The star was found unresponsive in the elevator of his suburban Paisley Park estate in Minnesota around 9.45am on Thursday.
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Following news reports that he had fallen ill while returning from Atlanta to Minneapolis, Prince hosted a dance party on April 16 at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota.
Famed percussionist Sheila E. expressed her sorrow Friday over the loss of Prince, her former flame and longtime musical partner – calling his death at age 57 “unreal”.
Hours before he was set to go onstage, the singer postponed two shows he’d been scheduled to perform at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.
She says Prince suffered hip injuries while performing and damaged his body when jumping from risers in his high heels during his “Purple Rain” days.
She said she looked up to him for not compromising his artistic integrity. “Sign “o” the Times” hit theaters in 1987.
Jeremiah Freed, who runs the website drfunkenberry.com and who got to know Prince after writing about him over the years, said he last saw Prince when he made a brief appearance at the party.
The artist lives in the outdoevesskirts of Minneapolis, where he throws parties and preserves master vaults at his Paisley Park studio. Some days later, he took the stage in Atlanta to perform.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama released a statement saying he and his wife “joined millions of fans from around the world” in mourning Prince’s sudden death. ” ‘A strong spirit transcends rules, ‘ Prince once said – and nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative”. He started to become known then as the “Artist Formerly Known as Prince”.
Prince in the 1990s changed his name to an unpronounceable “love symbol” and wrote “slave” on his cheek to protest contractual conditions by his label Warner.
Prince had been on tour in the United States only just last week.
Born Prince Rogers Nelson, Prince broke through in the late 1970s with the hits “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, and soared over the following decade with such albums as “1999” and “Purple Rain”.
Prince has won seven Grammy Awards, and has earned 30 nominations.
Prince’s was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. His publicist later confirmed to the public that the music icon had died at his home.
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He also proved a source of hits for others, from Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” to Cyndi Lauper’s “When You Were Mine” to “Manic Monday” for the Bangles. His fame reached a fever pitch with the 1984 film “Purple Rain”, about an aspiring musician, his troubled home life and a budding romance.
