WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.240 Okay, let's unpack this. Welcome back to The 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:06.860 Deep Dive. Today we are immersing ourselves in 00:00:06.860 --> 00:00:10.779 the life, the art, and the absolutely furious 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:14.439 independence of one of modern music's most electrifying 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:17.140 figures. And confounding figures, really. Absolutely. 00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:19.140 We're talking about Prince Rogers Nelson. It's 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:22.739 a huge, multifaceted life to cover. Born in 1958, 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:25.760 he was truly the definition of a multi -hyphenate 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.059 artist. I mean, the sources just list it all 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:30.300 out, don't they? They do. Singer, songwriter, 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:33.179 musician, dancer, actor. He wasn't just part 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:35.700 of a scene, you know. He essentially engineered 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:39.179 the signature sound of an entire city. The Minneapolis 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:41.460 sound. The Minneapolis sound, exactly. And his 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:44.439 influence, it still radiates across R &B, funk, 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:48.100 rock, pop, soul, and even neo -psychedelia. It's 00:00:48.100 --> 00:00:50.280 just everywhere. Before we go any further, for 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:51.780 anyone listening who might know the result but 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:54.079 not the ingredients of that sound, what exactly 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.549 is the Minneapolis sound that he pioneered? That's 00:00:56.549 --> 00:00:59.090 a crucial question. The Minneapolis sound is, 00:00:59.170 --> 00:01:01.829 it's essentially a perfect synthesis. A fusion. 00:01:01.909 --> 00:01:05.290 A fusion, yeah. It takes the syncopated driving 00:01:05.290 --> 00:01:08.150 rhythms of funk and soul, you know, think James 00:01:08.150 --> 00:01:11.069 Brown or Sly Stone, but it strips away the traditional 00:01:11.069 --> 00:01:14.609 horns. Okay. And it replaces them with the cold 00:01:14.609 --> 00:01:17.409 atmospheric textures of new wave synthesizers 00:01:17.409 --> 00:01:20.870 and drum machines. So very 80s in a way. Very, 00:01:20.909 --> 00:01:24.129 but then he layered on this aggressive shredding 00:01:24.129 --> 00:01:28.090 rock guitar. So what you get is this tight, synthesized, 00:01:28.090 --> 00:01:31.349 danceable funk rock all done under one brilliant 00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:33.670 roof. That range alone is just breathtaking. 00:01:34.109 --> 00:01:36.989 But what makes this particular deep dive so poignant 00:01:36.989 --> 00:01:40.109 is the suddenness and the tragic details of the 00:01:40.109 --> 00:01:42.129 ending. Right. You have this towering figure 00:01:42.129 --> 00:01:45.609 who seemed almost invincible, yet at just 57 00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:49.150 years old in April 2016, Prince died at his home 00:01:49.150 --> 00:01:51.760 and studio, Paisley Park. And the sources detail 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.659 the specifics with heartbreaking clarity. His 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:57.140 death was ruled an accidental overdose of fentanyl. 00:01:57.219 --> 00:01:59.579 Which is just terrifyingly potent. Incredibly. 00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:02.019 And tragically, this synthetic opioid was laced 00:02:02.019 --> 00:02:04.260 into counterfeit hydrocodone paracetamol pills. 00:02:04.459 --> 00:02:06.299 So he didn't even know what he was taking. It 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:09.039 seems not. It's a scenario we've seen tragically 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:11.539 repeated, where illicit drugs are contaminated 00:02:11.539 --> 00:02:14.199 with dangerous substances the user just doesn't 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:16.620 expect. With the subsequent investigation revealed. 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.419 is the difficult reality that he was at the time 00:02:20.419 --> 00:02:23.319 of his death struggling he was struggling with 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:25.719 an addiction to opioids. Reportedly driven by 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:28.620 chronic pain from years of intensely physical 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:31.139 stage performances, right? Exactly. I mean, all 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:33.219 those years of jumping off pianos and heels, 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:36.180 it takes a toll. And that true, that a figure 00:02:36.180 --> 00:02:39.060 so seemingly controlled, so superhuman. So in 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:41.340 command of every single detail. Exactly. That 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:44.280 he was battling this very human, hidden vulnerability. 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:47.439 That's the core paradox we have to explore today. 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:49.740 It absolutely is. And that vulnerability is set 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:52.860 against a career defined by Well, almost unbelievable 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:55.699 triumph. If we look for the defining achievement, 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:59.120 we have to go back to 1984. That year, Prince 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.020 became the first singer in U .S. history to simultaneously 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:05.120 hold the number one spot for a film, an album, 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.520 and a single. At the same time, it's just staggering 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.960 to think about. That is an analog era power move 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:15.199 that today's biggest stars would struggle to 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:18.389 replicate. We are talking about the film Purple 00:03:18.389 --> 00:03:21.210 Rain. Of course. The iconic soundtrack album 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:23.930 of the same name and the single When Doves Cry. 00:03:24.189 --> 00:03:26.629 And that album didn't just top the charts. It 00:03:26.629 --> 00:03:29.530 spent six consecutive months atop the Billboard 00:03:29.530 --> 00:03:32.610 200 chart. It wasn't just a cultural moment. 00:03:32.669 --> 00:03:35.430 It was a total commercial and critical takeover. 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.889 He defined the look, the sound and the narrative 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:42.120 of the mid 80s. So our mission today is to explore 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.379 this entire trajectory. We're looking at the 00:03:44.379 --> 00:03:47.419 paradoxes of control, the visionary artists who 00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:50.000 defied genre, the business rebel who waged war 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.340 against the music machine, and the fiercely private 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:54.819 individual whose work ethic yielded a legendary 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:57.080 vault of music that continues to shape culture 00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:59.919 today. His global record sales stand at over 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:03.120 100 million. He's an enduring icon. Let's get 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:05.680 into the very origins of that unstoppable creative 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.800 force. We begin, as always, at the beginning. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.319 Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was born on June 7, 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:12.939 1958. And we know from the source material that 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:15.960 music was literally in his DNA. It really was. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:19.040 His parents were both musicians. His mother, 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:21.759 Maddie Della, was a jazz singer. And his father, 00:04:21.939 --> 00:04:24.220 John Lewis Nelson, was a pianist and songwriter. 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:27.620 And his name, Prince Rogers Nelson, was an homage, 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:30.920 wasn't it? A direct inheritance of his father's 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:33.550 professional identity. That's right. John Lewis 00:04:33.550 --> 00:04:36.790 Nelson used Prince Rogers as his stage name when 00:04:36.790 --> 00:04:39.209 performing with Maddie in their dad group, the 00:04:39.209 --> 00:04:41.750 Prince Rogers Trio. It's fascinating that while 00:04:41.750 --> 00:04:45.089 he carried that weighty, almost monarchical name 00:04:45.089 --> 00:04:48.709 as a child, the sources say he preferred a much 00:04:48.709 --> 00:04:51.449 simpler moniker. Skipper. Skipper. I love that. 00:04:51.550 --> 00:04:53.810 His father was incredibly ambitious for him. 