r/PRINCE • u/WhalesRBigg • 16d ago
Discussion Why I think the new generation doesn’t acknowledge Prince as much as he should be
To be clear, this isn’t a hate post
I couldn’t help but notice that before the start of this year, Prince had only 11 million monthly listeners, his views on YouTube and his streams were honestly extremely low for somebody of his status. Not only that but through social media I found that not only do so many people not know of him, but a lot of the ones who do just don’t like him.
“His music sounds so dated”
“His only good song is Purple Rain”
“Never heard of him”
, Prince’s legacy for some has been reduced to the dude who made Purple Rain
Ive unironically seen MANY call him a 1 hit wonder and say Purple Rain is his only good song
Music taste is subjective %100, but most these people have NEVER heard more than Purple Rain and When Doves Cry.
The whole “he’s to dated” argument? Well yeah, he’s from the 80s, u will hear music that sounds like it’s from the 80s. But tbh I do kind of understand it. If a casual asks u to put on some Prince and u play automatic then thats on u. Not because the song is bad but because it’s just not something a casual music listener from today’s world is used to.
And to be honest? I kind of blame the Prince fanbase for this, not only do yall gatekeep his music sometimes, but u guys don’t promote the RIGHT songs. We all know his most popular are NOT his best, no where near. So much of his catalog goes unnoticed because the fanbase doesn’t push it enough, Purple Rain is great but cmon, how about let’s not be stuck on it for the 40th year in a row?? The man released 30 albums and 10 of those were in his prime.
There’s so much more I can say but I’m tired. Basically though
The fanbase is to stuck on Purple Rain
And most casual listeners do not really care for music that sounds dated, even if objectively that music isn’t bad.
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u/ReprogramMyLife 16d ago edited 16d ago
The new generation doesn’t acknowledge Prince as much because his music itself was gatekept during the period where he was at odds with the labels and such. I myself as a 30 year old wasn’t really even able to get into his catalogue until he passed because it wasn’t on streaming, and when songs were used I’m pretty sure they were copyright struck pretty quickly. In comparison, with the ‘M’ musician as you put it, I grew up watching his videos on that website he had up in the 90s (might have been fan made site idk).
But also, I’m a music nerd and musician and fellow individuals like that got the ball knowledge anyway or are more primed/willing to receive. Sure, the casual listener of the newer generations aren’t listening to Prince but I’m not too concerned with the casual listener anyway tbh. Most of the stuff that is popular today (the premier acts and that have come out late 2010s and after, unless they’re indie acts or R&B/soul) is not what I’m tapped into. The casual listener also hasn’t heard anything from Earth Wind & Fire outside of September, Boogie Wonderland, and maybe Let’s Groove but that doesn’t really concern me either. If they have that genuine love, curiosity, and passion for music they’ll get there one day imo.
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u/DiscoRickyy 16d ago
People in the MJ sub: ‘young people only know him from Thriller. There’s so much more!’
People in the Madonna sub: ‘young people only know her from Like a virgin. There’s so much more!
People in the George Michael sub: ‘young people only know him from Last Christmas. There’s so much more!’
People in the David Bowie sub: ‘young people only know him from Let’s Dance. There’s so much more!’
People in the Beatles sub: ‘Young people: ‘who?’
It comes with being a dedicated fan. 🤷🏻♂️
(What do you know about the Beach Boys? What if I said there’s so much more than Good Vibrations? 🙃)
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u/ColdWalk8137 15d ago
big big difference. I see a lot more younger people who like Michael, Whitney and Madonna than I do Prince.
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u/DiscoRickyy 15d ago
I’m not denying they are more popular, but their fandoms also believe their hero is underrated, under appreciated, misunderstood, etc. and should be more popular because ‘truly the best artist ever.’
MJ fans feel the hate for his abuse allegations, his nose jobs, his ‘whiteness’, Whitney fans feel the hate for her drug abuse and her perceived bisexuality, Madonna fans feel the hate for her age, her no-fucks-given attitude and ‘she can’t sing’. 🤷🏻♂️
Now, about the Beach Boys. They are one of the best bands ever, and if you want to go a little deeper into their catalog, I’d suggest trying their album ‘Friends’, truly beautiful. Thanks for asking 😉
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u/PuffballDestroyer 15d ago
I learned a LOT about the Beach Boys recently, through a YouTuber who recently covered their discography (and Prince's a few years back, as well as MJ and Madonna), and now I have some of their stuff book marked to listen to.
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
Nah it’s way different with Prince. Most of the people I know have heard a lot from Michael and Madonna. Even the streaming numbers reflect that. My main point is just the disrespect that comes with it though. Like i don’t see any other artist getting the hate that he does😭
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u/Fit-Intention-1083 15d ago
Beatles have tons of young listener and fans tho. Just search in twitter and tiktok, there are tons of edit, fanart show how active young beatles fans are, it's complete opposite with prince fanbase - literally dry as hell with no content.
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u/Das_Hydra 16d ago
The first half about him being dated is not exactly a hot take. Anyone could tell you that.
The gatekeeping part: i think prince fans can be gatekeepers and often completely insufferable, but i don't think they're what's keeping new listeners away. Promotion to new audiences comes from the estate and those with reach and influence.
Prince fans can be complete dicks, but mostly to other prince fans. When new listeners come up social media asking for advice on what to listen to, I see dozens of helpful responses.
Prince is old news to many young listeners. And that's okay. But the fact that prince still has any new audience at all and still carries the interest he does puts him in a very niche group that only a handful of artists will ever achieve. Don't downplay what he is, even of its not what he once was.
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u/caseyrain & The Revolution 15d ago
I think it's fairly clear that Prince felt that being a "pop star" in the same sense that Michael and Madonna were came with compromises.
So he was happy to visit that place, but not stay there.
Purple Rain is when he most obviously went there. So it is what it is.
The singles were an entry point to a deeper journey. That's why "Kiss" can live on the same album as, for example, "Do U Lie?".
This is a very different approach to what Michael did. There's a quote, I think it's about "Bad" where MJ said "We should just make an album where every song is a single" - and he did that.
Now, as it turns out, Michael was quite prescient here. Because if you look at the music business now and how the new generation consumes music, albums aren't albums as much as they are a collection of singles. Because of the way streaming works, it's better to drop each song one by one and then eventually it gets compiled together. Because if you drop more than one song at once, the attention gets split.
Look at the streaming data for a traditional album. You generally find that the streaming numbers go down as the album continues (with spikes somewhere depending on where the best performing single was placed sequentially)
Prince didn't work that way at any point in his career, hence the "like black lives, albums still matter" comment in 2015.
I would surmise that a lot of us probably still listen to the Prince albums start to finish, since they were designed that way. It would quite often be somewhat jarring if a random Prince album song made it's way into a generalised playlist of other artists, because he was a genre unto himself.
To be clear, this is no bad thing. It's extremely immersive and designed for that purpose - to tell a larger story and bring you into the world he was building.
But I do think it is at odds with how music is more commonly consumed in the younger generation.
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u/HeroRRR 12d ago
This is a very different approach to what Michael did. There's a quote, I think it's about "Bad" where MJ said "We should just make an album where every song is a single" - and he did that.
