(ThyBlackMan.com) First and foremost, I admit I am a HUGE Prince fan and I admit it has taken me over three weeks to finish this piece. I guess, like some fans, I was waiting for the media to say GOTCHA it was all a very cruel joke. However, I must admit that the more I saw remembrance posts and articles I began to believe the worst had indeed happened. Yet, it was not until I began to read headlines about possible drug usage, and overdose, it was when the media began to throw mud on his name,that it hit me like a ton of bricks…yes he has passed. I know the news tends to move at one hundred miles per second, but some events take time to digest.
The death of Prince exposed his person to the world. Of course we were aware of his genius as a musician, song writer and composer. Yet, when we took a moment away from the music we saw an individual who gave as much as he worked asking nothing in returned but to be anonymous in that giving. Though he was a 
perfectionist he seemed to celebrate the creativity in others, and encouraged them to pursue higher. He was invested in the younger generation, and wanted them to be knowledgeable about the business as well as their craft.
As an artist, and person, Prince meant a lot of things to different people. He seemed like a balanced musician that surrounded himself with beauty from art, to music, to women. Ladies I know many of us could listen to “Adore”, “Most Beautiful Girl in the Word”, “Damn U”, “How Come You Don’t Call Me”, “Kiss” and many others and feel like Prince was singing to us…or about us. Though he was highly sexualized at different points in his career he had a way of making us believe he worshipped the beauty and sexuality of women. With that being said, in his craft, he treated them as equals.
Prince was notorious for employing female musicians and vocalist. Yes, many of them were beautiful, but ALL of them could play and sing genuinely. The merit of their work spoke for them. He was known for being a hard band leader that pulled no punches so these women had to play at the level of intensity he required. Back in the 80’s Prince employed female drummers, keyboardist and guitarists in a time when rock musicians were predominantly men.
Throughout his career he would empower, mentor and hire women that were musicians, dancer and singers…in addition to this he would put them in spotlight positions. Prince wanted the women around him to shine and thrive in their craft. The following are just a few of the female musicians, artists and dancers Prince has employed, featured with, mentored or gave a platform: Gayle Chapman, Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvin, Sheila E., Rosie Gaines, Rhonda Smith, Alicia Keys, Rita Ora, Janelle Monae’, 3rdeyegirl, Mate Garcia and Misty Copeland.
Many of us are simply fans that feel connected to the music and message of Prince. His catalog of music got many of us through dark places in our life while helping to create our romantic expectation. It is important, as women, to remember that he believed in us in action and song. Women were never left out of his world… nor did they seem trivial. Women were a very important part of his artistry. For this… Prince we say thank you. Many of us will continue carving our place while believing we are the “Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.
