A one-man genre who played every instrument, controlled every note, and bent pop music to his singular will.
Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist who played over 27 instruments, he signed with Warner Bros. at 19 and within five years had created Purple Rain—the album, film, and cultural moment that made him a global superstar. His catalog spans funk, rock, R&B, pop, jazz, and gospel, often within a single song. He wrote hits for other artists under pseudonyms while fighting for artist ownership rights decades before streaming made that battle mainstream. After a protracted battle with Warner Bros., he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in protest. He was a ferocious live performer who could out-play any guitarist alive. Prince died on April 21, 2016, from an accidental fentanyl overdose. He was 57. Vaults of unreleased recordings remain.
“Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people.”
“I was not born to follow.”
Redefined what a solo artist could control—composition, production, performance, and ownership—and left a catalog that spans genres no single human should have mastered.
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