On April 21, 2016, the lives of Minnesotan's everywhere got turned upside down in the blink of an eye. First, news came out that a body was found dead on Prince's estate. I was still a senior in high school, and I was struggling to drag my way through an economics class. The headline did not specify whose body was found, but everyone had hope that there was no way it could be Prince himself.
I attended a performing arts high school, so the Minneapolis music scene was held especially close to our hearts. My class obviously went into a roar. We were all freaking out, and my teacher struggled to keep our attention on what was already a very dreary day. I remember saying to my class, "Don't worry, there's no way it is Prince who died, they would have specified that by now." Not even five minutes later a new headline came out saying "Prince found dead at Paisley Park."
His info on Wikipedia was already updated to include his date of death. We were absolutely stunned. Everything was somber. I swear you could feel it in the air. It even rained that day. Of course, school wasn't canceled or anything, but it may as well have been since none of our students or teachers could concentrate through our shock and mourning. All I could think about was his legacy and the great memories I'd had with his music. I remembered being 11 years old and dancing in the rain on a muddy baseball field while "Purple Rain" blasted on the speakers... in the middle of the night. It was something to do in a boring small town, and it was a few minutes of magic before we got kicked out.
For those of you who aren't from Minnesota or aren't familiar with Prince, he was revolutionary, to say the least. Prince was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer from Minnesota. He was a musical innovator who was known for his large vocal range, genre-defying work, strong stage presence, extravagant appearance, and for his great musical impact on Minneapolis and the world.
After Prince's first performance of Purple Rain at First Avenue, he undoubtedly brought attention to the Minneapolis music scene. Some would even say he put the Twin cities on the map. The film "Purple Rain" told Prince's story and featured First Avenue as a primary setting.
I think Minnesotans feel a very special connection to Prince that others can't quite understand. He did so much for our communities. After his death, buildings all over Minneapolis lit up purple to commemorate him. His estate, Paisley Park in Chanhassen, was overflowing with fans. All his music was sold out at all the local record stores, luckily I had already bought his album "Purple Rain" on vinyl a couple years prior. First Avenue and 7th St. Entry held tributes for him for a week straight. I had just turned 18 a few days prior to his death, so a few of my friends and I headed downtown to try and attend an all night "Prince Dance Party" at First Ave. You couldn't look anywhere in Minneapolis without finding some sort of tribute to him; it was phenomenal. The line to First Ave wrapped around the corner and covered at least four blocks. Needless to say, after waiting for two hours in the cold, we never made it in.
Our greatest loss of 2016 was our Prince. A man who continuously committed random acts of kindness, even before his fame, and who was a big part of putting Minnesota on the grid musically. I'll never forget the day of his death and seeing the buildings light up purple in the rain.