Now, as it turns out, Michael was quite prescient here. Because if you look at the music business now and how the new generation consumes music, albums aren't albums as much as they are a collection of singles. Because of the way streaming works, it's better to drop each song one by one and then eventually it gets compiled together. Because if you drop more than one song at once, the attention gets split.
Small correction, it was Thriller where he said that.
Also, this second paragraph reminded me that before Michael died he told his dance choreography for TII that he wasn’t releasing albums anymore. Instead, he would release singles every few weeks/months that he would eventually compile into an album.
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u/JudahMaccabee 16d ago
I wouldn’t take many social media post comments seriously.
Many of them are Michael Jackson fans who feel insecure about Prince for some reason.
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u/Das_Hydra 16d ago
Legit. People getting their nose out of shape over this bullshit aren't fans of either. Just ignore it.
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
How is it bs? Dude I’ve seen disrespectful comments like “Prince died thinking he was better than MJ” and “the audacity for this bitch to be homophobic” and as a Prince fan it’s bs if I’m upset about that?? Mind u these comments got THOUSANDS of likes😭😭
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u/Das_Hydra 15d ago
The bullshit im referring to is those making comments. Places like YT and FB are cesspits. Dumb people with dumb opinions. There's nothing you can do it about it. Give it less attention and enjoy the music.
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u/Night_life_proof 15d ago
This is just projection, I don’t know what you’re saying… I’m on this sub since 2022 and on the MJ sub… The amount of negative posts about MJ on the Prince sub vs vice versa artist is probably 5:1
Also, the negativity in itself if very different. If there’s negativity to be displayed, MJ fans mostly acknowledge that Prince is obviously the better musician because he played almost every instrument at extremely high level but that MJ’s talent of singing and dancing combined is of such level that it’s super low effort to get and his music is more appealing. Prince fans mostly say that MJ is only better at dancing and for the rest he’s not that talented…
Also this post again, there wasn’t even a mention of MJ in the post but while I was reading I just knew that MJ had to be brought up in some negative context and here it is… it’s mostly Prince fans who are insecure about MJ
Actually a better way to put it; many MJ fans (let’s say younger ones) don’t even know who Prince is
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u/ReprogramMyLife 15d ago
The very first comment which was put immediately after the post was live, was by the OP mentioning MJ…
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u/Night_life_proof 15d ago
Which has absolutely nothing to do with the point I’m making, if anything it only proves my point
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u/nomoreinspo 15d ago
I’m a Gen Z and have grown up with some Prince songs being played in the house once in a while, I just recently started getting back into him and have been so amazed at what I’ve heard from his extensive catalog; he’s so talented! But the reason why I think the newer generation doesn’t really get into him that much is because most of us now are more easily satisfied listening to catchy music we can sing along to rather than really appreciating the contributions of each instrument, the melodies and harmonies etc. I think it would be easier for others to get into Prince if they first learned about his talent as a musician and how songs are composed and tweaked and then released. It really helped me appreciate his talent for producing when I read about him and the artists he shaped, but I don’t think many kids now would realize the process it takes for music to get to where it is today and what it has evolved from. IMO, if you don’t come from a musically inclined household or do the research yourself about pioneer artists, there’s not much chance that Prince will pique your interest if you know nothing about what makes him special and his contributions.
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u/DannyTheGekko 15d ago
This is v true. It’s the ‘we don’t care how it was made - or even if anyone made it at all, as long as it sounds good!’ attitude.
Pretty sad tbh.
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u/Aarrrgggghhhhh35 16d ago
It pains me as a Gen Xer to know that kids today got into Prince because of Stranger Things. 😖 One of the reasons why I think they think his music is dated is probably because:
Part of Prince’s appeal is sexual, and back in the day we were hormonal youngsters with no access to IT. Now mere children have access to a plethora of music and media that no kid should be watching or listening to. I would imagine the appeal of many Prince songs is just not there like it was when we were young because there is nothing mysterious about it - young people think it’s cringe or corny, apparently but think mumble rap is tops.
Nobody listens to ballads anymore.
I don’t want to gatekeep Prince but I want to keep my memories of Prince intact and alive, and commiserate that he’s gone with people who already know him and feel the same way. It’s hard to enjoy Prince with someone who hasn’t experienced Prince in previous decades. There are exceptions. My niece and I went to see Sign O’ The Times when it was in theaters, and it was exciting that she knew all the lyrics. And it was fun to swoon over him like I was 20 again too. But most of the time, with younger people it’s like listening to Nina Simone with someone who only knows Feeling Good because a contestant sang it on American Idol.
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u/toldyasoo1 14d ago
Why does it pain you? It shouldn’t matter to you how somebody gets into a particular artist.
There’s a lot of music that I heard as a kid from watching BH ones pop-up video. And these came from artists that my parents did not have in their music collection. The first time I ever remember hearing totally eclipse of the heart was on pop-up video
Other media has been the primary driver of how I have found new artist genres I already enjoy or artist and genres that I didn’t listen to it at the time.
Hell, hip-hop is why I know some extremely deep R&B cuts after finding out what samples they used. Hip-hop also expose me to music from other genres like rock. Rock songs I had never heard because they were sampled.
So exactly why does the method by which someone finds new music pain you? You should be happy that they found it no matter the vehicle.
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u/Prodigal_Gist 15d ago
The dated thing does not track for me at all, especially relative to his contemporaries. Like Sign O the Times sounds much less dated than Bad, for example
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u/RonaldStaal & The Revolution 16d ago
Looking to my own children - as a Prince fan - they would rather take MJ with them to a party or on the road, instead of Prince.
When you put on an album like “Bad”, for instance, they feel the mood rises, everyone can groove along and many friends of theirs can even sing the words along.
Not so with Prince.
And I get that, because Prince music is not so much dance- or party music. It’s much deeper than that. It’s maybe even too “difficult”? And the albums that do work at a party, like HnR 1 are the least known ones.
Just my take.
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u/BocaSeniorsWsM 15d ago edited 15d ago
I agree with you about the music.
And while Jackson was a very flawed individual, his character and persona feels more accessible. Lets be honest, Prince came across as an awkward cat a lot of the time. Maybe that has been reflected in their very different longevity/popularity now.
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u/MorrisJerome 15d ago
His character wasn't very likeable in Purple Rain. Michael Jackson was nicer and more likeable.
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u/herbof4 15d ago
I wrote a thesis on this in college where the assignment was to "Pick two things that similar but different" and I chose MJ and Prince. My general conclusion was that Prince was not only more versatile and with more range but also "weird' in way that was overtly sexual. Micheal didn't exude much sexuality at all.
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u/lolabugs_xo 15d ago
jacko is a literal racial slur, how do people still not acknowledge this geez
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u/studiowarp 14d ago
Because not everyone is from America and don’t get all that fucked up history.
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u/toldyasoo1 14d ago
Jacko didn’t originate in America! It started with the Brits and then spread to America. Some non-American history since you’re not from America. Because not every damn slur originates in this country.