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:57.689 He explicitly told A Current Affair in 1991 that 00:04:57.689 --> 00:04:59.829 he named his son Prince because he wanted him 00:04:59.829 --> 00:05:02.810 to do everything I wanted to do. Wow. Imagine 00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:05.269 being born with that kind of professional expectation 00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:07.370 built right into your identity. It's a lot of 00:05:07.370 --> 00:05:10.069 pressure. Yet, the childhood wasn't always a 00:05:10.069 --> 00:05:12.689 smooth path towards superstardom. The sources 00:05:12.689 --> 00:05:14.850 contain a fascinating detail about his early 00:05:14.850 --> 00:05:17.709 health. Prince famously stated later in life 00:05:17.709 --> 00:05:20.209 that he was born epileptic and suffered seizures 00:05:20.209 --> 00:05:22.899 when he was young. He described a childhood affliction 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:25.620 that caused significant distress. But what's 00:05:25.620 --> 00:05:28.199 fascinating is how he related the recovery. He 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:30.720 had a spiritual explanation for it. He did. He 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:33.199 believed he overcame this through a spiritual 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.600 realization, recounting a story where an angel 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:38.360 told his mother he wouldn't be sick anymore. 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:41.259 And this early belief in a spiritual intervention, 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:44.620 it really foreshadows his later very public. 00:05:45.149 --> 00:05:46.930 journey into faith, doesn't it? It absolutely 00:05:46.930 --> 00:05:50.009 does. And how he integrated the sacred into his 00:05:50.009 --> 00:05:51.990 life and his art. He and his younger sister, 00:05:52.089 --> 00:05:55.050 Taika Nelson, born in 1960, both had their musical 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:57.389 interests actively encouraged by their father. 00:05:57.829 --> 00:06:01.449 But the home life was volatile. Very. His parents 00:06:01.449 --> 00:06:03.810 divorced when he was 10. And after moving back 00:06:03.810 --> 00:06:05.949 and forth between them, the sources indicate 00:06:05.949 --> 00:06:08.910 a moment of profound personal crisis. His father 00:06:08.910 --> 00:06:11.269 threw him out of the house. He did. And that 00:06:11.269 --> 00:06:13.689 kind of trauma could derail a young person entirely, 00:06:13.930 --> 00:06:17.029 but for Prince, it propelled him. How so? This 00:06:17.029 --> 00:06:19.629 chaotic period led him to find refuge in the 00:06:19.629 --> 00:06:21.889 home of the Anderson family, neighbors who took 00:06:21.889 --> 00:06:24.689 him in. And this move proved absolutely pivotal. 00:06:25.009 --> 00:06:27.449 Because that's where he met Andre Simon. Exactly. 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:30.430 It cemented his friendship with their son, Andre 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:33.959 Simon. who became his earliest significant collaborator. 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:37.839 It really highlights how these foundational difficult 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:41.259 moments fueled his career. He found stability 00:06:41.259 --> 00:06:44.839 and, critically, a musical partner when he needed 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:48.060 them most. Precisely. What I find truly incredible 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:50.839 about his early life is the sheer breadth of 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:53.560 his physical and artistic training. Before he 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:55.779 was the icon, he was a polymath in training. 00:06:56.189 --> 00:06:59.009 He was managing these dual lives that sound contradictory 00:06:59.009 --> 00:07:01.670 on paper. You know, he played football, basketball 00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:04.089 and baseball at Central High School. He was an 00:07:04.089 --> 00:07:06.699 athlete. Pretty good one, too. But juxtaposed 00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:09.000 against that high -impact team sports environment, 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.839 he was simultaneously receiving classical ballet 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:14.000 training. Right, at the Minnesota Dance Gator. 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.019 Through the Urban Arts Program. Yeah. And that 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:18.560 physical duality, it perfectly explains his revolutionary 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.420 stage presence. It does. The athletic rigor gave 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:23.699 him stamina, and the classical ballet discipline 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:26.860 gave him precision, fluidity, and that incredible, 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:29.490 almost genderless grace. He was a rock star, 00:07:29.709 --> 00:07:32.170 a funk master and a professional dancer all at 00:07:32.170 --> 00:07:35.089 once. And that dedication to dance wasn't just 00:07:35.089 --> 00:07:37.529 for his own performance, was it? The sources 00:07:37.529 --> 00:07:40.410 note he later used his immense personal wealth 00:07:40.410 --> 00:07:43.089 to save the struggling Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. 00:07:43.329 --> 00:07:46.810 He did in the 1990s. He became a quiet, powerful 00:07:46.810 --> 00:07:49.649 advocate for the art form that had shaped him. 00:07:49.750 --> 00:07:52.769 This wasn't just a phase. It was a lifelong commitment 00:07:52.769 --> 00:07:55.790 to the arts. Speaking of his childhood, one of 00:07:55.790 --> 00:07:58.009 the most remarkable discoveries of recent years 00:07:58.009 --> 00:08:01.560 was made completely by accident in Come 22. I 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:04.779 love this story. A news station, WCCO -TV, was 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:07.100 researching an old Minneapolis teacher strike 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:10.180 from April 1970, and they accidentally uncovered 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:12.560 this footage. Of an interview they had conducted 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.319 with an 11 -year -old local boy. And it was Prince. 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:18.500 It was him. He's standing there, so articulate 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:20.740 and clearly confident, talking about the strike. 00:08:21.019 --> 00:08:22.779 What did he say? He said he thought the teacher 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:24.579 should get a better education and more money 00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:27.040 because, and this is a direct quote, they'd be 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:30.439 working extra hours for us. Amazing. And he didn't 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:32.620 identify himself, but it was confirmed later 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:35.299 by a historian and a former classmate. It's an 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:38.539 absolute rarity, one of the very few known video 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:41.679 clips of him from his youth, capturing that nascent 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:44.179 confidence long before he was famous. All that 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:46.659 raw talent and work ethic finally culminated 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:49.120 in the industry noticing. The accounts detail 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:51.720 his earliest recording efforts, first with a 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:53.970 producer named Chris Moon. Right, creating a 00:08:53.970 --> 00:08:56.570 demo tape. But when that failed to land a contract, 00:08:56.950 --> 00:08:59.789 Moon brought the tape to a Minneapolis businessman, 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:02.889 Owen Husney. And Husney immediately saw the star 00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:05.490 potential. He signed the 19 -year -old to a management 00:09:05.490 --> 00:09:08.289 contract and created a professional demo that 00:09:08.289 --> 00:09:11.090 got interest from major labels. A &M, Columbia, 00:09:11.370 --> 00:09:14.450 and most importantly, Warner Bros. Records. And 00:09:14.450 --> 00:09:17.309 the resulting 1977 deal with Warner Bros. was, 00:09:17.490 --> 00:09:20.289 for a newcomer, Groundbreaking. This is where 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:22.710 the seeds of his later contractual warfare were 00:09:22.710 --> 00:09:25.070 planted, but in a very positive way initially. 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:28.669 How so? The deal explicitly granted Prince creative 00:09:28.669 --> 00:09:31.429 control for his first three albums, and crucially, 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:33.710 he retained his publishing rights. For an 18 00:09:33.710 --> 00:09:36.610 -year -old with zero track record, that's unheard 00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:39.529 of. It's practically unheard of in the 1970s 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:42.340 record industry. It speaks volumes about his 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:44.759 profound self -belief and his non -negotiable 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:47.139 insistence on controlling his entire creative 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:49.679 universe. And that was evident from day one. 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:53.100 When his debut album, For You, arrived in 1978, 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:55.779 the album notes were just a statement of intent. 