Despite his small stature, Prince was a
giant in the music industry who became the blueprint for how modern musicians
approach pop (McCormick, 2016).
Unlike
most artists, Prince had a deep understanding of nearly all genres. Pop, rock,
jazz, blues, soul, funk, disco, and electronica are all genres of music that
were merged to create some of his most original and innovative tracks. With the
release of each new album, his experimentation with these different genres and sounds
was evidenced and rewarded greatly by the large amount of sales that they
brought in. Because of his music being so diverse and blended, Prince’s music
has never been able to fit into one genre entirely. Instead, it created a genre
that is entirely its own that is known as Minneapolis funk or Minneapolis
sound.
Minneapolis
funk is a hybrid of funk, rock, pop, and r&b. Despite this genre’s peak in
the 1980s, Prince had actually been the one to entrepreneur it back in the
1970s. Prince had started to build his following back in 1978 when he released
his debut album For You. With the
release of this album and the album Prince
just a year later, Prince had become known as a soul-pop artist that was
enjoyable, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, with his release of the
album Dirty Mind in 1980, Prince’s
demeanor changed and he became noticed for his varying depth and vision as an
artist. Dirty Mind had managed to appeal
to Prince’s established fans by still containing elements of funk and soul, but
also appealed to new audiences with lyrics and melodies that were more similar
to rock (Henderson, “The Minneapolis Sound”). The continuance of these types of
risks in his music created a whole series of Prince albums that further elaborated
on and exemplified what it means to be Minneapolis funk.
In
1984, Prince’s release of the album Purple
Rain allowed him to reach an even higher levels of fame. Purple Rain managed to sell over ten
million copies in the United States alone, and but Prince at number one on the
charts for just about 24 weeks. Prior to the release of this album, Prince had
made himself to be a mystery. Not only did he want to keep his history and who
he was a secret, but he also assured that no one would ever find him out doing
typical human things. This gave him the appearance of being a sort of esoteric
being in his fans head; he created an image that he was a sort of living
fantasy who was always done-up and ready to perform. However, with the release
of Purple Rain and the movie of the
same name, Prince became slightly more humanized. The Purple Rain movie incorporated
the album as its soundtrack and used it to back the story of Prince’s rise to
fame. With the passing of time, this album has become what Prince is most known
for. Not only does it speak volumes about Prince and his willingness to push
the limits of modern music, but it also proves that the genre known as
Minneapolis funk is a truly unlike any other (Mendelson, 2013).
Without
further to do, let’s review the album.
“Let’s
Go Crazy”
Nothing
seems especially “crazy” about this track during the first 40 seconds when all instrumentation
and lyricism is reminiscent of Sunday morning church. Prince preaches in a very
gospel-esque manner about how we need to start appreciating our life while were
alive as a keyboard follows along and creates a rather melodramatic tone. As the track develops, Prince’s true being
comes out with the introduction of heavy electric guitar, fierce drumming, and crazy
synthesized sounds that all combine to create what I can only describe as an
upbeat pop goes rock ‘n’ roll melody. Despite what I would have believed, all
of these sounds somehow manage to work together to create a song that gets you
excited for the album and leaves you wanting more after an overly enthusiastic guitar
solo.
“Take
Me With U”
This is
anything but a typical love song. Heavy drumrolls lead into the cheerful
synthesizer lead melody that combines with a tambourine to create a track that
is extremely cheerful and easy to groove to. Prince sings along with Apollonia whose
voice creates lightness and adds dynamic to a song that is otherwise slightly monotonous
and heavy.
“The
Beautiful Ones”
Within
the chaos of the multiple synthesized sounds, Prince’s smooth and rather syrupy
voice blends old with new and builds upon itself until he’s no longer singing,
but simply screaming. The fact that all this build up leads to the question: “Do
you want him? Or do you want me?” is rather heartbreaking and proves the song
to be even more profound than the mixed instrumentals had let on.
“Computer
Blue”
What
sounded like an incohesive arrangement to me at first turns out to be one of my
favorites from the album. The song begins with a sort of incoherent conversation
between two people and leads into a song that is extremely technological in its
sound. From the shrieking electric guitar, to the upbeat techno beats, and all
the way back to the auto tuned singing, this song screams 80s. However, the
progression from this arrangement into the beautiful and flowing piano and
guitar melody truly showcases Prince’s talent as a musician.
“Darling
Nikki”
This
seems to be one of the more conservative tracks on the album. Prince maintains
the use of a traditional jazz sounding horn throughout the song but mixes it
with various synthetic sounds and heavy metal instruments. Along with this, the
lyricism of this track uphold Prince’s legacy. The lyrics: “I guess you could
say she was a sex fiend. I met her in a hotel lobby. Masturbating with a
magazine.”, are a shock to any listener and will remain so for as long as this
song around. For these two reasons alone, this song is an absolute gem.
“When
Doves Cry”
Despite
being composed entirely without bass or heavy instrumentals, this song is still
extremely exciting. The lyrics dig into some of Prince’s most deep and personal
thoughts yet while still maintaining a light and airy melody. All dynamic in
the song is created solely by Prince’s voice and vocal range on the track. I
find it amazing that a track this minimal can be so endearing.
“I
Would Die 4 U”
Even
though I find it slightly irritating, the continuous thumping in the background
of this track creates a faster tempo and therefore more cheerful vibe than any
other on the track. Moving past the rather emotional lyrics of the past tracks,
this song brings back the groovy and cheerful melodies that Prince is loved
for.
“Baby I’m
A Star”
Extremely
prevalent keyboard and various synthesized sounds create a track that seems
like the climax of the track. Prince predicts his future fame claiming “Might
not know it now. Baby, but I are, I’m a star.” and keeps his upbeat
self-proclamations going for as long as the song allows. Refusing to let the
song end on an even slightly less energetic note, the track finishes out with just
a single strike of a drum that abruptly cuts it all off at once. I’ve never
heard a song build and end quite like this and I must say that its truly
interesting to experience.
“Purple
Rain”
This is
truly a legendary song. Prince essentially brings back the roots of r&b by creating
something similar to a sermon. This track consists of him reaching out to
listeners and forcing emotions from them thorough the vastness and grandiosity of
his solos and the ultimate climax of the song. Even though the lyrics make
little to no sense, I think it is easy to get behind this song simply for the
raw emotion that it demands.
Prince’s
revolutionary style of making music has had a lasting impact on not only on his
genre, but on all artists worldwide. From pop artists like Justin Timberlake and
Beyoncé to sci-fi heavy rockers like Muse, Prince’s impact can
be seen in the blueprint for how they approach their music (McCormick, 2016).
Because of his
extensive influence and enormous range of skills, it is definitely safe to say
that another person will never be claimed to be the “new Prince”. Instead, the
best that people who aspire to his level can do is study all of the elements
that made him so expansive, and hope that in the end they too can emerge as one
of the most legendary artists to exist.
Rest In Peace
Prince
Works
Cited
Mendelson, Aaron. American R&B: Gospel Grooves, Funky Drummers, and Soul Power. Twenty-First
Century Books, 2013.
McCormick, Neil. “Prince Influenced Everyone
from Madonna to Beyoncé.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 24 Apr.
2016. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.
Henderson, Alex. “The Minneapolis Sound.” All
Music, Rovi Corporation, http://web.archive.org/web/20111103032622/http://www.allmusic.com:80/