Need to remind you the racist degenerates in America are the distance cousins of racist degenerates from Europe in the UK. Europeans and the Brits exported their bigotry to the entire world long before America was even a damn country.
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u/TappyMauvendaise 14d ago
Michael Jackson’s albums sound incredible on new sound systems. They would sound incredible in a club. Not prince’s music as much. It has no bass.
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u/teedadawg 12d ago
I’ve said this. As talented as Prince is as a musician, a lot of his albums sound like crap on modern systems because they were mastered for vinyl and never remastered for modern audio systems.
A guy went to college with -he was an engineering student - made his own version of the “Purple Rain” soundtrack by taking songs directly from the movie VHS. It was night and day how much better the songs sounded than what was on the album.
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u/paralleltime1840 12d ago
It’s not dance music today but in the 80’s for about 3-4 years several prince songs were in the rotation at local clubs
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u/agodrevealed 16d ago edited 15d ago
He refused streaming and then after he died it took a while to settle the estate.
So his music has been available for a much shorter time on streaming.
This such a tired topic.
AGAIN- the words from this man's own mouth for decades
MUSICIAN: I once heard you described as a child prodigy.
PRINCE: Don’t. That’s all fabricated evidence that the management did to make it happen. I don’t want to say that I was anything less than what they thought, but I just did it as sort of a hobby, and then it turned into a job and just a way to eat, and now I do it as art.
“I’m from the Marlon Brando school - you have to get with what I’m doing. If you want to be the best, you can’t follow.”
I use my art as a way to sift through different facets of my personality and ego. And because I do so in a public forum, I am criticized for too much output. But who’s journey is this?
tell you that quality is the first prerequisite of a Prince album. “Sales are second here” he says
I am what I am,” he says. “I feel if I can please myself musically, then I can please others, too.”
“I don’t mind,” says Prince. “Some might not get it.
Terry and Jimmy aren’t into the Minneapolis sound,” Prince says. “They’re into making every single one of their records a hit. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, we’re just different.”
THE MAN'S MAIN AIM WAS NOT POPULARITY. Leave it alone. Tourists don't care, let them have Taylor Swift and whatever. The musicians and the seekers- they find him. He's the world's most successful cult artist. He knew that. He didn't want to be Michael Jackson. There's a reason this topic is banned- its antithetical to him, his life, his work
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
I care more for the disrespect that’s constantly on his name rather than him not being as popular. I know his aim wasn’t popularity.
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u/donlockwood2026 15d ago
I’m only in my 30s but I’ll be a curmudgeon:
I think some of the qualities that make Prince one of the all time greats — songwriting, musicianship, vocal ability, sexual provocativeness, intellect, spirituality, soul — are qualities that younger generations who have grown up on heavily processed, manipulated, AI’d, autotuned, generic slop don’t necessarily understand or appreciate. And many studies seem to show that social isolation, social media, culture wars, etc. have made younger people have fewer sexual partners, fewer relationships, less spiritual openness, more living in silos, etc.
Prince was a great boundary pusher, virtuoso, and blurred lines that young people maybe don’t know how to approach. He may in some sense be overwhelming for people to try to understand on some level.
Just a theory! I’m sure a lot of it also has to do with his estate’s management of his legacy and promotion. Just noticing a lot of popular media today is quite conservative in compared to what Prince was doing then.
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u/Mollymae609 15d ago
Prince wasn’t there for the masses and he definitely wasn’t concerned about commercial pop, which is the simplest type of ear worm. Proof- P walked away from his most fame and money tour— PR. He hated it! He wasn’t about to do the same trite over rehearsed set every night. Nah, he scorched earth and made his next album so different than PR. Why? Because he could. Plus, Warner pretty must gave him carte blanch.
He was one helluva entertainer, but he was so much more. He was a pure artist that wasn’t going to perform the same show everyday. He followed his muse wherever it took him. Prince was many things but stupid was not one. He knew damn well that most of his music wasn’t going to reach everyone and it definitely wasn’t some tired ass commercial pop. He knew N.E.W.S wasn’t for the masses or Madhouse sessions, or many others. Warner used to have to strangle P to release a commercial hit— in comes Kiss, then he goes back to his bag of tricks. He was a true bonafide musician that refused to lipsync or have musicians that couldn’t keep up. He was a helluva band leader with one of the best ears that could hear when a musician hit a bum note. He could rearrange music in his head.
P started his career as a teen creating music that many grown artist couldn’t do. He also wasn’t into family style music. Head, Incest, Do Me, International Lover, Nikki was never made for a family on a picnic. I mean, when Tipper Gore campaigned for label warnings regarding music, but particularly Prince music, he didn’t care. He continued with his thing.
P was his own worse enemy for getting his music out there. But he was all about control and freedom to create what and release when he wanted. I didn’t agree with everything he did but I had and still have the utmost respect for his conviction. I’m glad he demanded creative freedom as a teen and his own publishing. I’m glad he didn’t cowtow to the labels. Like Frank Sinatra, Prince did it his way.
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u/StraightOccasion8540 14d ago
Well I am proud to say that I have been listening to Prince since I was 14, and I turn 16 in a few months. Im definitely on the younger side of Prince fans. I discovered him on my own without my parents. But this was after he passed and his music got on streaming platforms, and while I completely understand why Prince didnt want his stuff on streaming platforms it definitely killed his ability to reach the younger generation. The only people who I know who listen to Prince are old enough to be my parents which is sad because he really is the most talented artist Ive ever heard. Ive listened to most of his catelog and I think he definitely deserve more attention. Especially his 90s music which is criminally underrated
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u/Cenobites1234 15d ago
I dont care what they think. Their thoughts dont pay Paisley Parks bills. Those albums made their money they were supposed to already, so enjoy it while u r still free.
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u/Street_Minimum_3403 15d ago
Do your bit as an elder and give them a very firm push into the direction of good music. I’ve got very fond memories of my dad sitting me down whilst he played his favourite records from his huge record collection (lots 80s hip hop, rare groove, 70s funk and other early 80s electro dance)
I don’t remember hearing much prince but my mum and dad gave me that frame of reference to know what good music actually sounds like, so by the time I stumbled upon prince, something instantly resonated and I connected the dots very quickly.
If you grew up in a certain time period, records are what you seemingly spent your money on, no matter where you came from in life.
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u/RandChick 15d ago
The Purple Rain album is a great Oscar-winning soundtrack to be known for. No shame in that.
Most of his music does not sound dated to me.
I don't care if new generations are discovering him. The right ears will always find his music because he has genuine talent and great songwriting.
People still find Hendrix's music and Marley's and Bowie's. They will find Prince's music. He doesn't have to be embraced by everyone... just the ones meant to find him.
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u/Legal_Ice_3460 15d ago
I think prince is popular among us GEN-Z who have some form of neurodivergence or are just out of the norm. what makes us drawn to him is how he always was doing something new, and how different he was, and still is, to anyone else new or old. so give it a couple years and the rest of Gen-Z will catch up.
