Prince Has Died at 57

Music and pop culture icon Prince was reportedly found dead at his Paisley Park, Minnesota, home this morning, according to TMZ.

TMZ first reported this morning that there was a fatality at his residence, but it was unclear who had died. Now, TMZ has published another report saying it was in fact Prince.

This comes just a week after the artist, whose real name was Prince Rogers Nelson, was rushed to the hospital after an emergency landing of a plane. His reps attributed it to a several-weeks-long case of the flu, and he appeared at a concert — not to perform, but to hang out — a few days ago to show that he was okay.

It’s not clear yet if he was suffering from a long-term illness or not.

Born in 1958, Prince was iconic not only for his musical talent but also singularly DGAF attitude. Standing at just 5’2″, he was known to wear high heels and stereotypically female clothes. Despite his gender-bending style, he was a straight male sex symbol just the same. At the height of his fame, he changed his name to an un-pronounceable symbol so no one could talk about him, and remained super famous. And that’s to say nothing of his insane music-writing and guitar-playing talent.

He was also an outspoken opponent of giving music away for free, and has been since the dawn of the internet. But if you want to listen to his music catalogue, you’ll find it on Tidal.

He’s best known for 1984’s “Purple Rain,” the movie and the album, and 1987’s “Sign O’ the Times,” but he never stopped making music. Prince was an irreplaceable pop culture icon whose presence will be missed. We’ll update when we learn more about his death.

UPDATE: Prince’s rep has released the following statement:

“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57. There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time.”

See also:

Prince performs “Purple Rain” at Super Bowl in a downpour

Prince muse Jill Jones on dance mantras and being banned from MTV

 


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