Prince Rogers Nelson, aka Prince, aka the "Purple One," aka "His Purpleness," aka "the Symbol," aka "One purple bad mutha--shut your mouth," will forever be remembered and adored for his music, his style and unapologetic way of bringing people together.
When Prince died on April 21, 2016, the world went purple.
The Eiffel Tower turned purple.
The Niagra Falls went purple.
The tallest building in Dubai went purple.
The White House went purple.
His purpleness still reigns even when he's no longer here.
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Paisley Park created a four-day event including performances from Thursday April 20-23, 2017 to mark the one-year anniversary.
At least five recent books have been published examining Prince's life and legacy, including a memoir by his first ex-wife, Mayte Garcia. Prince tributes continue to be created, the most recent at the Grammys, where Bruno Mars did the honors and received glowing reviews for him paying homage to His Royal Badness.
But even after a whole year later, there are many questions left unanswered:
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What killed him? He died April 21, 2016, in an elevator in Paisley Park in Carver County, Minn. The one-page autopsy report released later said he died of an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl.
Famously clean-living Prince died of a painkiller OD at age 57? Unthinkable. Numerous friends, associates, relatives and former wives and girlfriends insisted they never saw him take drugs and it just doesn't add up.
Was there some medical condition that contributed to his death? We may never know because, under Minnesota law, the full autopsy report can be kept secret for up to 30 years unless the next of kin agree to release it. So far, that has not happened.
Why was he taking fentanyl and for how long? Where did he get it? Was it prescribed by a doctor or acquired by illicit means? Did he know some of the pills containing fentanyl were falsely labeled something else? What was the relationship between his death and the episode of six days earlier when he suffered a medical emergency on a plane? (It landed, he was rushed to a hospital and received overdose-style treatment.)
"There is some indication that his addiction went fairly far back, to the mid-1980s and into the late 1990s, but the evidence is ambiguous," Hahn says. "It's an incredibly murky picture. He was a very controlled and focused figure, he kept his cards close to the vest so that’s why we don’t know."
What do investigators say? The Carver County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration have been investigating Prince's death since it occurred but so far none have anything to report.
"The case remains open and is being actively investigated by our detectives and the DEA under the guidance of...
... the U.S. Attorney," says Jason Kamerud, chief sheriff's deputy in Carver County. "At some point, all of the information obtained during the investigation will become public, but I have no idea when that might happen."
Who will truly benefit from Prince's estate? There are many rumors as to say Pince had a will and it was destroyed or he didn't have a will. Either way, no will has been released. And of course, you've got brothers, uncles, cousins and family that you've never seen or heard of before popping up saying that they are due to some portion of royalties of the estate.
The really only credible one is Prince's sister, Tyka, who spoke to not only the press, but the fans as well and shared in Prince's love for others.
Will other Prince music be released? Prince‘s new EP seems to have been pulled after the singer’s estate filed a lawsuit seeking to block it.
The surprise new EP of unreleased music was due to drop Friday April 21, 2017 to mark the one-year anniversary of Prince’s death.
However, the EP’s pre-order page has now vanished from iTunes and its title track ‘Deliverance’, which debuted on April 19th of 2017, is no longer on any streaming sites. According to TMZ, this comes as a direct result of the lawsuit.
Prince co-wrote and co-produced the EP’s six songs with Ian Boxill, who completed the tracks following his death last year. It was reported yesterday that Paisley Park and Prince’s estate have filed a joint lawsuit against Boxill, accusing him of “trying to exploit one or more songs for his personal gain at expense of the Prince estate”.
The lawsuit argues that Boxill signed a confidentiality agreement with the late star that stated all music they worked on “would remain Prince’s sole and exclusive property.” It is also claimed that Boxill agreed that he “would not use any recordings or property in any way whatsoever” and that “he would return any such recordings or property to Prince immediately upon request.”
All that to say, it may be awhile before someone other than Prince's family or estate releases some of his never-heard-before songs.
In the meantime, we'll just listen to the thousands of songs he has gifted us with over the years 😉
Rest well, Prince.
