The power of Prince. This is hilarious to me.
Ha!
šš let it happen
ššš
šššš
Prince did not die from pain pills ā he died from chronic pain
Prince did not die from pain pills ā he died from chronic pain
Important. For several reasons, including the perception of chronic pain as it relates to #Race and #Masculinity.
and āŖ#āDisabilityā¬,
BTW. I retweeted a photo of Prince with his cane the other day someone had tagged
āPrince and his Mobility Deviceā, and I got some haters in my replies because HOW DARE I imply Prince had a chronic
illness (newsflash: he had more than 1). Because itās SO BAD to have disability and chronic pain, right? SMH!Fucking important
SO important <3
Purple Tuesday
I was home watching TV and cutting up a steak when I got the call at 8PM. A friend of mine worked at a famous hotel in LA and one of the guests made a last minute request for a DJ to play the hotel bar. Someone that could get there and start playing in an hour. The bar frequently had live bands play, but never a DJ. So with little to no time, my wise and generous friend thought to throw a gig my way.
āYeah, I can get there in an hour. Am I getting paid?ā
āYes, youāll get paid.ā
āWhat kind of party is it? What am I playing?ā
āSomeoneās renting out the bar for a private party. And that someone isā¦ The Artistā¦ formerlyā¦ knownā¦ asā¦ Prince.ā
That sentence was not real to me. Still not real. I had no time to really think or say anything but, āWhat? You serious? Yes. Be there as soon as I can.ā Got off the phone and my stomach turned. Only a handful of people in the world have imprinted their music that much in my brain. And couldnāt he just call up any of the best DJās in LA to come play for him? Whyās he gonna trust someone who is by all means an unknown? Iād been DJing parties and bars for years but going from that to Prince is an Olympic leap.
The next half hour felt like a panic attack. I made a list of songs to play for Prince and his private Prince party. Ok, no Prince songs. He doesnāt want to hear himself. No MJ. I donāt want to insult him or anything. Didnāt they have beef in the 80ās? No hip hop. Canāt picture him rocking out to Kendrick. I thought of who he was influenced by and dragged some James Brown and Stevie songs into the playlist. Isley Brothers, Curtis. Great. 8:20PM. I still have to get ready even though I could spend the next month picking songs. I quickly close my laptop and get dressed. Pack up my turntables, mixer, cables and run them all to the car as Iām sweating through this black suit.
I get to the hotel with about five minutes to set up. The bar is completely empty aside from a couple of servers and my friend who made the call. And the room is almost lit exclusively by candlelight. Iām told to set up my turntables on the grand piano, which is also covered with candles, making me feel like hip hop Liberace. A waitress tells me thereās like an 80% chance Prince doesnāt show up. He just likes to rent out the bar in case he and his friends wander through the hotel and feel like stopping in. āBut you should start playing music anyway in case he comes in. Who knows.ā So I start playing songs to the very empty bar. The anticipation is a killer. My friend gives me a much needed glass of whiskey before taking off.
A giant spread of appetizers is covering the bar and getting sweaty. Spring rolls, cheese, orange juice. An hour goes by. Then another hour. A no-show. Iām kind of bummed out but also very relieved. I donāt know how Iām going to react if he walks in that door. So Iām just playing the set of my life to nobody. Itās like Iām getting paid to practice and listen to whatever I want on the barās sound system.
At 12AM the door opens and some guy walks over to me and without a greeting he says,
āHey man. Heāll be here in 15 minutes. What are you gonna play when he walks in?ā
āOh I got some stuff lined up. Some older Stevie Wonder, the JBās.ā
āYeah. Yeah, he likes that. Anything like that, Earth Wind & Fire, Chic.ā
āYeah I got Chic! Iāll play that.ā
āAnd he wants to hear Janelle MonĆ”e when he walks in. You got that?ā
āYup. Yup. Janelle MonĆ”e.ā
āCool, heāll be here in 15 minutes.ā
I didnāt have any Janelle MonĆ”e. I ran out to the concierge desk in the lobby to get the wifi password, ran back and started downloading a bunch of Janelle MonĆ”e off of iTunes. Right on time as I cue up the track, the door opens and I catch a quick glimpse. Full on afro, turtleneck and a gold chain. I want to say he had a cane, but I was trying not to look directly at him. I didnāt want to throw him off or maybe infuriate him by making eye contact. Prince was in the room. I was just musical wallpaper. He and a friend sat down at a couch about fifteen feet away from me.
The grand entrance song blended straight into James Brownās Talking Loud and Saying Nothing. I played Ike & Tina Turner, Charles Wright, Omarās The Man, and Gust of Wind by Pharrell. My head was pretty much glued to the turntables, sticking to my no look philosophy, but I could hear bits of conversation. Hearing that Prince voice in person was something strange. It just belongs on record or on microphone. I start dishing out some other favorite tracks of mine, Think Twice by Jay Dee and Alicia Myers I Want to Thank You.Ā Thereās zero reaction to the songs I play. Iām still worried Iām not playing what he wants to hear. Is he gonna throw a spring roll at me?