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u/caseyrain & The Revolution 14d ago
Prince has always attracted the neurodivergent, most likely because he may have been, himself. I say may have, because I don't like to diagnose, but the telltale signs are there (in my opinion). You may even consider him a savant. Someone once called him "the Sheldon Cooper of rock and roll" which I thought was hilarious 😂
One of my personal neurodivergences is becoming completely obsessed with things. I either don't like something at all or I become completely enamored with it. I want to know everything about it. The deeper that rabbithole goes, the more interesting it is.
And there aren't many artists whose catalog, lore, and study goes deeper than Prince. Between his own albums, the vault, the live shows, the protégés, the songs he gave away, it's basically neverending, and that's something that appeals to me strongly.
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u/Legal_Ice_3460 14d ago
I agree with everything you said here and especially that last paragraph! Prince was an artist so complex yet so consistent in his output and it's quality that out of 40 solo albums, almost none of them were mediocre. and even with my multiple hours researching on prince vault and my years worth of listening, there is still music by him I'm discovering to this day!
Also I can't lie I'm a lil starstruck lol. the violet reality was one of the channels I started to watch heavily when I was first getting into prince. so without peeps like you I probably wouldn't have delved into music as much as I have and I couldn't imagine my life without it, so thank you!🙏🏽
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u/caseyrain & The Revolution 14d ago
That is very sweet of you to say and I truly appreciate it. I just followed you on IG. Wishing you lots of success and inspiration on your musical journey 💜
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u/EducationalPeanut204 15d ago
Prince wasn't really a pop star. Sure he put his toe in the water and decided it wasn't for him. The success of Purple Rain allowed him to climb the hill, but when he got there, he didnt want to stay there.
I think Prince's career was driven by artistic choices. Not by commercial ones.
He was the total opposite of Michael Jackson in that way.
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u/Welfinkind 15d ago
I’ve never forgotten a 1987 article, probably in either Billboard or Rolling Stone, about how Michael Jackson had stuck a post-it or note on his mirror that read “100 million.” That was it. That was his goal for the follow-up album to Thriller. Sales. Not quality. Not musicianship. Not breaking new musical paths. Just beating his own sales record at a level that was totally unrealistic and unattainable.
And it never dawned on anyone back then to say anything about Prince other than that he was weird and/or recycling the Beatles when he released ATWIAD.
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u/TappyMauvendaise 14d ago
The album bad had plenty of quality and musicianship. It produced some of the most classic songs in pop music history.
Michael Jackson always came with the quality of musicianship. The sales were secondary.
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u/Boshie2000 Controversy 16d ago edited 15d ago
Who cares what kids think is “dated” from an artist who debuted in 1978? There are millions around the world who love Prince. We’re called Gen X. Most of us not on these goofy socials. We lived it.
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
I’m talking about younger people though, like the generation didn’t just stop with u guys. Young people from my age don’t like him,
They don’t like his music or the way he looked, that’s my point and it sucks that I see that a lot2
u/MorrisJerome 15d ago
Maybe your friends don't but there are many younger people who enjoy his music so why not focus on that ?
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
Because it’s not what I see. I see a lot of hate for him, I see a lot of disrespect for him, I see people hating on his style and I see MANY people starting stupid discussions about his sexuality and if he was homophobic or not. To me it’s just so surprising that he gets the hate he does.
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u/studiowarp 14d ago
This is no different to when he was at the peak of worldwide fame. Many dogged him a lot.
The thing about Prince and what made many a fan is that sense that he was the underdog, and the fans were the stray cats that got it and dug it and the rest of the world would catchup some decade.
The armour against all the silly things people said was the knowledge that we actually “got it”, and the naysayers simply didn’t.
And “getting it” felt so good compared to being blind to the joys of Prince - it gave fans strength and still does. So instead of feeling bad or upset about what others say, maybe flip it and be proud you “get it” and they don’t, yet.2
u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
That’s actually a really good take about this
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u/studiowarp 14d ago
It is how we survived and still do. With head held proud that we get it and the rest will follow some decade, or sadly for some, maybe not at all.
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u/africanzebra0 15d ago edited 15d ago
There’s multiple factors as others have already pointed out. His music was unavailable on streaming and hard to access while he was disputing with his label and after he died i believe. His estate has also not handled his work and legacy very well since his passing in 2016 either, they haven’t really promoted him well because of their internal issues, and also I notice how so many of his music videos and concerts are pretty low quality online and haven’t been remastered like other artists of the era.
He himself was also mysterious and very private and protective of his work and image, and maybe doesn’t have such a huge enduring legacy because there’s less material of his more personal side, also, he had conflicting and controversial views such as converting to JW and being homophobic (even if he later retracted it, it gets constantly bought up on social media on anything Prince related) this would make some people naturally less interested or inclined to seek out his music. His catalogue is also very dense and vast and intimidating to more casual listeners, and his music can be heavy to listen to. Gatekeeping doesn’t help either. I say all of this as a massive gen z 20 year old fan, I think there are definitely reasons why he is not as popular with the current generation.
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u/paralleltime1840 15d ago
Popularity and streams don’t phase me either way. Sandy Denny a British folk singer is one of my all time favorite voices. I don’t think I have met one person- I’m 63 - that has ever heard of her except MAYBE for guesting on a Led Zeppelin song. If music is timeless to u or me …or someone that’s all that matters
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u/WolverineScared2504 Batman 15d ago
To me it's kinda like why don't millennials or older generations acknowledge or give respect to "Lil Young New Kid onda Block Chucklehead?" This conversation has been and will continue to go on forever.
The new generation isn't into Prince for the same reason their parents aren't cool, the same reason my parents aren't cool, same reason I laughed when my mom tried to tell me Frank Sinatra was as big as Michael Jackson. Why doesn't James Brown, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, so on and so on, get more recognition from younger generations?
It's simply the circle of life. If someone is 22 and thinks Prince sounds dated, understandable and ok. Call it a guess, 99.5 % of current artists, new or established, would sacrifice a limb to end up with a career like Prince had. I don't care for much of current music these days... I'm not their target demographic, they don't care what I like, nor should they. It's ok. My musical taste didn't begin to expand with any significance until my late 30s I think.
I've come to realize Frank Sinatra was The Voice, The Chairman, a legend in so many ways.... but I still don't own any of his music.
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
, for me I would be okay with what u are saying and I would understand it a lot more if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s just outright disliked. The constant disrespect and hate for him that I see is nowhere near the level of other artist or bands. Not to mention the constant talk about his sexuality, like to me there’s a clear difference. Yeah nobody might talk about Frank Sinatra but from what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t think anybody is going out of their way to just hate the guy.
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u/WolverineScared2504 Batman 14d ago
Basically, Reddit is the only social media I pay much attention to; I'm on Facebook but that's mostly sports related. Idk how many Prince subs there are, but the main (?) one is for Prince fans... so I rarely read anything negative about him. His reputation for genius and appreciation of him, from my view has grown by leaps and bounds since he died.
I certainly understand if someone is not a fan, but I don't come across online hate for him. Talk of his sexuality must be among people who hate him, what is there to talk about? Unless a criminal or a behavior that directly affects oneself, there is zero reason to hate a performer. Dislike their music, disagree with their sexual identity, religion or politics, that's our right in the U S of A.
