Purple Rain, Purple Rain, Purple Pain!!!
Mood: Reflecting On A Legend’s Legacy!!!
Music: Prince Hit-N-Run Phase 1 CD “Shut This Down”!!!

So Here It Iz, June 7^th, A Day That Since 1979 Has Been Equally As Important As My Own Birthday!!! As A Matter O’ Fact, Those Of U Xtremely Close 2 Me Know That 4 Quite A Long Tyme…, Every 7^th Day Of The Month (starting in June)…, If Itz A Work Day…, U Would Quite Possibly Get A Birthday Reminder From Me…

That Means That On The 7^th Of June, July, August, September, October, & November I Would Send Out A Blast Reminding U Of The Countdown 2 My Own Amazing Birthday On December 7^th!!!  I Started All Of This Bcuz Of Prince’s Birthday!!!  It Became That Classic AJ Running Gag & Continues On Even In 2016!!!

Sitting Here Writing This 2day I Still CANNOT Believe My #1 Muzikal Influence Has Passed Away & Iz No Longer W/Us Physically???  Itz Hard 2 Wrap My Head Around It Bcuz Of His Incredible Precision Of How He Lived His Life & Took Amazing Care Of Himself!!!  He Was Healthy As All Get Out, Rail Thin W/O An Ounce Of Fat On Him, A Vegan Long B4 It Came Into Vogue, As Well As Not Drinking Or Using Drugs Outside Of This Pain Killer Found In His System @ Death.

Just Like Muhammad Ali Dying As A Shell Of The Icon He Became In His Life Due 2 Parkinson’s Disease Robbing Him Of His Flawless Physique & Wonderful Gift Of Gab!!!  I Choose 2 Remember Him & Prince As Those Vibrant Tsunami Like Forces Who Galvanized Not Just A Nation…, But A World Full Of People W/Their Amazing Talents & Humanitarian Gestures!!!

From The Moment I 1^st Discovered Prince On His 2^nd LP “Prince” I Have Loved This Man!!!  When I 1^st Heard “I Wanna Be Your Lover” I Was A Lil’ Taken Aback By This Slight, Frail, Pretty Boy, W/Doe Like Eyes, Long Flowing Hair…, & This Effeminate Man W/This Amazing High Azz Voice!!! Visually I Was Like, “Who Iz This Girly LQQKIN’ Dude W/This Wonderful Falsetto???”

Then I Heard “Sexy Dancer” (having no idea they were from the same lp) & I Was Like, “Who Iz This???” The Response Came Back “Thatz Prince!!!” I Was Like, “That Light Skinned Skinny MF’ker W/The High Voice???”  I Immediately Ran Out & Purchased That LP!!!  I Put It On & Was Floored By The Lyrics, The Music, The Musicianship, & The Sheer Brilliance Of Listening 2 An LP That Mixed Multiple Genres Of Muzak On The Same Project!!!

When I Found Out This Same Dude Not Only Wrote Everything, But He Played Everything, Sang Everythang, & Produced/Engineered The Whole LP Himself I WAS DONE!!! Songs Like “Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad, When We’re Dancing Close & Slow, Bambi, & I Feel For You” Blew My Mind As An 12^th Grader Who Was Beginning 2 Find His Own Self In Life.

 I Ran Back 2 The “WRECKA STOW” In Hackensack & Asked The Owner George, “Hey Man…., Does This Prince Dude Have NE Other Muzak Out???”  I Then I Purchased Prince’s Very 1^st LP Dropped The Previous Year 1978 Entitled “For You!!!” 1nce Again I Came Home, Shut Out The World, Put This Project On & COULD NOT Believe This Record Had Slipped By Me W/O Ever Hearing It??? This Tyme Songs Like, “For You, Crazy You, Baby, So Blue, & Soft & Wet” Transported Me & My Raging Hormones Into A Whole New World Of Freedom, Independence, Sexuality, & Utopia!!! 

If His 2^nd LP Fed Me Emotionally, His 1^st CD Opened Me Up 2 The Possibilities, & Then He Dropped The Punk/Rock-N-Roll Flavored “Dirty Mind” & I Was Completely Onboard & Behind This Trench Coat, Bikini Brief, No Shirt, Knee High, High Heeled Boot Wearing Guitar Wielding Phenomenon!!! Songs Like “Dirty Mind, When You Were Mine, Uptown, Head, Sister, & Partyup” Took Me Over The Top W/Itz Controversial Take On Taboo Topics!!!

In These 1^st 3 Records Alone I Was Given An Incredible Muzikal Foundation Upon Which 2 Build!!! I Have ALWAYZ Loved Muzak As Long As I Can Remember…, So Around This Tyme I Had Finally Gotten My 1^st Drum Set!!! Straight Out The Gate I Was Blessed W/Enuff Natural Ability 2 Make Sense Rhythmically As Those Early Prince Records Fueled My Sonic Backdrop W/Grooves!!! 