00:09:56.139 --> 00:09:58.919 They listed him as writing, producing, arranging, 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.539 composing, and playing all 27 instruments on 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:03.779 the recording. All of them, with the sole exception 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.220 of lyrics co -written on one track. And if you 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:09.120 listen to For You, it sounds expansive and technically 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:12.139 flawless. It established him immediately as a 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:15.000 self -contained, total creative unit. The only 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.879 financial drawback, the sources report, was that 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.000 the cost of recording this multi -instrumental 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.639 masterpiece was twice his initial advance. But 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:26.370 he proved he was worth every penny. So by 1980, 00:10:26.570 --> 00:10:29.110 with his third album, Dirty Mind, Prince had 00:10:29.110 --> 00:10:30.889 officially stepped out of the shadows and straight 00:10:30.889 --> 00:10:33.309 into cultural confrontation. Oh, this was a radical 00:10:33.309 --> 00:10:35.669 departure from the smooth R &B of his first two 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:37.789 records. The critical reception for Dirty Mind 00:10:37.789 --> 00:10:40.490 was ecstatic, wasn't it? It was. They called 00:10:40.490 --> 00:10:43.629 it a stunning, audacious amalgam of funk, new 00:10:43.629 --> 00:10:48.090 wave, R &B, and pop. But the audacious part really 00:10:48.090 --> 00:10:50.710 came from the lyrical content. The shock sound. 00:10:50.789 --> 00:10:53.610 The shock value. Critics noted this album was 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:56.950 fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire 00:10:56.950 --> 00:11:00.549 to shock. Tracks like Sister, an explicit exploration 00:11:00.549 --> 00:11:04.789 of incest and head about oral sex, they introduced 00:11:04.789 --> 00:11:07.360 his provocative side. It was sexually franked 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.720 and musically lean, often using simple drum machine 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:12.679 beats and raw guitar. And this provocation wasn't 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:15.139 limited to the studio recordings. He was actively 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:17.860 courting controversy, sometimes in very harsh 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:19.879 public settings. Right. The most famous early 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:22.039 conflict involved him opening for the Rolling 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:25.740 Stones in October 1981. At the Los Angeles Memorial 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:28.019 Coliseum. So let's zoom in on that moment. The 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:29.720 audience is there for the Stones, the ultimate 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:31.740 rock behemoths. What did Prince look like? He 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:34.720 took the stage, this ultimate new wave funk alien 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.100 wearing old... a trench coat and black bikini 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:39.740 briefs underneath sometimes described as speedos 00:11:39.740 --> 00:11:42.539 that's a bold choice for a stones crowd it was 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:46.000 a massive cultural clash the rock crowd expecting 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.539 a traditional opening act did not appreciate 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:52.340 the look or the sound and the reaction was not 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:55.360 good not good at all accounts say they literally 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:58.059 forced him off the stage after just three songs 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:01.139 by throwing trash bottles and even a dead chicken 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:04.409 at him a dead chicken That moment is legendary 00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:07.610 because it so perfectly captured his us -against 00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:10.529 -the -world mentality. He wasn't afraid to defy 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:12.990 every expectation. He even started defying linguistic 00:12:12.990 --> 00:12:15.070 conventions around this time. Right. Starting 00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:18.289 with the 1981 album Controversy, we saw the introduction 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:21.070 of his distinctive abbreviated spelling. Writing 00:12:21.070 --> 00:12:25.450 U as U2 as 2 and 4 as 4, it would become a signature 00:12:25.450 --> 00:12:28.259 element of his identity. part artistic flair, 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:30.860 part control, part marketing. And the Controversy 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:33.700 album established another Prince practice, publishing 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:36.159 his songs under his own company, Controversy 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:38.500 Music. An early move toward building the business 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:41.159 control he always sought. Meanwhile, he was secretly 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:43.960 masterminding other projects, operating as a 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.440 Svengali behind the scenes. Right. The sources 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:48.980 remind us of his side project band, The Time, 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:52.039 which he formed in 1981 as a mirror to his own 00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:54.620 sound. Designed to showcase his protégés. He 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:56.440 was a ghost writer and ghost performer for them, 00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:58.669 wasn't he? Absolutely. The Time released four 00:12:58.669 --> 00:13:02.230 albums between 81 and 1990, but Prince wrote 00:13:02.230 --> 00:13:04.429 and performed most of the instrumentation and 00:13:04.429 --> 00:13:07.529 backing vocals himself. Under pseudonyms. Often 00:13:07.529 --> 00:13:10.769 masking his involvement under names like Jamie 00:13:10.769 --> 00:13:14.570 Star or The Star Company, leaving lead vocals 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:17.570 to Morris Day. It speaks to his boundless prolific 00:13:17.570 --> 00:13:20.330 energy, but also his desire to shape the entire 00:13:20.330 --> 00:13:23.039 burgeoning Minneapolis scene. creating an empire 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.320 under different names. Then came the seismic 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:29.320 shift of 1982 with the double album 1999. This 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:31.379 wasn't just a hit, it was a phenomenon. It was. 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:34.179 It sold over 4 million copies at the time. The 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:36.460 title track was a commentary on nuclear proliferation, 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.159 but the album's real cultural shockwave came 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:41.419 from a single. Little Red Corvette. And this 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:44.179 is a monumental moment in music television history. 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:46.899 The sources stress its importance in breaking 00:13:46.899 --> 00:13:49.799 racial barriers. Because Little Red Corvette 00:13:50.330 --> 00:13:53.429 along with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, were 00:13:53.429 --> 00:13:56.629 the first two videos by Black artists to be played 00:13:56.629 --> 00:13:59.169 in heavy rotation on MTV. We have to remember 00:13:59.169 --> 00:14:02.169 the context here. Before this point, MTV was 00:14:02.169 --> 00:14:04.750 widely perceived as resisting Black music. So 00:14:04.750 --> 00:14:07.789 what finally forced the change? Pressure. Pure 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:10.909 pressure. The change only came after CBS Records 00:14:10.909 --> 00:14:13.129 President Walter Yetnikoff reportedly threatened 00:14:13.129 --> 00:14:15.990 to pull all CBS videos from the network. Unless 00:14:15.990 --> 00:14:18.250 they played Jackson's and Prince's work heavily. 00:14:18.529 --> 00:14:22.179 Exactly. The success of 1999 was so undeniable 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:24.700 and the pressure from the label was so intense 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:27.340 that MTV's hands were forced. It broke a major 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:29.480 color barrier in visual media. Paved the way 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:31.659 for every non -white artist who followed on the 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:34.600 channel. Following the 1999 tour, the configuration 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.440 of his backing band formalized, becoming known 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.419 as The Revolution. And the name was a little 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:41.500 Easter egg on the album cover itself, wasn't 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:44.399 it? It was. The word Revolution was printed in 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:47.179 reverse on the cover, inside the letter I of 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:49.480 the word Prince. And the lineup had a critical 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:51.799 shift that was vital to their defining sound. 