導讀：普林斯是歌手、詞曲作家、制作人、演員，他擁有超全面的音樂才能，他是舞臺上最炫目的歌者，更對全球流行音樂的發(fā)展產(chǎn)生了不可磨滅的影響。在35年的音樂生涯中，他獲得過7次格萊美獎，還在2004年入選美國搖滾名人堂，唱片總銷量超過一億張。他成功打破了搖滾、藍調(diào)、放克、流行樂和靈魂樂之間的界限，給音樂產(chǎn)業(yè)帶來了一場大變革。流行音樂史永遠都會銘記這位叫“王子”的傳奇巨星！

Princes passion for music was atypical. According to the Wall Street Journal， he could hold marathon recording sessions that lasted 48 hours with good quality control. After finishing multi-hour performances on tour， he sometimes visited local pubs and kept playing until dawn.

“Theres not a person around who can stay awake as long as I can，” he said in an interview in 1985. “Music is what keeps me awake.”

Prince also taught modern audiences the importance of ownership in artwork. In the 1990s， Prince declared an open battle against his record label， Warner Bros， for control of his music.

He wrote “slave” across on his cheek and changed his name to an unpronounceable “l(fā)ove symbol”， as a means of protest. “When you stop a man from dreaming， he becomes a slave. Thats where I was，” Prince told Rolling Stone in a 1996 interview. “If you dont own your masters， your master owns you.” Gradually， fans started to refer to him as the “Artist Formerly Known as Prince”.

In recent years， streaming has become one of the most popular ways of accessing music. But Prince saw this trend as a new way for tech companies to exploit musicians. Prince took legal actions to remove pirated videos of him on YouTube. He refused to put his music on major streaming services like Spotify and iTunes. Princes actions have influenced some of todays highest-selling artists， like Taylor Swift and Adele. In other words， he helped reshape the landscape of modern music.

Princes sudden death is a great loss in the world of music. On social media， dozens of US celebrities， including Katy Perry， The Weeknd， Justin Timberlake and Madonna， expressed their condolences. Even US Ex-president Barack Obama praised Prince for his great contributions to music.

“Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly， or touched quite so many people with their talent，” Obama said in a statement. “‘A strong spirit transcends rules， Prince once said， and nobodys spirit was stronger， bolder， or more creative.”

普林斯對音樂有著異乎尋常的熱愛?！度A爾街日報》稱他能持續(xù)48小時的馬拉松式錄音，還能保證錄音的質(zhì)量。在結束數(shù)小時的巡回演出后，他有時還會去當?shù)氐木瓢桑恢蓖娴教炝痢?/p>

他曾在1985年的一次采訪中說：“我周圍沒有人能像我一樣保持清醒這么長時間。喚醒我的是音樂。”

普林斯還教現(xiàn)代聽眾要尊重藝術的自主性。20世紀90年代，為了爭取對自己音樂的自主權，他曾公開抗議自己的唱片公司——華納兄弟。

為了表示抗議，他在自己的臉頰上寫上“奴隸”二字，還把自己的名字改為一個極難發(fā)音的“愛的象征”詞。1996年，在接受《滾石》雜志采訪時，他說：“當你剝奪了一個人夢想的權利，那他和奴隸毫無二致。那就是我當時的處境。如果你不當自己的主人，就會成為他人的奴隸?！贝撕?，粉絲們開始稱他為“曾經(jīng)名叫普林斯的歌手”。

近年來，流媒體逐漸成為最受歡迎的獲取音樂的渠道。而普林斯則把這種趨勢視為科技公司剝削音樂人的新手段。他采取法律手段，清除了YouTube網(wǎng)站上自己的盜版視頻。他拒絕將自己的音樂放在諸如Spotify和iTunes這樣的主流媒體服務器上。普林斯的行為影響了一批現(xiàn)今高銷量的歌手，比如泰勒·斯威夫特和阿黛爾。換言之，他為重塑現(xiàn)代音樂界的格局做出了貢獻。

普林斯的突然離世是全球音樂界的重大損失。凱蒂·佩里、The Weeknd、賈斯汀·汀布萊克、麥當娜等許多美國明星在社交媒體上表達了對他的悼念。就連美國前任總統(tǒng)巴拉克·奧巴馬也高度評價了普林斯對音樂界做出的杰出貢獻。

奧巴馬發(fā)表悼文說：“很少有歌手能對流行音樂的唱法和發(fā)展軌跡產(chǎn)生如此重大的影響，也鮮少有人有此才華能感動這么多聽眾。普林斯曾說過‘堅韌的意志能超越一切規(guī)則的束縛，沒有人的精神比他更強大、更勇敢、更富創(chuàng)意?！眅ndprint