Music Icon Prince Dies at 57 RIP

Prince died earlier today (April 21) at age 57 at his Paisley Park home and studio, according to TMZ.
 
Prince was hospitalized last week after his plane for was forced to make an emergency landing in Moline, Ill. Released a few hours later, a rep told TMZ that he had been battling a bad case of the flu.

This comes as a surprise much like David Bowie passing earlier this year. But while Bowie lost a battle to cancer, it is currently being reported that Prince died from complications with the flu.

Prince was one of the few true musicians left in the industry. He was more than a voice, he also excelled on a guitar putting him in the ranks of other skilled guitarists. He’s both an Oscar winner for “Purple Rain” and a Grammy winner for that and many more projects.

In addition to his music career filled with hits and the iconic soundtrack from the film “Purple Rain,” Prince also made contributions to the film “Batman (1989)” being the source for a majority of the soundtrack. The man himself was an icon and outside of his music, he carried a persona that people loved to emulate and include in both TV and film. The way that many perceived him was as more of an intimidating figure that demanded respect. And when you reflect upon his influence in the music industry, he’s a person that remained true to his craft not venturing into the simplified pop music era we know today.

While I was a fan of David Bowie, I was an avid fan of Prince. In addition to his classics, his album “Musicology” was an outlier during the dawn of a more auto-tuned state of music in 2004. He continued on from that Grammy winning album with a number of albums that maintained his dedication to reminding the public that music is an art and created his music in a way that we deserve to hear.

Check out this more recent debut performance of “Purple Rain” to see what a true talent Prince was. He will definitely be missed by me and many others.

This was first reported by TMZ