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:55.039 Guitarist Des Dickerson left. Right. Reportedly 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:58.379 due to reluctance to sign a long contract and 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:00.899 notably for religious reasons. And that opened 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:03.480 the door for Wendy Melvoin. A friend of keyboardist 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:06.879 Lisa Coleman. Exactly. So she came in and the 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:10.340 lineup solidified. Lisa Holman and Dr. Fink on 00:15:10.340 --> 00:15:14.100 keyboards, Bobby Z on drums and Brown Mark on 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:17.000 bass. This lineup, known for its multiracial 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.580 and multigender composition, became the tight 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:21.860 unit that would define the sound of his imperial 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:24.820 phase. Giving his music an extra layer of texture, 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:27.879 nuance, and vocal harmonies. And that phase, 00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:30.980 of course, culminated in 1984 with the film and 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:33.919 album Purple Rain. This wasn't just success. 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:36.399 This was total multimedia cultural saturation. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.360 According to his former manager, Bob Cavallo, 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:41.779 securing a deal for Prince to star in a major 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:43.940 motion picture was a non -negotiable requirement. 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:46.419 Even when his fame was relatively limited. Right. 00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:49.500 Purple Rain, which was loosely autobiographical, 00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:52.320 gave him that vehicle. The album was one of the 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.179 decade's biggest sellers, moving over 13 million 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:57.940 copies in the U .S. And spending 24 consecutive 00:15:57.940 --> 00:16:01.509 weeks at number one. And the film was huge, grossing 00:16:01.509 --> 00:16:04.929 more than $68 million in the U .S., which translates 00:16:04.929 --> 00:16:08.590 to over $206 million in today's money. Plus he 00:16:08.590 --> 00:16:10.649 won the Academy Award for Best Original Song 00:16:10.649 --> 00:16:13.860 Score. To underscore the cultural clout, The 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.480 album itself is ranked eighth on Rolling Stone's 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.220 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was a cultural 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:22.340 monolith. It truly was. And 1984 was also the 00:16:22.340 --> 00:16:25.220 year Andy Warhol created his famous 12 unique 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:28.179 silkscreen paintings of Prince. Capturing him, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:30.620 as Vanity Fair put it, at the height of his powers. 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:33.679 He had completely cemented his image as an artistic 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.539 and visual icon who transcended music alone. 00:16:36.909 --> 00:16:39.029 But the enormous success of Purple Rain gave 00:16:39.029 --> 00:16:42.309 Prince incredible cultural currency, and it simultaneously 00:16:42.309 --> 00:16:45.210 propelled him into direct confrontation. Not 00:16:45.210 --> 00:16:47.230 just with rock crowds, but with the moral establishment 00:16:47.230 --> 00:16:49.350 of the United States. That confrontation can 00:16:49.350 --> 00:16:51.809 be traced back to one specific track on the Purple 00:16:51.809 --> 00:16:54.490 Rain album, Darling Nikki. With its notorious 00:16:54.490 --> 00:16:57.389 sexual lyrics in reference to masturbation, the 00:16:57.389 --> 00:16:59.789 sources detail how this song directly led to 00:16:59.789 --> 00:17:01.750 the formation of one of the most powerful censorship 00:17:01.750 --> 00:17:03.990 groups in music history. Here's where it gets 00:17:03.990 --> 00:17:06.490 really interesting. Tipper Gore, the wife of 00:17:06.490 --> 00:17:09.029 then -Senator Al Gore, was listening to the album 00:17:09.029 --> 00:17:11.150 with her 11 -year -old daughter. And when she 00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:14.650 heard the explicit lyrics of Darling Nikki, she 00:17:14.650 --> 00:17:17.089 was so alarmed that she co -founded the Parents 00:17:17.089 --> 00:17:20.630 Music Resource Center, or the PMRC, in 1985. 00:17:21.230 --> 00:17:24.190 The PMRC's advocacy led directly to the famous 00:17:24.190 --> 00:17:26.930 Senate hearings and the voluntary adoption of 00:17:26.930 --> 00:17:29.349 the parental advisory warning label by the recording 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:32.069 industry. It is extraordinary to think that one 00:17:32.069 --> 00:17:35.119 song created by an artist obsessed with control, 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:38.380 actually resulted in a massive, lasting change 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:41.099 to global music packaging standards. A label 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:43.160 that Prince himself would spend years having 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:45.420 affixed to his own work. Despite the controversy, 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:48.000 the output didn't slow down, but we start seeing 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.019 a pattern of artistic experimentation contrasting 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:53.700 sharply with commercial results. Right. In 1986, 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.220 the album Parade was a platinum success, featuring 00:17:56.220 --> 00:17:59.099 the number one single, Kiss. But its accompanying 00:17:59.099 --> 00:18:02.130 film, Under the Cherry Moon, which Prince directed 00:18:02.130 --> 00:18:05.029 and starred in, was a spectacular critical disaster. 00:18:05.450 --> 00:18:07.529 The sources confirm the film received a Golden 00:18:07.529 --> 00:18:09.869 Raspberry Award for worst picture, tying with 00:18:09.869 --> 00:18:13.250 Howard the Duck. And Prince himself earned Razzies 00:18:13.250 --> 00:18:16.210 for worst director and worst actor. He was the 00:18:16.210 --> 00:18:18.630 most brilliant musician in the world, but not 00:18:18.630 --> 00:18:21.789 always the best filmmaker. No. I wonder if that 00:18:21.789 --> 00:18:24.529 stumble, both creatively and publicly, led to 00:18:24.529 --> 00:18:27.829 the next major decisive move. The dissolution 00:18:27.829 --> 00:18:30.210 of the revolution. Following the 1986 parade 00:18:30.210 --> 00:18:33.390 tour, he fired Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, 00:18:33.589 --> 00:18:36.190 the core musical partners of his biggest era. 00:18:36.410 --> 00:18:38.730 The sources confirm that only keyboardist Dr. 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:41.890 Fink remained. It was a radical clean slate. 00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:44.269 Suggesting he felt creatively constrained by 00:18:44.269 --> 00:18:46.430 the band's configuration or history. And this 00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:49.029 internal change directly preceded one of his 00:18:49.029 --> 00:18:51.789 greatest artistic struggles. The triple album 00:18:51.789 --> 00:18:54.089 fight over what would become Sign of the Times. 00:18:54.210 --> 00:18:56.490 Right. Before the revolution split, he was working 00:18:56.490 --> 00:18:59.130 on two distinct projects, a band album called 00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:01.589 Dream Factory and a solo album named Camille. 00:19:01.690 --> 00:19:04.329 He consolidated that mountain of material, intending 00:19:04.329 --> 00:19:06.930 to release a massive three LP set titled Crystal 00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:09.250 Ball. But here's where the record company started 00:19:09.250 --> 00:19:11.950 to push back aggressively. Warner Bros. deemed 00:19:11.950 --> 00:19:14.710 the triple album too commercially risky. And 00:19:14.710 --> 00:19:16.750 they forced him to trim it down to the double 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:19.190 album Sign of the Times, which was released in 00:19:19.190 --> 00:19:22.230 1987. Critics universally lauded Sign of the 00:19:22.230 --> 00:19:24.130 Times as potentially the greatest work of his 00:19:24.130 --> 00:19:27.029 career, a sprawling masterpiece. But despite 00:19:27.029 --> 00:19:29.930 that critical success, it highlights the constant 00:19:29.930 --> 00:19:32.670 tension between his prolific creative vision 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:35.150 and the commercial constraints of his label. 00:19:35.289 --> 00:19:38.190 We should also recall the specifics of the shelved 00:19:38.190 --> 00:19:41.869 Camille project. That work introduced a new androgynous 00:19:41.869 --> 00:19:45.089 persona. One who sang primarily in a sped up 00:19:45.089 --> 00:19:48.230 androgynous female sounding voice. Achieved by 00:19:48.230 --> 00:19:50.589 pitching up his already high natural vocal range. 00:19:50.890 --> 00:19:53.750 It was another sonic boundary shattered, even 00:19:53.750 --> 00:19:55.869 if the label refused to release the full vision. 