A little later that guy from earlier comes back into the bar and walks straight over to me.
āHey man. Just want to let you know, they love your music.ā
āOh really? Thanks. Do they want to hear anything in particular?ā
āNope. Just keep playing what your playing.ā
Oh itās on now. I can finally breathe and Iām getting props from the man himself, or from the middleman himself.
And then it hits me. Thereās only two people in there. Prince and a girl. Iām not there to DJ a private party. Iām there to DJ a date. Prince is on a date and Iām the entertainment.I saved my set list from that night and I donāt remember playing half the songs on it. All I know is I was in deep concentration, mixing out of my mind. Messenger man came in one more time and said Prince might try to play the piano. When it was time, he would pop his head in the door and give me the cue to stop DJing. I had never seen Prince perform, so a private piano ballad to his woman and myself sounded alright. I stayed looking at that door for a while until Princeās date walked over to me.
āHey, so whatās the name of this song? He likes it and wants to know.ā
āItās a Smithās cover. This Charming Man by Stars.ā
She sat back down and relayed the info, to which he nodded his head. Now Iām stumping Prince with cool music. I play another track. She comes over to me again and asks, āWhatās this one? He wants this on repeat.ā Blacker 4 The Good Times by Ballistic Brothers. So I play that song a couple more times in a row. Itās now 4AM and Iām just a little delirious from being on my feet DJing for 7 hours. And Iām running out of music. My song selections are all over the map at this point. Esperanza Spalding, ESG, Broken Bells.
At around 4:30 Prince gets up off the couch and
walksfloats right over to me. He looks me in the eye, starts shaking my hand and says in a deep Prince voice,āThank you. That was very enjoyable.ā
āThanks. Glad you enjoyed it.ā
In my mind it was that smooth but thereās no doubt I was speaking gibberish.
And just like that he left the room with his date. He didnāt put any moves on her in the bar, but I like to think I helped him out by setting the mood for whatever happened next. I stopped the music and the lights went on.
And that was the best night of DJing I ever had or ever will have.
Playlist from that night.
Janelle MonĆ”e – Q.U.E.E.N. ft Erykah Badu
James Brown – Talking Loud and Saying Nothing
Billy Gardener – I Got Some
J.B.ās – Givinā Up Food For Funk
Ike & Tina Turner – Bold Soul Sister
Charles Wright – Express Yourself
Johnny Hammond – Tell Me What to Do (Whiskey Barons Rework)
Pharrell Williams – Gust of Wind
Omar – The Man
Steve Arrington – Weak at the Knees
Belle Epoque – Miss Broadway
Chic – I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)
Ethel Beatty – I Know You Care (U-Tern Edit)
Curtis Mayfield – Give Me Your Love
Mayer Hawthorne – Just Aināt Gonna Work Out
Jay Dee – Itās a Manās World
Jay Dee – Think Twice
Alicia Myers – I Want to Thank You
Positive Force – We Got the Funk (Larry Levan Re-Edit)
Rene and Angela – I Love You More
Stevie Wonder – That Girl
The Isley Brothers – Tell Me When You Need It Again
N*E*R*D – Run to the Sun
Beyonce – Blow
Hall & Oates – I Canāt Go For That
St. Germain – Sure Thing ft John Lee Hooker
Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love
Bernard Wright – Who Do You Love
Tina Turner – Whatās Love Got to Do With It
George Benson – Give Me the Night
Junior – Mama Used to Say
Stevie Wonder – Do I Do
Fela Kuti – Opposite People
Claudja Barry – I Wanna Dance
Janelle MonĆ”e – Dance Apocalyptic
Joe Coleman – Get It Off the Ground
Flight Facilities – Crave You
Nu Shooz – I Canāt Wait
Stars – This Charming Man
Aretha Franklin – Rock Steady
Edwin Birdsong – Rapper Dapper Snapper
Ballistic Brothers – Blacker 4 The Good Times
Ballistic Brothers – Blacker 4 The Good Times
Ballistic Brothers – Blacker 4 The Good Times
Esperanza Spalding – I Canāt Help It
ESG – My Love For You
Jimmy Bo Horne – Is It In
Floating Points – Love Me Like This
Broken Bells – After The Disco
Tornado Wallace – Donāt Hold Back
The Mohawks – ChampYeah, this story.Ā
A girl with a guitar is 12 times better than another crazy band of boys, trying to be a star when youāre just another brick in the misogynistic wall of noise.
(via gutgrip)
First thing Prince sees as he arrives in heaven:Ā
Hamilton cast remembers Prince in proper purple style!Ā
ghaney22:Ā @hamiltonmusical remembers P R I N C E #prince #RIP RestInPurpleĀ #legend #letsgocrazy