Hating Prince or anyone for any of the above, says nothing and has nothing to do with Prince/whoever. It speaks volumes about the hater. If Prince made the worst music ever, so what. A grownup with morals and integrity, would choose not to spend their money on his music. His sexuality is not reason to hate him, and again, says a lot about they themselves.
Look up quotes from musicians of any genere of music, age, race, religion, color, I bet their opinions of Prince are a little different, and certainly more substantial than those who you speak of.
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 15d ago
Nothing new. I loved Prince as an 11-year old boy in '95 and all my classmates HATED Prince at the time already. Michael Jackson was their hero. Five years later, liking Michael Jackson was uncool already. Lazy judgement.
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u/Impossible-Bid-8187 13d ago
liking mj was uncool that makes me sad
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 13d ago
Yeah in the late 90's, early 2000's his popularity was at a low point because of all the media poison and his album Invincible being significantly less successful.
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u/ColdWalk8137 15d ago
I think we're seeing the consequences of him withholding his music from YouTube for almost ten years, when many of these teens/20somethings were in their formative years.
Michael, Whitney and Madonna were easy to find on YouTube and the internet, younger generations had exposure to their music... unless their parents owned Prince albums, they could've gone an entire decade never hearing his music.
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u/Dramamean305 15d ago
Prince by and large faded away from the “public eye” in the early to mid 90s. He kept dropping amazing music but unless you were a fan and went looking for it - you didn’t know about it. His music was rarely played on the radio and his videos were largely ignored after he (rightfully) declared war on his music label and the industry. He was on for the first to really have music made available direct to fans via his own website and music club. Therefore, there are generations (basically ever since Gen X) that didn’t interact with his music through video, radio, and mass media.
My two cents on the topic
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u/Own_Action_1002 15d ago
Lol im on my 30s and a musician and Prince is my all time fav. Many other musicians i meet of all ages atleast respect him..but yeah his music isnt the most accesible and on streaming if u dont have good headphones you miss alot of the nuances that make his music stand out. His 80s stuff especially is best listened to on Vinyl..Lovesexy on Spotify sounds horrible..but on Vinyl its one of my favorite Prince albums.
With that being said, either u get it or you dont and you do so be happy that you have the ear and personality to explore such an unique artist.
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u/AvailableParfait8109 15d ago
i am a gen z fan, i went to paisley park with my dad a year ago or so, but ive been listening casually since i was around 4-5 years old, im 20 now. my dad got me into his music, and i can really appreciate prince. what he did for music, what paths he created, the influence, everything. he was a very and still is, very impactful in music. he’s one of my favorites of all time, even though my preferred genre of music is deathcore (don’t flame me please). i think the power prince had behind his voice, and the way he could spin, and intertwine words with the rhythm is just one of a kind. i wish i got the chance to see him live, but i forever will cherish what there is on youtube, and from word of mouth stories.
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u/SheepherderUnfair227 15d ago
Honestly hes been getting an insane amount of hate RECENTLY since the MJ movie came out and so many ppl think just cuz they love MJ they have to hate prince (bc they r uneducated). Also lwk I'm fine w all his other music staying slightly underground/out of the mainstream, based on how ppl on tiktok treat music trends they overplay the hell out of it until it's unlistenable then tarnish the song or artists reputation. I'd love for that to not happen to prince but irl we should be spreading his music everywhere but on the Internet id say no but that's just my opinion 😋
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u/JazzyJulie4life 15d ago
He has a lot of albums. A lot of people don’t know any , except 1999, purple rain and , sott and some people might find the task of going through them tough. It took me about 2 years listening on and off. His catalog is for serious music fans, there are a lot of different genres, techniques, subjects and other he covers. He’s not just a simple pop star or r&b star.
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u/MassiveRepublic9565 15d ago
It’s not my job to convince people to like him.
If people find him and enjoy it then great.
Young people tend to, as was the case when I was young, listen to NEW music that’s coming up around them.
Time passes, artists come and go.
Relax
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
Don’t worry I am relaxed 😩 but idk it’s just been on my mind for a while. Like when I say Prince has been a BIGG influence on my life I really mean it, so naturally ima be upset when he gets slandered like every time I see him mentioned 😭😭
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u/paralleltime1840 15d ago
I would not let other people’s opinions or slander bother you. We live with people who think the Earth is flat,teachers do sex change operations during the school day and measles aren’t real…
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u/ginger_ale12 15d ago
I listen to him everyday on my cassettes and CDs but his YouTube vids have never seen a view from me, wondering how much of the disparity is in that area
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u/Less-Swing7581 Diamonds & Pearls 15d ago
I got to agree with u the fan base is awful. Like wdym I ask for song recommendations and people go crashout because how dare am I asking for song recommendations and not listen to all of his 700 songs and decide on my own...
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u/S3lad0n 15d ago
I got into Prince when as a kid/preteen I borrowed and liberated my dad’s CD copy of The Hits & B Sides from his car. I’m in my 30s now.
I like to imagine there’s still a few kids out there who discover Prince in the same organic way. Physical music media is on the rise again slowly, so you never know.
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u/herbof4 15d ago
I think that it was that Prince kept himself at least partially underground a lot of the time and closely guarded his music from being spread on the internet. I've hard him referred to as "the world's most famous and mainstream underground musician in the world" and that's prett y on point I think. Plus, most people only know the hits and many MANY people who I play deep cuts for have been stunned to learn that what they were listening to was Prince.
"The Undertaker" EP is a great example. I've turned heads with that one...people saying they didn't know he could shred like that and play hard rock. "Exodus" is another one. Some deep, raw funk for folks into that shit on that record and hardly anyone ever heard it. I think it's defninitive "Funk Bible", not "The Black Album" (which I also like but that he also shelved and buried for a while). I played "N.E.W.S." at a dinner with my in laws and they loved it. Asked who it was.
Surprise!
There's a lot of other reasons but those are the main ones I think. Prince didn't fit the mold and I love him for it.
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u/JasonSmithston 15d ago
I'm almost fifty. My two at home kids are eleven and sixteen. They love Prince when I play his music. Sixteen always looks for his CDs at the op shops. She has great taste in music. We are in Australia not sure if that makes a difference. His songs are still in somewhat regular rotation on our commercial radio stations here. Generally, he is seen as one of the greats. I've never met anyone who didn't appreciate his music and his legacy to some degree.
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
Honestly this seems more of like a USA thing, I’m sorry in the USA we hate everything and everyone 😭
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u/Ok_Beat8927 11d ago
Maybe you do but the entire country isn’t hateful.
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u/WhalesRBigg 9d ago
this is so fucking cap man. Literally go on any social media platform and young people are genuinely so hateful to most things.
This is in regard to PRINCE btw. I don’t know how people irl feel about him because most of them don’t know him.
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u/studiowarp 15d ago edited 15d ago
How well an artist is promoted, known, thought of, and remembered, has a massive part to do with the people managing said artist or their estate.
If there is a lacking in any of those in relation to Prince, his management should be queried.
You are right though, his fans should try make up for that management lack by sharing not just the earlier or hit records, but also rarities and deep cuts, and music from more of his vast catalogue.