00:19:56.130 --> 00:19:58.150 Then came the truly bizarre case of the Black 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:01.480 Album. After wrapping up Sign of the Times, Prince 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:04.160 recorded this instrumental raw funk and R &B 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.660 themed album. Half a million copies were pressed 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:09.240 in 1987. But the sources confirmed that Prince 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:11.799 experienced a sudden dramatic spiritual epiphany 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:14.400 and decided the album was evil. He famously had 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:17.259 the entire pressing recalled and destroyed. Costing 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:19.700 the label millions. That is an extraordinary, 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:22.519 unprecedented act of self -censorship rooted 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:25.140 in a sudden shift in spiritual conviction. To 00:20:25.140 --> 00:20:28.440 have 500 ,000 copies destroyed, that action immediately 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:31.240 elevated the few surviving vinyl copies into 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:34.650 legendary, highly valuable collector items. The 00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:36.630 album was eventually given a limited official 00:20:36.630 --> 00:20:40.390 release seven years later in 1994. But the 1987 00:20:40.390 --> 00:20:43.329 recall remains a key anecdote about his internal 00:20:43.329 --> 00:20:46.289 struggles. And this era is entirely defined by 00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:48.970 his escalating conflict with Warner Bros. The 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:51.250 underlying issue, as the sources clearly state, 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:54.250 was Prince's intense frustration over the label 00:20:54.250 --> 00:20:57.710 refusing to release his enormous backlog of music. 00:20:57.930 --> 00:20:59.930 They weren't releasing it at the pace he desired, 00:21:00.150 --> 00:21:02.849 hindering both his artistic flow and his ability 00:21:02.849 --> 00:21:05.089 to control his financial destiny. The problem 00:21:05.089 --> 00:21:07.210 was one of supply and demand. He was supplying 00:21:07.210 --> 00:21:09.990 material so fast the label couldn't. or wouldn't, 00:21:09.990 --> 00:21:12.190 process it quickly enough for the market. This 00:21:12.190 --> 00:21:15.609 contractual warfare culminated in 1993 with one 00:21:15.609 --> 00:21:17.950 of the most famous acts of artistic protest in 00:21:17.950 --> 00:21:20.029 music history. He changed his stage name. To 00:21:20.029 --> 00:21:22.930 the unpronounceable symbol known to fans as the 00:21:22.930 --> 00:21:25.609 love symbol, hashtag two. His reasoning was clear. 00:21:25.950 --> 00:21:28.990 He felt his own name, Prince, belonged to the 00:21:28.990 --> 00:21:31.990 company due to the contract. This drastic act 00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:34.430 was his way of emancipating himself. Making his 00:21:34.430 --> 00:21:36.650 identity unmarketable by his corporate masters. 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:39.660 The logistics of this were a nightmare, weren't 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:41.940 they? A total nightmare. Think about it. To use 00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:44.940 the symbol in print media magazines, album covers 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:48.180 Warner Bros. was forced to organize a mass mailing 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:51.480 of floppy disks containing a custom font. A floppy 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:54.759 disk. That story truly captures the absurdity. 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:58.460 But functionally... Wasn't this protest an absolute 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:00.660 commercial disaster for him in the short term? 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:02.960 It was, but he justified it because the principle 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.599 was paramount. He was willing to sacrifice immediate 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.519 commercial viability to reclaim his identity. 00:22:08.779 --> 00:22:11.279 And he coupled this identity shift with a profound 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:14.099 public display of grievance. Appearing with the 00:22:14.099 --> 00:22:16.619 word slave written starkly on his face during 00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:19.160 public appearances, calling his situation a form 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:21.539 of slavery because they owned his master recordings. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.559 This was a direct... visual and highly provocative 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:27.059 challenge to the entire recording industry model. 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:29.819 And his strategy to finally escape the contract 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:32.940 was simply brute force prolificacy. He realized 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:34.819 the deal required a certain number of albums, 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:37.420 so he just cranked them out. As fast as possible. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.220 This led to rapid -fire releases, including Come, 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:42.839 the official release of the Black Album in 1994, 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.859 The Gold Experience, and Chaos and Disorder. 00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:48.660 By delivering the required number of albums quickly, 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:51.160 regardless of the label's marketing cycle, he 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:53.960 ultimately forced his freedom. And he finally 00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:57.160 severed ties with Warner Bros. in 1996, completing 00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:59.519 his contract and closing one of the most tumultuous 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:01.920 periods of his career. He was finally free. And 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.380 1996 was the year of his emancipation, so he 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:07.740 titled his first major post -Warner Bros. release 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:10.359 exactly that, Emancipation. It was monumental. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.380 A 36 -song, three -CD set with each disc running 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:17.500 exactly 60 minutes. A massive statement of artistic 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:19.900 pent -up demand. Released on his own MPG Records 00:23:19.900 --> 00:23:22.099 label, it was a declaration of freedom. Crucially, 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:24.339 this was the first Prince album to feature covers 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:27.359 of other artists' songs. Exactly. The source's 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.099 detail, he tackled Joan Osbourne's massive hit, 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:32.740 One of Us, the stylistic's Betcha by Golly Wow, 00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:35.660 and Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me. 00:23:36.029 --> 00:23:38.690 After years of demanding that his music be released, 00:23:38.849 --> 00:23:41.869 he was now exercising his new freedom to interpret 00:23:41.869 --> 00:23:44.230 the work of others. It was certified platinum 00:23:44.230 --> 00:23:46.829 and established his independent model. But the 00:23:46.829 --> 00:23:49.069 journey of independence led him to a place that 00:23:49.069 --> 00:23:52.190 created another significant paradox, the digital 00:23:52.190 --> 00:23:55.410 world. Prince was in many ways an absolute digital 00:23:55.410 --> 00:23:58.259 pioneer. Yet he later became one of the Internet's 00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:00.400 most aggressive opponents. A total contradiction. 00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:03.440 It is. He embraced the Internet early for direct 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:06.039 fan connection and distribution. He released 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:08.359 the collection Crystal Ball exclusively online 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:11.380 in 1998, pioneering the direct -to -consumer 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:14.400 model. And he later founded NPGMusicClub .com, 00:24:14.619 --> 00:24:16.920 maintaining a direct line with his most dedicated 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:19.950 followers. This early digital savvy earned him 00:24:19.950 --> 00:24:22.730 the prestigious 2006 Webby Lifetime Achievement 00:24:22.730 --> 00:24:25.049 Award. He understood the power of cutting out 00:24:25.049 --> 00:24:27.529 the middleman before almost anyone else. So why 00:24:27.529 --> 00:24:31.329 the dramatic 180 -degree turn? By 2010, he declared, 00:24:31.569 --> 00:24:34.009 the Internet is completely over. He clarified 00:24:34.009 --> 00:24:35.950 that stance, saying the Internet was over for 00:24:35.950 --> 00:24:38.690 anyone who wants to get paid, questioning which 00:24:38.690 --> 00:24:42.170 musician had gotten rich off digital sales. So 00:24:42.170 --> 00:24:43.970 it wasn't the technology, it was the business 00:24:43.970 --> 00:24:47.319 model. Precisely. It was the idea that content 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:50.220 should be free or near free. This aggressive 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:53.160 stance against perceived theft defined his later 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:55.660 career, leading to numerous copyright battles. 