Prince dead at 57

I was doing some research for an article this afternoon and happened upon the Huffington Post. The top headline, with a breaking news alarm, was that musical legend Prince had died. I thought the story was fake. Immediately I went out to search for the truth. I found the truth, and then my heart sank.

I love Prince. He and I were both born in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. When the movie Purple Rain was released on VHS, my older brother and I rented it and watched it eight consecutive times. When I got a CD player, the Hits 1 and 2 were some of the first pieces of music I purchased from Columbia House. In college my friends and I held numerous viewings of Purple Rain followed by a party set to the music of Prince. One of the greatest concerts I have ever seen was Prince rocking for hours. The usually horrible Super Bowl halftime show was absolutely owned by Prince.  His music is always playing in my world. The song "Purple Rain" is the greatest song ever. Working out, anything from the Revolution Days is in my ears. Relaxing, I love the music he has released in the 21st century. Late night in bed, tunes from the New Power Generation and symbol years always gets me in the mood. I really, really love Prince.

Today Prince left us. When Elvis and John Lennon died, the baby boomers lost an icon. Today the greatest artist of Generation X was taken too soon. Prince may have been part of the baby boomer generation, but he belonged to Generation X. He did not look or act like the artist of our parents generation. He was a musical and performance genius. His look and sound were unlike anything else. Once he became famous, Prince railed against an old and corrupt music business. He was the voice of ownership for any artist who creates. Prince made an impact on the world by not being like everyone else before him. He was a creator, not a follower.

Most people mourning Prince keep talking about his hit music from the 1980's. That is because this was the music that made Generation X love music. Prince's lyrics moved an entire age group into puberty. His performances inspired awe and imagination. His persona gave us a living avatar of sexiness. Now Prince is gone.

As I personally reflected on how Prince influenced myself and all of Generation X, I started to realize how selfish I was acting. Prince's greatness is not just for me and my fellow generation, Prince is timeless. Justin Timberlake said that Prince is not once in a lifetime, he is a once in forever (I am paraphrasing). I read those words and came to the realization that Prince is not gone. Prince will live forever.

Any artist will have their work outlive them, but Prince as a person is still alive. His music will never know a time or generation. His performances will spark imagination until the end of time. His fight for artist ownership rights will assure us that new and innovative music will always be with us. Prince did not just leave us a catalog of incredible music, he assured us a legacy of creation. This legacy named Prince will outlive us.

The news of Prince's passing has made me incredibly sad. I will not get any new music from my favorite artist. I will not be able to watch live one of the greatest guitar players rock out for hours. Yet I am strangely happy. What Prince did with his 57 years, and incredible talent, is make sure that the next Prince has a chance. He made sure that the next genius can be defined on his or her own terms. Prince is forever.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man Podcast