It is with great sadness that I join the many mourning the passing of Prince. He was truly an inspiration and cornerstone upon which countless fans and fellow artist rested laurels. A perfectionist and iconoclast, he truly was a force to be reckoned with. Starting as a child prodigy, he would go on to record nearly 40 full length albums over thirty seven years.

With an iconic voice and delivery, Prince was one of the kings of cool. Bullied from a young age, his strife helped shape him into the uncompromising and unapologetic tour de force that he became. Spawning pretenders left and right and continuously flummoxing his peers, Prince was like no other.

He helped begin a national conversation about sex, gender, race, and religion and their respective place in our popular spotlight. Answering to only his inner fire, he took the world by song and video and hellfire. One of the most talented pop, funk, rock, and hip hop musicians to have ever graced the stage, the world will sorely miss his influence.

M