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:58.799 But before those legal battles intensified, the 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:01.839 early 2000s saw a massive public resurgence, 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.960 proving that his artistic force was undiminished. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:07.759 This resurgence began in earnest around 2004. 00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:10.720 He delivered several unforgettable career highlights 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:13.559 that year. Leading with the 46th annual Grammy 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:16.849 Awards. He opened the show with Beyonce. Performing 00:25:16.849 --> 00:25:19.910 a medley that merged Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, 00:25:20.150 --> 00:25:22.609 and Beyonce's Crazy in Love, that performance 00:25:22.609 --> 00:25:24.990 was a definitive moment. Pairing the old master 00:25:24.990 --> 00:25:27.569 with the new queen of pop. And that same month, 00:25:27.569 --> 00:25:29.450 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of 00:25:29.450 --> 00:25:32.269 Fame. But the acceptance wasn't the biggest highlight. 00:25:32.410 --> 00:25:34.750 It was his performance later that night that 00:25:34.750 --> 00:25:36.990 lives in internet infamy. This is where we get 00:25:36.990 --> 00:25:40.509 one of his most iconic recent images. He joined 00:25:40.509 --> 00:25:43.190 in the tribute to fellow inductee George Harrison. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.940 Performing Harrison's While My Guitar Gently 00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:50.339 Weeps, Prince launched into a blistering, unforgettable 00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:53.440 two -minute guitar solo that just stole the show. 00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:56.539 I remember that solo. It was ferocious, technically 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:59.720 perfect, and yet... deeply emotional. He walks 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.839 out, takes the spotlight, unleashes this torrent 00:26:02.839 --> 00:26:04.799 of virtuosic playing. And then he just throws 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.200 his guitar high into the air. And walks off stage, 00:26:07.339 --> 00:26:09.720 never looking back to see it land. That move, 00:26:09.859 --> 00:26:13.019 that sheer confidence solidified his genius for 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:15.480 a new generation. And this return to prominence 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:17.660 was coupled with revolutionary marketing strategies. 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.559 His 2004 album, Musicology, had chart success 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:24.000 that was significantly boosted by what we now 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:27.720 call Okay, let's analyze this strategy. The CDs 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:29.660 were included as part of the concert ticket purchase. 00:26:29.900 --> 00:26:32.960 Why was this so revolutionary? It was revolutionary 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:35.359 because it exploited a loophole in chart rules. 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:38.480 Under the Billboard 200 rules at the time, this 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:41.200 qualified each bundled CD sale to count toward 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:43.539 his U .S. chart placement. So since the Musicology 00:26:43.539 --> 00:26:46.059 tour was massive, selling millions of tickets, 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:48.859 this strategy immediately inflated his album 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:51.660 sale numbers. And... propelled him back up the 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:54.059 charts. It shows that even after fighting the 00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:56.900 machine, he was still keenly interested in understanding 00:26:56.900 --> 00:26:59.519 and manipulating the commercial systems. Absolutely. 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:02.359 The strategy was so effective that Rolling Stone 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:04.869 named Prince the highest -earning musician in 00:27:04.869 --> 00:27:07.809 the world in 2004. With an estimated annual income 00:27:07.809 --> 00:27:11.890 of $56 .5 million, primarily due to the massive 00:27:11.890 --> 00:27:14.430 tour receipts combined with those chart -boosting 00:27:14.430 --> 00:27:16.990 sales. This focus on direct revenue and fan connection 00:27:16.990 --> 00:27:20.069 continued into his massive global residencies. 00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:23.170 In 2007, he embarked on the Earth Tour in London. 00:27:23.549 --> 00:27:26.430 21 shows at the O2 Arena. This was another major 00:27:26.430 --> 00:27:29.130 economic experiment. Despite the massive demand, 00:27:29.329 --> 00:27:31.250 tickets were capped by Prince at a remarkably 00:27:31.250 --> 00:27:34.769 specific price. 31 pounds, 21. Very fan -friendly. 00:27:34.990 --> 00:27:37.430 It was. But the generosity came with controversy. 00:27:37.990 --> 00:27:40.529 To promote his new album, Planet Earth, he made 00:27:40.529 --> 00:27:42.930 a deal with the Mail on Sunday newspaper to give 00:27:42.930 --> 00:27:45.130 the album away for free. And that sparked immediate 00:27:45.130 --> 00:27:47.329 outrage among music distributors and retailers. 00:27:47.829 --> 00:27:51.069 It did. Sony BMG, his UK distributor, actually 00:27:51.069 --> 00:27:53.690 pulled out of distributing the album in UK stores 00:27:53.690 --> 00:27:56.650 entirely. He was willing to completely disrupt 00:27:56.650 --> 00:27:59.329 traditional sales channels. This same impulse 00:27:59.329 --> 00:28:01.910 for control led to his famously aggressive stance 00:28:01.910 --> 00:28:05.349 on digital copyright and fan content. He aggressively 00:28:05.349 --> 00:28:08.009 pursued lawsuits against platforms like YouTube 00:28:08.009 --> 00:28:11.450 and eBay in 2007, employing the company web sheriff 00:28:11.450 --> 00:28:14.130 to police the Internet relentlessly. And this 00:28:14.130 --> 00:28:16.910 level of control extended to every image and 00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:20.720 piece of fan. It even led to the formation of 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:23.619 Prince Fans United, a movement created to fight 00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:25.980 what they saw as legal actions, attempting to 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:28.720 stifle all critical commentary, photos and use 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.480 of his likeness. The sources detail a legal fight 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:34.539 over a home video featuring Let's Go Crazy faintly 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:36.769 playing in the background. It was a zero -tolerance 00:28:36.769 --> 00:28:39.009 approach. And perhaps the most famous and most 00:28:39.009 --> 00:28:41.829 ironic example was his 2008 Coachella performance, 00:28:42.170 --> 00:28:45.450 where he covered Radiohead's song Creep. He immediately 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:48.109 forced YouTube to remove the fan footage. And 00:28:48.109 --> 00:28:50.309 the irony is rich, because Radiohead, the original 00:28:50.309 --> 00:28:52.849 copyright holders, publicly requested that Prince 00:28:52.849 --> 00:28:55.410 allow the video to stay up. They said, it's our 00:28:55.410 --> 00:28:58.309 song, let people hear it. But Prince initially 00:28:58.309 --> 00:29:00.730 refused, only posting the footage to his own 00:29:00.730 --> 00:29:03.569 official website later. He was willing to challenge 00:29:03.569 --> 00:29:06.430 even the original copyright holders in a desperate 00:29:06.430 --> 00:29:09.009 attempt to maintain his personal image and performance 00:29:09.009 --> 00:29:11.529 control. Stepping back from the music and business, 00:29:11.750 --> 00:29:14.109 we have to look at the man himself. Prince was 00:29:14.109 --> 00:29:16.849 incredibly complicated. Often integrating his 00:29:16.849 --> 00:29:19.210 evolving spiritual journey and personal philosophy 00:29:19.210 --> 00:29:21.970 directly into his art, sometimes in ways that 00:29:21.970 --> 00:29:24.329 seemed contradictory. His spiritual life was 00:29:24.329 --> 00:29:27.589 deeply rooted from childhood. He was raised in 00:29:27.589 --> 00:29:30.049 the Seventh -day Adventist church, and themes 00:29:30.049 --> 00:29:32.809 of God and Jesus were present even in his early, 00:29:32.930 --> 00:29:35.930 most explicit work. Right, tracks like I Would 00:29:35.930 --> 00:29:38.549 Die For You, where sexuality and spirituality 00:29:38.549 --> 00:29:41.309 are profoundly intertwined. There's even a complete 00:29:41.309 --> 00:29:43.750 recitation of the Lord's Prayer hidden in the 00:29:43.750 --> 00:29:45.950 full -length version of Controversy. And a backward 00:29:45.950 --> 00:29:48.250 message about the Lord coming soon in Darling 00:29:48.250 --> 00:29:51.390 Nikki. That tension, the sacred and the profane 00:29:51.390 --> 00:29:54.359 battling it out, defined his early work. But 00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:57.160 the major public shift came in 2001. When he 00:29:57.160 --> 00:29:59.420 converted to become a Jehovah's Witness, heavily 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:01.400 influenced by his friend and bass player Larry 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:04.019 Graham. He described it not as a conversion, 00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:07.440 but a realization, didn't he? He did. He compared 00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:09.559 it to the relationship between Morpheus and Neo 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:12.319 in The Matrix. And he took that faith seriously. 