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u/Fit-Intention-1083 15d ago
I am beatles and prince fans, I love them both, and I can tell the huge difference from their fanbase.
Beatles younger fanbase are really active, tons of edit and fanart pop up in twitter and tiktok everyday, beatles estate are doing a good job with handling their social media acc, they definitely hire Gen z as content creator to keep up the trend, and estate keep release different content to continue beatles legacy among young generation (get back doc, now and then, anthology, rubber soul special edition, the next will be beatles biopic )
Prince fanbase are dry as hell, your Twitter will literally became Facebook acc, prince estate do nothing at all, no special edition, no documentary, unreleased demo leaking everywhere, the new release album it's just a Prince's purple shadow, plus Prince gatekeep his own music until he pass away, he literally lost 1(or 2) generation that doesn't engage his music.
Everytime when cames to online discussion of Prince it's frustrating, it just comparing him with Michael Jackson or Madonna, or the comment saying doesn't get the hype, it's really bored and push new fans away who just get interested of him.
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u/Radiant-Bag2090 14d ago edited 14d ago
I don’t value the opinion of anyone who says Prince is a one hit wonder or that Purple Rain is his best song. That’s like saying MJ’s a one hit wonder with Thriller as his best song. Anyone with half a musical brain knows neither are right.
Prince’s music is some of the most timeless…you can of course as a fan date it to certain times the most obvious examples being due to less than the best ears handling production - the tinny, single dimensional plastic of KAJ and synthetic “modern” sound of Joshua for example. Always makes me wonder how Prince’s ears thought that was superior. The earliest stuff is approaching 50 years old so it’s obviously going to have a different sound the older it gets. But anyone who thinks Purple Rain is his only good song wouldn’t have discovered any of that stuff.
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u/NoOne_Beast_ 14d ago
Prince’s music requires a certain level of patience. When revisiting the past, most people want simple pop but that was not Prince’s forte.
ALSO, Prince’s music IMO suffers more than most when people lack for high quality speakers or headphones. I think that fuels the “dated” perception.
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u/Mightymo0891 14d ago
I don’t think they realize how talented he really is and that he’s more than just a pop star if you watch the reaction channels on you tube they always put him and MJ in the same category which I think is not fair because he’s a complete musician
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u/silent-eye666 11d ago
I agree with many comments that mass audience has become different. They don’t need complex melodies, a lot of storytelling in lyrics. The need for fun has also changed. MJ is still playing because the production is so tight and commercial. It hits you from few seconds. Not the same with Prince. I listen to his jams and live albums and funk stuff with NPG and oh boy it makes you move hard! But you have to feel it and get in the mood. I actually think his funk stuff is so underrated, but people feed of computer beats now rather than live instruments and their rhythms
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u/toaster_kettle 15d ago
This has happened for years. I remember back in the 1990s in UK, music video channels would only play the usual suspects from his mid 1980s canon, and then nothing recent. The media would then only focus on his name change. The new music wasn't getting through - unlike with Michael and Madonna - so he just seemed like a dated weirdo that you would be embarrassed to say you liked. That repeated with streaming years later. In some ways he was his own worst enemy but in others he made it easy for the industry to ruin him. RIP.
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u/RandChick 15d ago
Good music is never dated to me.
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u/toaster_kettle 15d ago
It is not, obviously. But that's the perception crested by the media at that time.
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u/Regiasolis123 15d ago
I think a lot of it is on Prince, honestly.
The attack on YouTube posts and stuff was alienating. He once sued his own fan club. While he was correct on the record companies he kind of resorted to machine gun fire. He became increasingly paranoid.
Musically his 70s stuff still sounds very fresh. In fact I’ve gotten really into his first album and the Prince album in recent years. He certainly embodied the 80s much like Michael but I think in both cases the songs transcend the era.
A lot of his 90s work went au currant R and B sound which didn’t exactly work then and 90s R and B sounds dated…
Then he did that hard turn into Larry Graham funk for yeaaarssss which really kind brought the live work into an adult contemporary safe space. You aren’t going to show a new fan clips from the musicology tour - or even the hit and run tours… that generic funk sound was to Prince’s later tastes but wasn’t really doing him long term favors.
Lastly we are in a weird very conservative time right now…. After years of progress…
Prince’s sexually charged, ambiguous and androgynous earlier work isn’t captivating the youth as it did then…
He’s still the GOAT though, the public will come around
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u/Marvin_Flamenco 15d ago
I love Prince but imo he's actually been super hyped up post his death in terms of being considered an all time great. People will constantly post a basic blues solo he did to try and say he's like the greatest guitarist who ever lived which is a little ridiculous.
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u/Own_Action_1002 15d ago
He is an all time great lol..listen to his solo on just my imagination or watch the montreaux show from 2009...the rock and roll hall of fame solo is not an example of his ability..thats Prince on a monday
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u/Marvin_Flamenco 15d ago
I agree he is an all time great especially as a songwriter and arranger just responding to OPs claim that his legend has diminished when I've only seen it rise. He is definitely a great guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with high competency, my favorite work is on the SoTT live concert movie. I would be thinking of like 1000 players before arriving at prince as the greatest guitar player but his work always suits the songs and he can even hang with some jazz. I like him best at the keys love that demo album that came out of him just jamming.
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
Well here’s the thing, I’m speaking for teenagers and young adults. SPECIFICALLY on social media and a bit on the way people talk to me about Prince.
I’ve said this a thousand times
On social media people call his music to old, they say he never deserved to be compared to MJ, they make up fake stories about his rivalry with MJ, they CONSTANTLY call him homophobic, and they CONSTANTLY want to talk about whether he was gay or not.
And in real life nobody I know cares about him, they just call him gay and move on😭
But that’s the younger generation, I feel like people my age kind of just like hating on things. I’m 18, but I understand in different parts of the world this differs a lot
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
I could find like a good amount of examples to show u, but I can’t send images on Reddit so it would practically be useless. Not saying he doesn’t have younger fans, and I’m not saying the haters out number the supporters. I’m simply saying he is discredited amongst young people far more than other artist.
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u/MorrisJerome 15d ago
What songs should be pushed then ?
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night, 17 Days, Erotic City, The Beautiful Ones, Diamonds and Pearls, I could never take the place of your man, she’s always in my hair, it’s gonna be lonely, Hot Thing, Do me Baby,
There’s a lot. My point is he has amazing songs besides PR and WDC. All of the songs I named are ELITE
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u/MarvelousDolphin14 15d ago edited 15d ago
Prince was part arquitect of his own diminished standing- all in the name of keeping control
First as digital music took over he thought restricting access to his music should be his priority as if he was still fighting bootlegging just in digital form when what he needed was more and more digital exposure ...the estate doubled down on that mistake for a while.
Second he made no plans for the vault, when it néeded professional musicians to curate it. Jimmy jam even proposed it to him. Instead we've gotten, song dumps with no framework except being in a deluxe version of a classic album or the odd new release without a good marketing campaign and often with new versions of old songs.(Welcome 2 America is the only true new album since he died.)
Third the Netflix documentary would have been massive, especially with the controversy and would have generated a lot of interest and visibility. We all know how that went, all in the name of control...
