“We can hardly ever, in this immense society, thank personally those who have touched us like this, and it makes me sad in a hollow way that it took a death to bring this out of me.” John Carino

Prince Rogers Nelson,57, died April 21, 2016, was found unresponsive in an elevator in Paisley Park, Minnesota. The cause of death is still unknown.

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Prince’s adolescence was filled with tough times, hopping from one home to another because of a violent relationship with his stepfather.

After getting a guitar from his birth father and starting a band named Champagne with a few cousins and friends , Prince’s music career began.   

From his debut album, For You, all the way to his most iconic album, Purple Rain, and into the present, Prince has been a  master of creating and perfecting songs, and making music that now has adults reminiscing about when they first listened to his albums.

“How do we mourn? How do we express? How do we accept such a deep loss to our musical past, present, and future?… What can we take with us to remind us of the light that shine so bright among us?” Sheila E.

While he married twice in his life, first to Mayte Garcia, for five years, and then to Manuela Testolini, for six years it was Sheila Escovedo, who worked with Prince on songs featured on Purple Rain, that became his lifelong mate. The two worked together and formed a bond through music and companionship. Although they never married the two shared more than music with each other, they knew each other for thirty years.

Prince produced more than his top albums, Dirty Mind, 1999, Sign o’ the Times, and Purple Rain. He also wrote singles for other singers, such as Stand Back for Stevie Nicks, I Feel For You, for Chaka Khan, and When You Were Mine for Cyndi Lauper. Through these songs and his own, he left a poignant impact on generations of fans.

“Remembering Prince is his impact on other musicians… All these other musicians he wrote songs for them or played songs on their records; when you’re listening to Prince you could be listening to heavy rock kind of stuff and some funky jazz over here… He’s one of those artists where you know, hey I’m not quite twenty anymore but hey, once in my life that’s an artist I think I want to see live.” Edward Decosta.

While a mere article could never capture the real essence and icon that is Prince, his impact on the music industry will never be forgotten.

His music doesn’t just carry weight in the sales and top charts they made, they are carried in the hearts and minds of the people who had been affected by his music.

Never to be forgotten, Prince, you’ve changed the game, with your music, class, and personality, and very few people can be credited with that achievement.