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:15.420 He attended meetings and famously occasionally 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:17.779 knocked on people's doors to discuss his faith. 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:20.180 I can't imagine opening my door and finding prints 00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:22.559 on my doorstep. It must have been shocking. Did 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:25.980 this intense new spiritual focus affect his professional 00:30:25.980 --> 00:30:29.059 relationships? It did. The sources indicate it 00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:31.640 caused friction with former collaborators. There 00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:34.160 are reports he declined an initial full reunion 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:36.859 with Wendy Melvoin, in part due to her lesbian 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:39.079 and Jewish identities. Aligning with certain 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:41.099 tenets of his faith at the time. Right. However, 00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:43.720 we should note that he later reconciled and reunited 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:46.640 with both Melvoin and Lisa Coleman for performances, 00:30:46.980 --> 00:30:49.359 suggesting his personal views continue to evolve 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:51.859 over time. In terms of his private life. he was 00:30:51.859 --> 00:30:55.039 married twice. First, to dancer Mayday Garcia 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:58.500 from 1996 to 2000. And then to Manuela Testellini, 00:30:58.619 --> 00:31:02.200 a Canadian businesswoman from 2001 to 2007. The 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:05.859 sources focus particularly on the deep, private 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:08.859 grief associated with his first marriage to mate. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:13.720 They had a son, Amir, in October 1996, who sadly 00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:16.400 died just a week after birth due to Pfeiffer 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:19.740 syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. And this tragedy... 00:31:19.950 --> 00:31:22.490 compounded by a subsequent miscarriage contributed 00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:25.309 significantly to the strain that eventually led 00:31:25.309 --> 00:31:27.630 to their divorce it's a reminder of the profound 00:31:27.630 --> 00:31:30.349 private pain hidden behind the flamboyant public 00:31:30.349 --> 00:31:33.069 superstar moving to his image prince was arguably 00:31:33.069 --> 00:31:36.250 defined by his androgynous style it was a conscious 00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:38.970 artistic choice that was incredibly radical for 00:31:38.970 --> 00:31:41.930 the time He completely defied conventional racial 00:31:41.930 --> 00:31:44.809 and gender stereotypes. His androgynous look 00:31:44.809 --> 00:31:47.170 earned him comparisons to pioneers like Little 00:31:47.170 --> 00:31:49.769 Richard and David Bowie. But Prince took it further. 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:52.250 He made it his permanent identity. Commentators 00:31:52.250 --> 00:31:55.029 noted in 2016 how his evasion of conventional 00:31:55.029 --> 00:31:57.490 gender definitions speaks to us now in this trans 00:31:57.490 --> 00:31:59.569 aware moment. His image was ahead of its time. 00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:02.069 And crucially, the sources emphasize his consistent 00:32:02.069 --> 00:32:04.829 support and mentorship of women in music. maintaining 00:32:04.829 --> 00:32:07.329 a strong female presence in his bagging bands 00:32:07.329 --> 00:32:10.130 throughout his career, often elevating them to 00:32:10.130 --> 00:32:13.170 key roles. Slate noted he promised a world where 00:32:13.170 --> 00:32:15.269 men and women looked and acted like each other, 00:32:15.430 --> 00:32:17.869 using fashion and presentation to break down 00:32:17.869 --> 00:32:20.309 boundaries. Now let's talk about his staggering 00:32:20.309 --> 00:32:22.809 musicianship. We already covered the 27 instruments 00:32:22.809 --> 00:32:26.869 on his debut album. He was a true virtuoso. On 00:32:26.869 --> 00:32:30.710 guitar, drums, bass, and piano, his proficiency 00:32:30.710 --> 00:32:34.099 wasn't just breath, it was... His guitar skills 00:32:34.099 --> 00:32:37.140 are legendary. He was ranked the 14th greatest 00:32:37.140 --> 00:32:39.819 guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023, 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:43.140 and his equipment reflected his flair. He amassed 00:32:43.140 --> 00:32:46.380 a collection of 121 guitars. We have to discuss 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:49.039 the iconic white cloud guitars, the custom instruments 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:51.480 famously seen in Purple Rain. With that distinct 00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:53.859 elongated scroll -style horn. The cloud guitar, 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.859 designed by Dave Roussan, was not easy to play. 00:32:57.059 --> 00:32:59.200 The structural challenges of that elaborate shape 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:01.160 meant they weren't always ergonomically perfect. 00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:03.900 But they were the perfect visual manifestation 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:07.299 of his artistic vision. But early on, he was 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:09.880 defined by a more modest instrument. The Hauner 00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:13.150 Mad Cat Telecaster copy. The Mad Cat, that distinctive 00:33:13.150 --> 00:33:15.809 yellow and black striped Telecaster. Why was 00:33:15.809 --> 00:33:17.869 that particular guitar so important to his early 00:33:17.869 --> 00:33:20.730 sound? Because it was the guitar he used extensively 00:33:20.730 --> 00:33:23.529 throughout the Dirty Mind and Controversy eras. 00:33:23.529 --> 00:33:27.410 It has a distinctive bright yet raw tone that 00:33:27.410 --> 00:33:30.630 perfectly suited the sparse new wave funk sound. 00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:33.910 A relatively cheap copy of a Fender Telecaster, 00:33:34.069 --> 00:33:36.849 but in his hands it became instantly recognizable. 00:33:37.450 --> 00:33:39.750 Speaking of his output, it's easy to forget how 00:33:39.750 --> 00:33:41.930 many classic hits he wrote for other artists. 00:33:42.329 --> 00:33:44.829 Sometimes using pseudonyms like Christopher or 00:33:44.829 --> 00:33:47.589 Jamie Starr to maintain separation. The list 00:33:47.589 --> 00:33:50.150 is extraordinary. He penned Manic Monday for 00:33:50.150 --> 00:33:52.369 the Bangles, a song he originally intended for 00:33:52.369 --> 00:33:54.990 himself. He wrote I Feel For You, which became 00:33:54.990 --> 00:33:57.630 a massive hit for Taka Khan. And of course, Nothing 00:33:57.630 --> 00:34:00.130 Compares To You, originally written for his side 00:34:00.130 --> 00:34:02.849 project, The Family, but famously covered by 00:34:02.849 --> 00:34:05.630 Sinead O 'Connor, turning it into a global standard. 00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:08.559 Outside of music, he was engaged, though often 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:10.860 privately, in political and social activism. 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:13.940 He included pointed political commentary in earlier 00:34:13.940 --> 00:34:16.800 songs like Ronnie Talk to Russia and Sino the 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:19.500 Times. And toward the end of his life, his support 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:21.739 for Black Lives Matter became much more public 00:34:21.739 --> 00:34:24.320 and visible. He reportedly donated to the family 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:27.380 of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and arranged for Eric 00:34:27.380 --> 00:34:29.440 Garner's family to attend one of his concerts. 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:32.760 His most visible action came in 2015, following 00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:34.719 the killing of Freddie Gray, where he organized 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:37.900 the rally. Peace Concert in Baltimore. And he 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:40.699 released the song Baltimore, which included specific, 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:43.780 timely lyrics commenting on the riots and the 00:34:43.780 --> 00:34:46.219 need for justice. What's perhaps most striking 00:34:46.219 --> 00:34:48.079 about his philanthropy is how much of it was 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:50.980 completely private. Absolutely. The sources reveal 00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:53.519 that his charitable endeavors were largely undisclosed 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:56.400 during his lifetime, only coming to light posthumously. 