Dusty Bake Activate
Fukk your corny debates
Like A Prayer sold 15 mil. Purple Rain sold 25 mil. And it was the soundtrack to a hit movie by the same name. He was definitely bigger at his peak.
Was Prince the world’s biggest niche artist?
- Thread starter TheBigBopper
- Start date
Not sure why people don't like talking about this, but Prince kinda fukked up his own career.
This dude did not bend or budge when it came to creative control, he always wanted to write, produce, and sing everything he did
this is obviously problematic for a label that can't get their writers or producers in a studio w/one of the biggest artists in the world
when his train started to lose steam he still didn't budge.
I've time stamped the documentary to the part i'm talking about, when he went through the name change and "killed prince", that was more on him than anybody else
This dude did not bend or budge when it came to creative control, he always wanted to write, produce, and sing everything he did
this is obviously problematic for a label that can't get their writers or producers in a studio w/one of the biggest artists in the world
when his train started to lose steam he still didn't budge.
I've time stamped the documentary to the part i'm talking about, when he went through the name change and "killed prince", that was more on him than anybody else
Doctor Wily
CapcomSwag
Prince was , is & forever will be my favorite artist till I pass from this life.
But his rap phase was straight cringe as fukk 
.
.TheBigBopper
Banned
I don’t think he ever needed a producer. Part of his appeal was that he was a total auteur. But he did need someone to edit his creative output. He just released so much music so often and it would have done him well to have people help him filter for the best material.
I don't think him collaborating with a quincy jones, rick rubin or somebody like that would have hurt his brand at all, especially if they gave him a hit record to keep his momentum going
Wear My Dawg's Hat
Superstar
He was obviously a music control freak of the highest order.
Even when he did collaborate with others, it would be with artists who were senior to him and not a perceived threat, like Mavis Staples, Larry Graham and Chaka Khan.
The best 21st Century Prince album was Andre 3000's "The Love Below."
Prince should have formed a supergroup with Lenny Kravitz for at least one album.
TheBigBopper
Banned
Maybe Rick Rubin or The Neptunes
Patrick Kane
Veteran
Nice breakdown and write up OP, enjoyed reading it. Don’t agree with the premise fully but I do see where your arguments come from. Learned a bit from this thread too. Love these types of music discussions 
the wild shyt is Prince had a TON of talented heads right there in Minnesota with him and he bushed them. Early 90s Prince could’ve at least had some crack from Jimmy/Terry. shyt, even falling out with Alexander ONeal was a mistake even tho Alexander was a wild motherfukka back then.
But trying to go head to head with the label is a game you can’t win unless you are holding some shyt like the ATV catalog MJ had, which equals leverage.
Piff Perkins
Veteran
As others said he had so many hits and could do massive tours yearly so saying he was niche can be hard. Yet it's an interesting argument because for much of his career he went against the grain of mainstream while still being successful. Purple Rain's first single (When Doves Cry) doesn't have any bass, two other singles (Lets Go Crazy and I Would Die 4U) are more uptempo than any "rock" singles of that era, and the title track is nearly 9 minutes yet radio stations still play it to this day...something that's unheard of outside of a few other iconic long singles like Stairway To Heaven.
Something that separates him is that he released a lot of music well after his classic and peak periods ended. When you're releasing tons of music that doesn't sale or gets bad reviews, it can feel like you're a niche artist. But he was still touring stadiums at that time too. Musicology definitely was a "comeback" album though but normally people don't go to legacy artist tours to hear new shyt. If you go to a Janet Jackson or Bruce Springsteen concert there are 30 hits you want to hear...if you don't hear something new it doesn't matter. Yet Prince kept releasing new stuff.
Something that separates him is that he released a lot of music well after his classic and peak periods ended. When you're releasing tons of music that doesn't sale or gets bad reviews, it can feel like you're a niche artist. But he was still touring stadiums at that time too. Musicology definitely was a "comeback" album though but normally people don't go to legacy artist tours to hear new shyt. If you go to a Janet Jackson or Bruce Springsteen concert there are 30 hits you want to hear...if you don't hear something new it doesn't matter. Yet Prince kept releasing new stuff.
That assumes that his end goal was a “career”.
For some with his talent (which is underrated as wild as that seems) the music trumped the industry non-sense. If the goal was to put music out his way then it’s an undeniable victory.
ultraflexed
Superstar
How you a fan an you forget "under the cherry moon"....
And album that had 2 of his biggest singles "kiss" and probably his GOAT song "rotic city"
And album that had 2 of his biggest singles "kiss" and probably his GOAT song "rotic city"
ultraflexed
Superstar
He wrote song hits for alicia keys second albums and janelle Monae's second albums too, bangers at that.
He told Tavis in an interview once that the music business too many outsiders in on what you do to get a check, he hated that.
Once he stopped letting people in on his work like he was in the 80's - he rebelled against it. Keep in mind he had the most creative freedom of anybody.