Hip Hop Had Just Started Xploding On The Scene & Just Like My Peers, DJ’ing/Rapping Was The Thing We Did Late 70’s Clear Up Thru Early 90’s!!!  Although I Was Incredibly Verbal…, I Never Truly Gravitated 2 The Mic As A Rapper…  I Did Howenbesoever Fully Immerse Myself Into The Music Side Of Things & Immediately MC/DJ AJ Was Born!!!  I Still Love Nothing More Than Going Down Into The Studio, Firing Up The Sound System, Putting My Headphones On, & Getting Bizzy On “The Wheels Of Steel/Discs Of Plastic” As I Mixxx Myself Off Into Eargasmic Glory!!!

It Wasn’t Until The Late 80’s That I Finally Started Adding Keyboards, Drum Machines, & Live Instrumentation 2 My Own Musical Setup. 1nce Again I Was LQQKIN’ 2 Prince 4 Inspiration!!!  By Now He Was An UBER STAR Having Dropped, “Controversy, 1999, & Purple Rain” That Later Being His MAGNUM OPUS!!!  No Longer Was He This Underground, Weird, On The Fringe Dude Who Only A Few Of Us Knew…  Now He Was w.w.w. WORLDWIDE & GLOBAL!!!  The Genie Had Been Let Out The Bottle & No Way Was He Going Back In As The Rest Of The Planet Had Finally Caught On 2 This Special Guy Who Was Just RIPPING IT UP!!!

My High School Friends Had All Gravitated 2 Michael Jackson…, I Kept Telling Them About This Dude Prince…  When Purple Rain Dropped They LQQKED @ Me Like, “How Did U Know He Was Gonna Be Somebody!!!”  I Simply Laughed & Said, “I TRIED 2 TELL Y’ALL!!!” ROFLMAO!!!  Xspecially When MJ Had All His Legal Issues…, Prince Was Simply WILDING OUT Against His Record Label & NEVER EVER Stopped Dropping Muzak!!!

By The Tyme I Brought My Hme & Put 2gether My Own Music Studio I Was Beyond Being In…, I Was Fully Hooked Up & Plugged Into The “Purple Pied Piper Of Minneapolis!!!”  I Had All His LP’s…, Jumped On The CD Bandwagon…, Had Obscure B-Sides/12” Singles Only Us “DEDICATED FANS” (he hated that word fan because he said it was short for FANATICS) Had In Our Possession, I Brought The Prince Merchandise…, But Waaaayyyyyyy Beyond All Of That…, I SAW HIM LIVE IN CONCERT MULTIPLE TYMES!!!

 If All U’ve EVER DONE Is Listen 2 The Muzak & Watched The Videos (trust me, we appreciate u)…, But U Can Only Have A LIMITED Conversation W/Me!!!  If U NEVER EVER Got A Chance 2 Witness & Feel Him Live In Person…, Then U My Friend Have Been Gravely Deprived Of C’ying In My Humble Opinion “Da Baddest Live Musician In The History Of Muzak 2 Hit Da Stage!!!”

When Prince Hit The Stage He Was Electrifying & U COULD NOT Take UR Eyez Off Of Him!!! He Would Dance, Sing, Play Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Drums, &…….. Hell During His LoveSexy Tour He Played Basketball On A Court He Had Set Up On The Concert Stage While The Band Just Kept Blazing Awayyyyy…, IN HIGH HEELS NO LESS!!! ROFLMAO!!!

1nce Bold Enuff 2 Call Myself A Musician…, I Was Now Playing In Local Bands, Developing My Own Craft…, & Finally Put 2getha My Own Band Flip Da Skrip!!!  I Like 2 Say That I Am The Musician I Am 2day Bcuz I Have Dug Deep Into The Prince Files 2 Study How He Constructed His Songs, The Sounds He Used, His Melodies, His Harmonies, His Incredible Orchestral Structure, His Lyrical Content, His Vocal Delivery Style As Well As His All Around Quirky-Ness That Makes Him The Amazing Genuis He Remained Right Up 2 His Death!!!

If U’ve EVER Wanted 2 Know Just Xcatly What Iz Wrong W/Me After All These Years On Da Planet (EZ On Da Jokes Y’all Know I Was Dropped On My Head Several Tymes @ Birth)…, But U Can DEFINITELY Blame Prince…, 4 Breathing This Muzak Thang Deeply Into My DNA!!!  He’s Been A Huge Influence In Shaping The Krazy-Nezz That Iz Alban Lewis Jones Sr!!! R.I.P. Prince Rogers Nelson!!! UR Special Day Will Never Be The Same 4ever More!!!

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