The KING Has Moved On...
Prince was like no other artist in my lifetime. From playing every instrument to writing all of his own lyrics to singing most of his own background vocals and using his own voice as an instrument unlike anyone else, he laid the blueprint for so many contemporary artists like D'Angelo, Van Hunt, Lenny Kravitz, Raury, Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding, and countless others who can now be themselves. He made that not only acceptable but he did it in a way that you envied his fearlessness. The past few days have been so reflective for me as I grew up being a true fan of His Royal Badness. I have just about every project he ever put out either on vinyl or CD. And I always felt his albums from the 90s and 2000s were under spoken about and often hated on. Prince didn't care what the labels or fans thought he should do. He followed his own path and made music that made him move. That's so inspirational for anyone who aspires to be a true individual in any field they excel in.
A friend recently told me, he never checked for Prince because it was before his time and following his recent passing, he decided to go back and check out his catalogue and he now feels he truly missed out on something and someone special. Truer words have never been spoken. Even if rock n roll isn't your thing, or funk or R&B, there is no denying that Prince's music moved people. Millions of people in fact. This week, we took a moment to appreciate, not his famed tunes from Purple Rain or songs that his memorable MTV-ready videos made iconic back in the day. But I wanted to select some of his more downtempo grooves that have been often overlooked by the surface level Prince fan. With about 40 years of releases and less than an hour to make the point, we didn't even touch the surface, let alone scratch it. However, I hope you enjoy the couple things I pulled out in celebration of the genius approach to music Prince took in the last 20 years. RIP KING. Truly an end to an era.