00:34:56.579 --> 00:34:59.559 So he was actively funding organizations that 00:34:59.559 --> 00:35:02.360 nobody knew about. Precisely. He anonymously 00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:05.059 funded projects like Yes We Code, which aimed 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:07.980 to teach disadvantaged youth coding skills, and 00:35:07.980 --> 00:35:10.980 Green for All, focused on climate justice. There's 00:35:10.980 --> 00:35:13.239 a particularly telling anecdote about him anonymously 00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:15.900 paying off the medical bills of legendary drummer 00:35:15.900 --> 00:35:18.480 Clyde Stubblefield. The rhythmic engine of James 00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:21.139 Brown. When Stubblefield was undergoing cancer 00:35:21.139 --> 00:35:23.460 treatment, it shows a deep -seated commitment 00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:26.579 to helping others quietly. Finally, his commitment 00:35:26.579 --> 00:35:29.719 extended to animal rights and his dietary ethos. 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:32.460 He was known for adhering to a vegan or vegetarian 00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:35.860 diet. And the sources confirm he enforced a strict 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:39.079 dietary ethos at Paisley Park. Guests and staff 00:35:39.079 --> 00:35:41.739 were required to maintain a vegetarian or pesitarian 00:35:41.739 --> 00:35:44.440 diet while on the premises. A rule which continues 00:35:44.440 --> 00:35:47.000 to be enforced by the estate to honor his personal 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:49.639 ethos. Given his lifelong battle for creative 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:52.340 and financial control, changing his name, fighting 00:35:52.340 --> 00:35:54.920 the biggest label in the world, the immediate 00:35:54.920 --> 00:35:57.840 aftermath of his death became its own saga. A 00:35:57.840 --> 00:36:01.320 saga defined by chaos and contradiction. The 00:36:01.320 --> 00:36:04.440 sources detail an immediate estate crisis. The 00:36:04.440 --> 00:36:06.659 largest issue is the simple, staggering fact 00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:09.619 that he died without a will. Which is just, knowing 00:36:09.619 --> 00:36:12.320 him and his focus on control, the ultimate irony. 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:15.219 It is. Under Minnesota law, this meant his six 00:36:15.219 --> 00:36:17.380 siblings, his full sister Tyka Nelson and five 00:36:17.380 --> 00:36:20.360 half -siblings, became his legal heirs. And the 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:22.440 sources reveal that almost immediately the process 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:25.139 was fraught. Within three weeks of his death, 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:28.210 over 700 people claimed kinship. forcing the 00:36:28.210 --> 00:36:30.289 courts to wade through a mountain of spurious 00:36:30.289 --> 00:36:33.150 claims. The estate was only finally settled in 00:36:33.150 --> 00:36:36.949 2022, a six -year legal ordeal. A unique piece 00:36:36.949 --> 00:36:39.590 of his physical legacy, now on permanent display 00:36:39.590 --> 00:36:43.150 at Paisley Park, is his urn. His ashes were placed 00:36:43.150 --> 00:36:45.789 into a custom 3D -printed urn that is shaped 00:36:45.789 --> 00:36:47.909 exactly like the Paisley Park estate itself. 00:36:48.309 --> 00:36:50.989 Co -designed by his sister, Taika, and her son, 00:36:51.130 --> 00:36:54.349 a stunning, highly personal architectural memorial 00:36:54.349 --> 00:36:57.599 to his home and studio. But the real engine of 00:36:57.599 --> 00:37:00.119 the posthumous world is The Vault. Given his 00:37:00.119 --> 00:37:02.239 prolific nature, the sources suggest he had a 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:04.739 vast array of unreleased material. Potentially 00:37:04.739 --> 00:37:07.099 enough for decades of future releases. The Vault 00:37:07.099 --> 00:37:10.139 has fueled a constant methodical stream of posthumous 00:37:10.139 --> 00:37:11.780 projects, starting with the hits compilation 00:37:11.780 --> 00:37:14.719 Forever. We've seen demo albums like Piano and 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:17.760 a Microphone in 1983, and completely shelved 00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:19.860 works like the album Welcome to America. And 00:37:19.860 --> 00:37:22.619 the estate is meticulously managing these reissues, 00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:24.960 issuing massive super deluxe versions of his 00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:27.190 classic albums like sign of the pines and diamonds 00:37:27.190 --> 00:37:29.530 and pearls. This is legacy preservation at a 00:37:29.530 --> 00:37:32.329 colossal, almost overwhelming scale. This careful 00:37:32.329 --> 00:37:35.190 curation by the estate, however, brings us directly 00:37:35.190 --> 00:37:38.289 back to the central paradox of his life, control. 00:37:38.869 --> 00:37:42.010 The sources describe a fascinating conflict over 00:37:42.010 --> 00:37:44.869 narrative control. Involving a planned Netflix 00:37:44.869 --> 00:37:47.769 documentary produced by Ezra Edelman, who won 00:37:47.769 --> 00:37:50.210 an Oscar for O .J. Made in America. This is a 00:37:50.210 --> 00:37:53.010 textbook example of legacy preservation colliding 00:37:53.010 --> 00:37:56.079 with unfiltered biography. The documentary reportedly 00:37:56.079 --> 00:37:58.860 included controversial elements, specifically 00:37:58.860 --> 00:38:01.280 accusations of abuse from a former girlfriend 00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:03.820 and the estate, unhappy with what they reportedly 00:38:03.820 --> 00:38:06.460 considered a sensationalized and unflattering 00:38:06.460 --> 00:38:09.179 depiction of his life, stepped in and their power 00:38:09.179 --> 00:38:11.739 was definitive. The sources confirmed that in 00:38:11.739 --> 00:38:14.440 February 2025, the controversial Netflix project 00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:16.500 was officially canceled. And simultaneously, 00:38:16.980 --> 00:38:18.699 the estate announced they would be producing 00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:21.239 a new documentary featuring exclusive content 00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:24.380 from Prince's archive. So if the estate is prioritizing 00:38:24.380 --> 00:38:26.840 the superhuman narrative, the icon who fought 00:38:26.840 --> 00:38:29.000 the system, what elements of his vulnerability, 00:38:29.360 --> 00:38:31.579 his complexity and the darker periods of his 00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:34.139 life are we now permanently locked out from seeing? 00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:36.440 That's the real question. The estate's official 00:38:36.440 --> 00:38:39.340 social media posted a video of a vault door being 00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:42.679 opened, captioning it, the vault is free. Which 00:38:42.679 --> 00:38:44.519 in this context feels heavily loaded, doesn't 00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:46.679 it? The content might be free from the artist's 00:38:46.679 --> 00:38:48.659 control, but the narrative is very much controlled 00:38:48.659 --> 00:38:52.139 by his handlers. Indeed. It forces a critical 00:38:52.139 --> 00:38:55.340 lens onto the entire concept of posthumous legacy. 00:38:56.079 --> 00:38:58.739 To wrap up this deep dive, let's summarize his 00:38:58.739 --> 00:39:01.920 iconic status. He was a monumental figure, seven 00:39:01.920 --> 00:39:05.119 Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, and 00:39:05.119 --> 00:39:08.480 uniquely an Academy Award for Purple Rain. He 00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:10.639 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:13.639 in 2004, and his presence is still physically 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:16.320 felt in Minneapolis. In Minneapolis, he has a 00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:18.800 star on the outside mural of the legendary First 00:39:18.800 --> 00:39:21.840 Avenue nightclub. Shortly after his death, this 00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:23.880 star, originally painted silver like all the 00:39:23.880 --> 00:39:26.800 others, was repainted in gold. An enduring tribute 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:29.000 to the artist who transcended the rest. He was 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:31.619 a true self -made deity forged in the Minneapolis 00:39:31.619 --> 00:39:34.619 sound who relentlessly blurred lines of genre, 00:39:34.860 --> 00:39:37.679 gender, and commercial expectation only to be 00:39:37.679 --> 00:39:39.840 brought down by a vulnerability he fought so 00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:42.300 hard to conceal. So we leave you with this thought, 00:39:42.420 --> 00:39:44.699 an observation that connects his entire life 00:39:44.699 --> 00:39:48.190 story. Prince spent decades in a furious, legally 00:39:48.190 --> 00:39:50.610 aggressive battle, even changing his name and 00:39:50.610 --> 00:39:53.130 wearing the word slave on his cheek, to gain 00:39:53.130 --> 00:39:55.650 ownership of his masters and control his own 00:39:55.650 --> 00:39:58.329 creative narrative. He ultimately achieved that 00:39:58.329 --> 00:40:01.409 emancipation. He did. But now, in his absence, 00:40:01.630 --> 00:40:03.250 the institution of the estate must determine 00:40:03.250 --> 00:40:05.429 what parts of his history are safe to share, 00:40:05.630 --> 00:40:08.889 managing and potentially sanitizing the very 00:40:08.889 --> 00:40:12.039 legacy he fought so hard to free. What does creative 00:40:12.039 --> 00:40:15.199 freedom truly mean if the final definitive narrative 00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:17.539 can still be rigidly controlled by the powers 00:40:17.539 --> 00:40:20.219 that be even after the artist is gone? Think 00:40:20.219 --> 00:40:22.139 about that tension between the man who demanded 00:40:22.139 --> 00:40:24.659 total artistic control and the legacy that must 00:40:24.659 --> 00:40:25.780 now be managed by committee.