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Prince would’ve turned 59 today as tributes pour in from around the world

Prince, one of the most influential artists in modern music, would have turned 59 today.

The Minnesota native melded elements of soul, rock ‘n’ roll, funk, r&b, gospel, and American pop music unlike any other artist in history, bending genres and changing the way people listened to and thought about music.

Prince was also moved the needle socially. His flamboyant outfits and flippant treatment of the conservative, Reagan-era, American social establishment made him a social and sexual icon, pushing the envelope in both music and society.

Virtually all modern American pop culture was shaped, influenced, and affected by Prince Rogers Nelson.

Tributes to the late great “Purple Rain” singer came in from all corners of the music and art world on Wednesday.

Prince’s sister Tyka Rogers released a music video for her song “End of the Road,” celebrating the life of her brother and the Rogers’ childhood in Minneapolis.

The music video shows previously unseen pictures from Prince’s childhood, including the home he grew up in and the nightclub where Prince got his start.

Tyka Rogers said of “End of the Road,”

“After Prince passed I wanted to give him one final birthday present and I decided to fulfill his wish, and record this song at Paisley Park [where Prince passed away]. This song poses the question ‘is this the End of The Road?’ and my answer is I don’t think so! I will see all three of my beautiful family members someday again.”

The music video and song are a beautiful tribute from Prince’s young sister, and proof that the Rogers family had some pretty impressive musical genes.

Sheila E., who was taken under Prince’s tutelage as a young artist and had both a romantic and artistic relationship with Rogers, released her own rendition of Prince’s “America.” She told Rolling Stone that Prince wrote the song in response to American foreign policy in the Reagan era, but the song still resonates today.

“Prince wrote the song in response to America bombing Libya America. It’s crazy, because here we are again.”

Outside Prince’s home at Paisley Park, thousands of fans packed outside the fence, blaring their favorite Prince deep-cuts, dancing away, and covering the fence with purple flowers and signs.

Prince quite simply changed the way music sounded, what it looked like, and what artists were allowed to do. With the release of 1984’s Purple Rain, and the subsequent soundtrack, Prince became a bonafide star across multiple mediums.

Owen Husney, Prince’s longtime manager who first singed The Purple One when he was 18-years-old, said we should remember Prince for how he changed what it meant to be an artist.

“I think, more than a song, you should remember … what he did to break down barriers. There are only a handful of artists that have broken down barriers between all the musical genres, and I think that’s how he should be remembered. I think he just has to be understood for the body of work he’s going to leave us — and I’m talking beyond just what we call traditional rock ‘n’ roll and funk and everything else. I think he’s got things that are in the vaults at Paisley Park that we will be unpacking for years to come, and we will be amazed.”

Activist and political pundit Van Jones posted a lengthy video celebrating Prince’s wonderful life and career, although Jones does note that Prince himself didn’t have time for that sort of thing.

Best believe we’re celebrating Prince’s birthday over here at the KH offices.

I know there are some youngins out there not really knowing too much about the man who changed American music forever and I urge you all to watch (and listen to) Purple Rain.

Shit, Chris Rock is right we shouldn’t even have work today.

Chad Hugo says he’s retiring from music, deletes Twitter, so WTF is good?

Yesterday afternoon, Chad Hugo, music producer, songwriter, and member of The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. claimed that he was resigning from music on his Twitter account.

Since then, Hugo has deleted the tweet, as well as his twitter account, with a rep claiming that it “was a bad joke”. But here’s a screenshot of the shocking news.

Twitter

But the damage was done, with people bugging out on social media about Hugo’s apparent resignation.

For people of a certain age, The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. were music royalty. Obviously Pharrell has gone on to become a worldwide superstar, but Hugo was the unsung hero of both groups.

The sudden announcement from Hugo was all the more shocking as Pharrell claimed as recently as November that a new project from N.E.R.D. was in the works.

The prospect of a new N.E.R.D. album is too exciting, although we can’t imagine what it would sound like after all these years.

Hugo, Pharrell, and Shay Halley made up N.E.R.D., mixing together elements of funk, rock, hip-hop, and soul to make some of the most formative and important music of the early 2000s.

In 2002, N.E.R.D. released debut album In Search Of… and as Pharrell sings on the intro track “Lapdance” they were truly “something you’ve never seen before”.

Pharrell was obviously the star and the face of the group, but the trio was the perfect mix of different influences and styles.

Hugo is probably best known for his work with N.E.R.D., but no one can sleep on the impact of The Neptunes.

Hugo and Pharrell met in middle school, and immediately began making music together, comprising the beat-making duo The Neptunes.

The Neptunes made some of the hottest beats of the mid-2000s, cooking up everything from the hardest hip-hop to revamping the sound of the biggest pop stars in the world.

Here’s just a quick list of Neptunes productions; Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass”, Beenie Man’s “Girls Dem Sugar”, Snoop’s “Drop it like It’s Hot”, Pharrell/Jay-Z “Frontin'”, Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl”, Kelis’ “Milkshake”, Fab’s “Young’n” as well as all of Justin Timberlake’s solo breakout Justified album. The Neptunes could literally do it all, making some of the most iconic beats of pop and hip-hop music in the early 2000’s.

I mean, they made Birdman’s “What Happened to that Boy” and Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave 4 U” in the space of a couple months.

Also we’d be remiss not to mention the greatest hip-hop beat of all-time, “Grindin'” yeah that was The Neptunes too.

Basically, we’re happy to hear that Hugo was just wiling out a little bit and this is by no means true.

That Daft Punk stuff Pharrell worked on was cool I guess (“Happy” was not), but we need to get the band back together and get some mid-2000’s N.E.R.D. and Neptunes shit ASAP.