, and Lenny Kravitz to secure music contracts and produce their music the way they want to.

Even today, Prince is revolutionizing society through his music. Recently, CNN reported that Prince released the song “Baltimore” to support the social unrest after Freddie Gray’s death in police custody.

Additionally, he performed a “Rally 4 Peace” benefit concert in Baltimore, to contribute towards the welfare of youth groups in the city. While better known as the pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound, Prince’s social consciousness has been a common theme of his music from the beginning. Like any artist, the political consciousness of his music has evolved since his debut album and there has always been an undercurrent of rebellion in his work. Ultimately, his music serves to “free the slaves”: a concept that has been applied to liberate an individual from physical, emotional, and intellectual forms of oppression as well.

[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images]

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