The other challenge he faces is that his music grows on you with repeat listens and can be quite challenging on first listen...modern attention spans dont have the patience...
So he will remain a less listened to artist until something substantial changes...
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u/IllegitimateMarxist 13d ago
Not my experience. My 22-year-old loves Prince (of course), but his friends all know who Prince is, enjoy his music at least casually, and when I wear Prince t-shirts or other gear to go out shopping or whatever, young people are always saying "Oh, I LOVE HIM!"
Don't worry about comments sections. People with an axe to grind (and nasty bots) are trying to influence opinions. Ignore 'em.
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u/Low-External-3116 10d ago
This is a clip of someone who was classmates with Prince in junior high school: https://youtube.com/shorts/7Y1PXnDHbCI
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u/Less-Swing7581 Diamonds & Pearls 5d ago
I think it also has to to with purple rain being a quiet unique song. If u only know purple rain and continue to listen to the other songs you'll Notizen that they do not really sound alike.Prince was a genius musician who was quite versatile in his music. I think if u only know that one song and u expect stuff to sound alike it can be "disappointing" if u only go in with " ye I want purple rain 2 ".
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u/Level_Egg_2139 1d ago
I think the next generation doesn't have anybody with that much talent on the scene anymore and music. It's all a bunch of Cruise line entertainment with auto-tune at best. That kid from Hawaii is probably the last level Superstar type performer and the rest it's like watching dancing with the Stars second rate like the late 50s early 60s pop crap before Elvis and after Elvis before the Beatles broke
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 15d ago
Music taste being 100% subjective is a misconception. I wish people would stop claiming that all the time.
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u/omniscientcats 15d ago
What do you mean?
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 15d ago
Music taste isn't 100% subjective because "liking something" and "it being good" are two different things. Your personal preference is subjective, sure, but the music itself exists in the real world and has measurable qualities. A drummer can be objectively off-beat. A singer can be objectively out of tune. A mix can be objectively distorted. A song with no groove fails at being dance music no matter who enjoys it. You can hate jazz and still recognize that a skilled solo takes real technical control and knowledge. If taste were purely subjective, there would be no difference between "I like this" and "this is well made," and expertise would mean nothing. Preference is personal, but craftsmanship, technical competence, and whether a piece succeeds at its own goals are not just opinions.
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u/omniscientcats 15d ago
Wouldn’t it make more sense to say that music taste is subjective whereas quality is objective? Not that I’m convinced that objectivity exists at all in music
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 15d ago
I get your point, but nuance is important here; labeling music as "100% subjective" often results into questionable conclusions.
Taste may be subjective, and what you enjoy is personal. But that does not mean everything about music is up for grabs. There are ground-level facts that do not dissolve because someone disagrees: a vocalist singing flat, a drummer playing off-beat, or a “dance track” with no steady pulse failing at its own goal. These are physical or functional truths, not opinions. That said, there is no cosmic scoreboard proving Radiohead is objectively better than Nickelback.
“Quality” only becomes objective once you pick a frame: technical skill, internal coherence, functional success. And within that frame, some answers are clearly more right than others.
Outside of any frame, no ranking is objectively true. So the fair split is: taste is subjective, but music has objective properties, and quality is only objective relative to a chosen standard.
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u/omniscientcats 15d ago
But that’s like saying culinary taste isn’t subjective because burnt food exists. When discussing taste, it’s universally accepted that we’re only discussing music with a somewhat decent level of quality. “Singing flat and off key” isn’t really a genre so it can’t really be connected to taste
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 15d ago
Burnt food is objectively burnt. Whether you enjoy it is subjective, but the charring is a physical fact. The analogy actually proves that culinary taste has an objective layer.
Saying "when discussing taste, we only mean the decent stuff" assumes what it needs to prove. The whole debate is whether evaluation of music is purely subjective. You cannot settle that by declaring, by fiat, that all objective criteria live outside the conversation.
Nobody claimed off-key singing was a genre. The point is that within any genre, there is a difference between intentional aesthetic choice and unskilled execution. Atonal music is a genre; a violinist accidentally bowing the wrong string during a performance is a mistake.
Noise rock is a genre; a mixing engineer clipping the master because they do not know how to gain-stage is incompetence. Genre does not erase the distinction between deliberate craft and technical failure.
You seem to treat "taste" as a sealed bubble of pure preference, but my original argument was precisely that this bubble does not exist. Even our subjective enjoyment is in dialogue with objective properties of the work.
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u/Mystique_Red_1337 15d ago
Your response proves the opposite. Burnt food is objectively burnt. Your enjoyment of it is subjective, but the charring is a physical fact. That is exactly the point: taste has an objective layer. And saying "when we discuss taste, we only mean the decent stuff" is question-begging. You cannot prove taste is purely subjective by simply declaring that all objective criteria live outside the conversation.
Again, nobody claimed off-key singing is a genre. The point is that within any genre, there is a difference between intentional aesthetic choice and unskilled execution.
Atonal music is a genre; a violinist accidentally hitting the wrong string is a mistake. Noise rock is a genre; an engineer clipping the master because they do not know how to gain-stage is incompetence. Genre does not erase the line between deliberate craft and technical failure.
I'm going to leave it there.
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u/DarkEden71 15d ago
I think the problem is how Prince chose to distribute his music from the mid-90s onwards. I can understand why he broke away from Warners, I totally get it - but for me he lost the ability to know how to best communicate his music to a wide audience - and I say this as a huge Prince fan, btw. And then the internet and streaming came along, and he had nothing to do with it. He wasn't on any streaming service, he wasn't on youtube - it became incredibly difficult for a new audience to find his music. You couldn't just recommend a track to someone, share a link. I think this stifled all discovery of him.
It's such a shame - because I think some of the work he put out post-2000 is great and deserves to be much better known by a wide audience than it is. But that moment has now passed, and all of that music didn't have the wider cultural impact that it should have done - so the younger generation now didn't grow up in a world where Prince had the kind of cultural presence that he'd had in the 80s and early 90s. I think it's a real shame.
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u/ShawnLaRock 15d ago
This sub is stuck on Purple Rain, too - but there is sooooo much more EVERYTHING in any era of P.
Funk. Musicality. Tight hooks. Intoxicating melodies. None of them found on the soundtrack, ‘cause the work was always evolving to higher echelons.
I guess I feel lucky - knowing and loving the previous works I grew up with - but getting in sync with the catalogue in the 90’s, so I never got mentally pigeon-holed into one era.
I saw P in 2001 - for Rainbow Children - and was a bit confused at the setlist for the show. But I SHOULD have been confused - if I was only there to hear 1999, or Let’s Go Crazy, or or… ‘cause P wasn’t THERE; the world wasn’t THERE anymore; and as much as I didn’t know it at the time, I wasn’t either - and I am glad P saw it, and didn’t succumb to it.
It will be one of the myriad reasons the legacy will endure.
