The turmoil in Baltimore in 2015 prompted Prince to drop a socially conscious single (music video!) named after the city. He also played a free charity concert promoting racial justice and peace.
Dave Chappelle’s homage to Prince on his TV show will forever go down as one of the greatest comedy skits. Prince liked his impression of him so much he used the image for his exclusive pajama party invite.
Prince was born with epilepsy. “I used to have seizures when I was young,” he told PEOPLE. “My mother and father didn’t know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what little they had.”
Prince has won seven Grammys: two for the Purple Rain soundtrack and Best R&B Song for “I Feel For You” in 1985; one for Best R&B Song for “Kiss” in 1987; one for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Call My Name” and one for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Musicology” in 2005; as well as Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television for “The Song of the Heart” in 2008.
Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia called her relationship with the Purple One “bizarre but wonderful” in an interview with Mirror UK. The two married in 1996 and were divorced in 2000. She went on to star on VH1’s Hollywood Exes.
Prince and Chaka Khan maintained a decades-long friendship. In 1984, he let her re-record the song “I Feel For You,” which helped her relaunch her career. In 1998, he signed her to his NPG Record label. In 2011, she co-headlined parts of his Welcome 2 America tour.
Prince met drummer Sheila Escovedo in 1983 while watching her perform with her father, percussionist Pete Escovedo. He began calling her Sheila E. and helped launch her recording career. She soon became his musical director. They would collaborate on several albums and tours before parting ways in the late 80s.
Prince’s Purple Rain album has gone platinum 13 times, according to Billboard.
Despite past issues with major labels, Prince signed a one-album deal with Universal to release his 2006 album, 3121. “I don’t consider Universal a slave ship. I did my own agreement … I got exactly what I wanted,” he said at the time.
Prince was a strict vegan. In 2006, he was voted “the world’s sexiest vegetarian” by PETA.
Prince donated his Yellow Cloud custom-made guitar to the Smithsonian Institute in 1992.