June, 2014 - Prince Essence Magazine Cover & Feature

PRINCE AFTER DARK

BY CHEO HODARI COKER

IN A RARE INTERVIEW, THE MAN FOREVER KNOWN AS PRINCE PULLS BACK THE PURPLE CURTAIN ON HIS LEGACY, GIVES HIS TAKE ON MENTORING AND SHARES WHY CREATING AND PERFORMING MUSIC MAKES HIM FEEL ALIVE. WELCOME TO THE PARTY

It's a warm March afternoon in southern and word has just hit the street that Prince is doing an impromptu "secret show" at the Hollywood Palladium. Tickets are $100 cash, on a first come, first served basis, in a venue so intimate you can practically touch the hem of his purple garment. Fans have already started lining up on Sunset Boulevard, a full four hours before the show is even due to start at 8 P.M. That is, if the show really starts at 8 or 10 or even midnight.

See, that's the thing about Prince. He's far from a flake; he's very meticulous about his business. But at the same time, he has his own set of rules and his own sense of time. He could come onstage at 8 P.M., or he might wait until 2 A.M. Right now world-renowned photographer Randee St. Nicholas, photo and fashion editors, and I, a reporter turned screenwriter, are waiting backstage for Prince to begin his ESSENCE cover shoot. It's all been prearranged, of course, but when it comes to the elusive Prince Rogers Nelson, nothing is set in stone until it actually happens.

St. Nicholas, who has been shooting still photos and music videos for Prince since 1991, knows the drill well. It's no different from being in his band: You just have to be prepared to move at any time. Ready, set, go! "He's all about the moment," St. Nicholas says, setting up her Hasselblad camera on a tripod in a dressing room with fading wallpaper. "If he feels like shooting, he will. If he doesn't, he won't."

It's the same when it comes to Prince's live show. The Mighty Mite from Minneapolis might turn up in London to rock Her Majesty's kingdom two nights in a row; the next night he might feature one of his power female acts, Liv Warfield or 3rd Eye Girl, play a couple of jams and bounce- or not perform at all. If the buzz today is to be trusted, Prince wants to play. Several tweets and a few radio stations give out the word, and people clamor for the chance to see some- thing that's about as uncommon as a rose blooming in a snowstorm: true, uncut, analog musicianship.

Prince, you see, is the rarest of all creatures someone who hasn't aged a day. Mind you, there are the slightest wrinkles around the eyes. But he's the same size, about the same weight and has the same voice as he did 30 years ago when multiplatinum album Purple Rain turned pop music upside down. At a time when other artists need hair replacements, Prince, who's turning 56 this month, sports an Afro bigger than the one he had on the cover of his 1978 debut album, For You. And at a time when other artists need Auto-Tune to fix their voices and monitors to remember their lyrics, Prince is spirited, ready and in game shape.

With his new trio, 3rd Eye Girl, as his backing band, he's done scorching hit-and-run sets that would do The Kid- his petulant Purple Rain character-proud. For example, following last year's appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, he played an absolutely mind-blowing version of his 1979 song "Bambi" on a vintage 1961 Epiphone Crestwood

72 ESSENCE.COM JUNE 2014

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RANDEE ST. NICHOLAS FOR NPG RECORDS, INC.