Today, June 7th, is Prince's birthday. On what should've been The Artist's 58th birthday, we thought we'd take a look back at what made him such a legend.
Prince Rogers Nelson was born on this day in 1958 to a songwriter father and a jazz singer mother. His father had performed under the stage name Prince Rogers, a name he passed onto his son -- yes, Prince's actual real first name is Prince.
Prince got signed at 17, and not long after he released his first album, For You, which Prince produced, arranged, composed, and also played 27 different instruments on. As evidenced by the outpouring of love that followed news of his death, Prince was regarded as a genius by his fellow musicians -- he sang, he wrote, he composed, he deftly blended different genres together to create his own unique sound, and he seemed to be able to play any instrument he picked up. Prince famously impressed a stage full of rock legends, including fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Tom Petty and Steve Winwood, with an insane guitar solo in 2004.
As British music mag NME documented, Prince's influence on the last thirty years of music is immeasurable; he made music that blended pop hooks and synthesizers with funk and soul sensibilities and old school musicianship, music that was sensual and raw but thoughtful and intelligent. But Prince's influence extended beyond the music industry - his eccentric style and persona taught generations of kids that it was okay to be different and be weird. He encouraged black kids to be proud of their skin color and heritage. His style is even credited with helping to pave the way for modern society's rejection of gender norms.
Prince didn't celebrate birthdays. He was a member of the Jehovas Witness faith, a group which doesn't believe in birthday celebrations. So it feels kind of odd to acknowledge Prince's achievements on a day that he probably would've regarded as just another day. So instead of saying we should celebrate Prince's life specifically on this day alone, let's treat today like any other day -- with the notable caveat that we should be celebrating Prince's legacy every day. So put on one of his albums, or one of the hundreds of albums by other artists directly inspired by Prince, and keep on partying like it's 1999.
By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation