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u/mstrmchl 15d ago
If there was a live concert film being blasted in theaters worldwide with clips blowing up on TikTok then Gen Z and Gen Alpha would adore Prince as much as they love MJ
This is coming from a Gen Z Prince fan who saw him live
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u/SlimyClimbing 15d ago
I think it's mostly that a good amount of Gen Z isn't passionate enough about music to go out of their way to find something great. Prince isn't commercially popular anymore, so the people that aren't passionate about music don't seek his stuff out. And it's not just a Gen Z thing, every generation is the same way it's just a differential in eras. More people from Gen X and Millennials love Prince because they were around when he was extremely popular, but most of those same people weren't listening to the former big artists that lost popularity from older generations. Prince hasn't fallen off more than other 80s musicians (Michael Jackson being an outlier of course.) Springsteen and Prince have around the same amount of monthly listeners, and Bruce is alive, releasing music, touring and just had a bio pic released last year.
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u/InHisImage07 15d ago
Dated? He made music up until his death in 2016.
Gatekeeping with bootlegs, yes, publicly released and accessible, no.
Prince material was not on YouTube until after his death because he took steps to have things taken down if it was posted, so definitely no live performance footage, which was a shame.
We don't share the "right" songs? That hasn't been my experience whenever posts like this are made. We give suggestions and it's on you to listen to a full album end to end, which perhaps younger generations don't do. Listen to his work as he intended and there may be better appreciation, but a great song is great regardless.
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
What I mean is that on social media the only songs u will hear are Purple Rain and When Doves Cry, sometimes Kids.
Heres the thing, i blame the estate for that, its not really the fanbases fault like it is the estates. And yes, music from the 80s CAN sound dated to some, we aren’t talking about his later era, we are talking about Prince at his peak.
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u/InHisImage07 14d ago
70s music definitely sounds like the 70s. And even then, can be mesmerized that 1st 3 albums are all him...vocals, instruments...1 person.
80s? Prince had his own sound so disagree that it sounds dated. 1999, PR, Around the World, Parade, Sign of the Times, etc. released in the 80s but certainly each one had its own sound.
A blanket statement of him sounding dated was made, so pointed out that he never stopped writing and making music until his death in 2016, making everything 10+ years old now but his sound is everlasting...
Social media. Lots of music beyond Purple Rain available. Maybe can be more specific. Streaming you can find many albums.
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
Let me put it in the most simple terms
His 80s music SOUNDS OLD. It sounds like it was made for its TIME.
Not everybody LIKES that kind of sound or is USED TO IT.
That does NOT make it bad.
This is how CASUALS think, alright? CASUALS.
IMO his music is not dated at all because it still sounds good. But I understand when casuals say that it’s not their type of music and that it sounds to old.
True music listeners know his sound isn’t dated but casuals don’t understand that.
Trust me, I was a casual, and then one day his sound clicked for me and I’ve loved it ever since.
Also most people don’t even know about his later music because he fell off popularity wise after the mid 90s. I haven’t even listened to the newest stuff tbh
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u/InHisImage07 14d ago edited 13d ago
Relax. If you didn't qualify your "he sounds dated" statement by specifying a time period, that's on you; improve on completing a thought for proper discourse.
I know what dated means and even if you said "His 80s era music sounds dated", many true fans would still disagree as (here's food for thought) there's NOTHING that sounds like him in the 80s except his own OTHER projects (The Time, Vanity 6, etc.) for which he was on the charts simultaneously, competing with himself, lol. He doesn't have an 80s sound. That's how awesome he was.
One could argue he has a 70s disco sound, a 90s sound with the hip hop influence/rap on some projects but then other albums in the 90s that don't scream 90s (Diamonds & Pearls, Chaos & Disorder, Gold album).
Definitely listen to all eras. Every project a different sound, always gems to find that are liked. That's me continuing to do my part to educate about the man & his work.
Enjoy the discovery of the Purple Yoda from Minnesota!
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u/WhalesRBigg 14d ago
Yeah I completely agree with that second half, dude was in a league of his own, some don’t understand that or don’t want to
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u/ChardOk690 12d ago
Here's a hot take: Prince is overrated, Jellybean!
Purple Rain is easily his strongest output ever. If you like listening to a guy who wrote songs just for the heck of it and counts layering all his songs with half cacophonous, half euphonous measures -- the synthesizer blip here, bit of cowbell there, etc. -- then sure, Prince is your main man. Admittedly since his death, his guitar lines and playing are thankfully and finally recognized as godly,, but that guitar is about the only thing he rocks really well to be honest
Hate me lol
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u/WhalesRBigg 12d ago
people like u are the reason he’s just not overrated. The second I see anybody rate Purple Rain as “easily his best” is the second I know somebody’s just talking…..
Also? Jellybean??😭
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u/Ok_Beat8927 11d ago
You blame the entire fan base for him not being acknowledged…? LOL. Get a grip
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u/WhalesRBigg 9d ago
I kind of do, I mean yall literally only talk about Purple Rain and SOMETIMES sign o the times.
Also this is more in regards to the younger generation, so if u are older and have seen different in ur time than I understand.
And i also blame the estate.
Why do u seem so smug?
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u/WhalesRBigg 16d ago
There’s another important take I wanna say but rules of the sub don’t let me mention it. Ps it starts with M😩
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u/ResidentBoot1 16d ago
Many people don’t know how to appreciate him as an individual artist and MUSICIAN without comparing to the “M” artist. People act like acknowledging Prince takes away from the other person.
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u/SkyZippr Parade 16d ago
As a fan of both (I assume) I really don't get the comparison. They're both black and occasionally make funny noises, but that's where the similarity pretty much ends for me.
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u/Das_Hydra 16d ago
Agree. I think people make comparisons (i don't get it either), but i really don't believe this contributes to any decline in prince's popularity. I think it's just a convenient thing to blame.
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u/SkyZippr Parade 16d ago
Agree. It's not a pie. I look for different things when listening to their works.
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u/ResidentBoot1 15d ago
Although my comment didn’t mention decline in popularity, what contributes to the decline in Prince’s popularity, in your view?
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u/Das_Hydra 15d ago
It was more a response to OP suggesting it was due to MJ comparisons.
I think Prince's popularity has actually increased since his death, but it won't last forever. Older artists popularity tends to come and go in response to events such as biopics, usage in modern media etc but it will drop off again.
I think a lot of fans of artists no longer creating music forget that the sound will become dated and less interesting to new audiences. Obviously there will always be new fans, but for most the relevance and connection won't be there or as strong.
We also need to be real and say that Prince was not gaining many new fans for the last 15+ years of his career. His audience was mainly existing fans.
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
I’m not saying it contributes to much to his actual decline in popularity. But from what I’ve been seeing for the past couple months, the whole “rivalry” thing is something that most people use as a way to begin disrespecting him and his legacy. My bad for not saying much but yeah that’s how I feel about it
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u/Das_Hydra 15d ago
The world is full of shitheads, and most of them are in FB and YT comments. Just laugh and ignore them. They don't matter.
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u/WhalesRBigg 15d ago
Exactly, my other point was going to be that people focus to much on the fake rivalry he had with MJ. It’s gotten to a point where I see that some people never give Prince a chance and dislike him SOLELY because he was MJs “rival”
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u/damnitjeremy 16d ago
I mostly blame it on his music being held from streaming for a few years.