RIP Prince

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2016-04-22 14:56

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Something feels fundamentally wrong about imagining music without Prince: it’s like a chill on the back of your neck, a taste in your mouth your body immediately begins to reject. There will never be another musician or celebrity like him, a testament to both the remarkable ways in which the world changed during his lifetime and his sheer idiosyncrasy. He passed away today at age 57 in his Paisley Park estate, less than a week after assuring fans that a bout with the flu was little more than a minor concern: “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers,” he said on Saturday. It was a typically cryptic statement that now feels like a knife in the heart. He was born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis on June 7th, 1958, the son of two musicians. He started writing music while he was still in elementary school, banging out songs on his father’s piano, and he was playing and recording with local bands by the time he was a teenager. He signed a record contract when most people are preparing for their high school graduations, and he was one of the most popular musicians in the world within half a decade, overcoming initial reservations regarding his provocative appearance and speculation regarding his sexuality.