My childhood formed by Prince
I was born in the early 80’s and I grew up hearing Prince on the radio. I loved him. I remember singing Seven on the school bus when I was about eleven years old. My friend Nicole and I knew all the words and we sang it loudly and proudly. I remember his change to the artist formally known as Prince. I remember all the people calling him brown. I remember all the ways people tried to make him feel different, I hope he never did. I hope he was always able to see the smallness of their comments. He was interviewed once by Oprah and she asked him why he would always live in Minnesota and he said, “it’s so cold it keeps all the bad people out.”
Today I drove past Paisley Park while KDWB played a remix of his music and I sat at the stop light crying. Overwhelmed by all the ways he touched our lives. His music lives on in our memories and souls. Music does that. It seeps into your bones and changes you. I’m thankful for that and him. He is a tribute to kindness and goodness and peace.