Prince was Free

http://www.yeswecode.org/

The only way I can say it is WOW!!! To have lived in a time when I did the Temptations-Walk in the middle of my 3rd and 4th grade classrooms (showing off); in the fifth grade to dance with my four classmates in a talent show to three songs from the newly highly-touted Jackson Five (we should have won against our eight grade competitors and they know it); and to follow up years later dancing on Soul Train to "Soft and Wet" and "I Wanna be your lover" by Prince in my senior year of high school and freshman year of College, the sadness of the deaths of Prince, Michael Jackson, Eddie Kendricks, Whitney Houston, Earth Wind and Fire's Maurice White, Ohio Players' Sugarfoot, Curtis Mayfield, Bruce Lee (debuted as Kato in the Batman rival show 'The Green Hornet'), and the Temptations' Melvin Franklin/David Ruffin/Eddie Kendricks; or back in the 80's day with the trio of Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, and Minnie Riperton,,,looms large to me and those I grew up with in Chicago, Los Angeles - Crenshaw district, and Compton/Carson/Long Beach, Ca.

Frankly the death of a celebrity that you are a 'fan of' when you witnessed the launch of their careers is much more difficult to deal with, than a fan that came along later in that celebrities' career. It's as if you saw them at birth, you see their career growth, and lay them to rest.

Like the sudden death of Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke, Prince is yet another shocking death especially since Prince just performed in Atlanta last week.

The cause of death being the Flu is not enough. Prince Rogers Nelson died from something else and the fans want to know what happened? The autopsy results take a few weeks to complete.

The freedom of Prince's fight to a final victory a few years ago in the battle with Warner Brothers over his music masters was well chronicled. Freedom reigned eventually for the purple one and an agreement was reached in 2014. Now, when his musical freedom was in control, Prince dies suddenly in his own home without a will. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6062423/prince-deal-with-warner-bros-new-album-coming

I did not know of his personal life - marriage, divorce, courtship, death of a baby - but it does take a toll on you to suddenly be by yourself. To die days after riding a bike, a week after performing concerts, and other recent public sightings...something does not pass the smell test. Again, we'll know within a few weeks.

We knew about Michael Jackson's issues with drug use; we knew about Eddie Kendricks cancer; we knew about Whitney Houston's cocaine use; we knew about the aging Melvin Franklin; and Minnie Riperton's cancer. The death of 32 year old Bruce Lee was sudden and mysterious with hit movies released and others in the making - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee. \



But Prince, how can he die with all that he did for people. For instance, in Los Angeles Prince performed a string of concerts for 20 and 25 dollar tickets. He felt that ticket prices prevented poor and even middle class people from going to concerts to see major artists.

Prince wrote a sizable check to the family of Trayvon Martin to the families legal fees.

Prince developed Yes We Code with proceeds from his Essence performance in New Orleans last year to help the more than 100,000 young women and men from low-opportunity backgrounds find success in the tech industry - http://www.yeswecode.org/ .

Prince, in his lyrics, made light of Aids; Black Lives Matter; Police Brutality; the Purple Sky we live beneath; Drugs; to name a few... http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/questlove-remembers-prince-in-this-life-youre-on-your-own-20160425



I hear now that many of my colleague broadcasters, journalists, and friends that feel more hurt from Princes' death than Michael Jackson but cant explain why. The two were linked in the Pop culture in many ways, moreso for their tireless work ethic and a tremendous amount of song. Prince though - many would argue - crossed over to all races and cultures earlier in his career with the multi-racial band similar to Sly and the Family Stone. Yes Michael Jackson was a better dancer and singer, but Prince was more of a Musician and Producer along the lines of Stevie Wonder. Both Wonder and Prince recorded many songs by themselves playing all of the instruments. Many feel that Prince kept it real consistently throughout his career with image and music originality, branding, and creativity. Prince also produced music for many new and established artists creating multiple hits for them, in a similar way that Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic, and Quincy Jones. http://chicagodefender.com/2016/04/28/prince-and-doug-banks-57-years-of-greatness/

Prince created his own image and music interpretations without compromise. The musician Prince is respected by fans who took up music in elementary, high school etc... and can relate and dissect Prince's-own musical arrangements, including his music with numerous other acts (including a few songs for Michael Jackson) as we were trained to do in Music and Band classes.

In the end, Prince was Free and now his being, his spirit, is on another yet greater journey. Thank you Prince for sharing your talents and being to the world.