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🇺🇸 United States · 1958 — present

Prince

What defines Prince's sound is not just his voice, but how he uses it: a register that oscillates between crystalline falsetto and a guttural growl, as if two different singers shared the same body. But where his genius is most evident is in his handling of instruments: he recorded almost everything himself, playing drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards in layers that intertwine like a living fabric. The Minneapolis sound that made him famous was not a genre, but an attitude: it blended the dirty groove of funk with the rawness of rock, the sparkle of pop, and the echoes of classic soul, all wrapped in productions that sounded like the studio but smelled like a garage.

In 1984, the leap was definitive. Purple Rain not only turned him into a star but into a cultural phenomenon: the film, the album, and the homonymous single all reached number one at the same time, something no artist had achieved before. The album, recorded under almost artisanal conditions—with borrowed equipment and sessions that stretched until dawn—captured that raw energy. Songs like When Doves Cry broke all the rules: no drums in the original version, just a pulsating bass and a guitar that seems to weep, while his voice cracks into impossible notes. The Oscar he won for the soundtrack was not an award for an isolated moment, but recognition that music could be both commercial and revolutionary at the same time.

Funk Pop Soul Rock afro house 1950s

9 Albums

104 Songs

3,5M Listeners/mo

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Most played on DoReSol

Essential songs

See all 104 →

Big Five

The Cross

Big Five

Big 5

Big Five · 1972

3:37 04

Kinky Griner

Big Five · 1972

2:05 05

Leave Your Man

Big Five · 1972

2:33 06

Give Her

Big Five · 1972

2:25 07

Bald Head Pum Pum

Big Five · 1972

2:47 08

At the Cross

Big Five · 1972

2:35 09

Fishey Fishey

Big Five · 1972

3:22 10

The Virgin

Big Five · 1972

3:24

9 album|s · 1972 — 2025

Full discography

2025 ★ Essential

Around the World in a Day

11 song|s · Funk

2023 ★ Essential

Diamonds and Pearls

14 song|s · contemporary r&b

2019 ★ Essential

1999

12 song|s · Funk

1987 ★ Essential

Sign “☮︎” the Times

16 song|s · Funk

1986 ★ Essential

Camille

8 song|s · Funk

1985 ★ Essential

His Majesty’s Pop Life / The Purple Mix Club

11 song|s · contemporary r&b

1984 ★ Essential

Purple Rain

9 song|s · contemporary r&b

1977 ★ Essential

Free Spirit

6 song|s · Funk

1972 ★ Essential

Big Five

17 song|s · Funk

Details, awards, members and more

More about Prince

Biography

His working method was equally radical. In the 80s, he edited albums at a frenetic pace: Dirty Mind (1980) and Controversy (1981) already showcased his most provocative side, with lyrics that played with eroticism and politics without shame. Then came 1999 (1982), where funk became more electric and songs stretched to seven minutes without losing their hook. But it was Sign o' the Times (1987) that proved his ability to reinvent himself: a double album that gathered discarded material from other projects, with rhythms ranging from jazz to industrial rock. Even when the industry pressured him to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol in the 90s, he kept recording with the same obsession for detail. Songs like Kiss—which was first a hit for Tom Jones before becoming a classic of his—or Nothing Compares 2 U—which launched Sinéad O'Connor to stardom—show how his music transcended genres and borders. He died in 2016, but left a legacy that still sounds fresh: every time someone plays a funk guitar chord or hums a synth melody, a piece of his magic lingers in the air.

Details

Nacimiento: 7 jun 1958
País: 🇺🇸 United States
Género: Funk

Links

Spotify Wikipedia

The full catalog on DoReSol

All songs

Black Pum Bum

Big Five · 1972

3:18 12

Every Man Pum Pum

Big Five · 1972

2:26 13

Wash the Pum Pum

Big Five · 1972

2:25 14

Ride a Donkey

Big Five · 1972

2:06 15

African Rock

Big Five · 1972

3:21 16

Cleopatra

Big Five · 1972

3:22 17

Take It Easy

Big Five · 1972

3:34 18

Free

Free Spirit

Señorita

Free Spirit · 1977

8:40 20

Alone Again Naturally

Free Spirit · 1977

9:50 21

People's Song

Free Spirit · 1977

9:00 22

Mushroom Alley

Free Spirit · 1977

7:19 23

Free Spirit

Free Spirit · 1977

7:33 24

Let’s Go Crazy

Purple Rain · 1984

4:39 25

Take Me With U

Purple Rain · 1984

3:54 26

The Beautiful Ones

Purple Rain · 1984

5:15 27

Computer Blue

Purple Rain · 1984

3:59 28

Darling Nikki

Purple Rain · 1984

4:15 29

When Doves Cry

Purple Rain · 1984

5:52 30

I Would Die 4 U

Purple Rain · 1984

2:51 31

Baby I’m a Star

Purple Rain · 1984

4:20 32

Purple Rain

Purple Rain · 1984

8:45 33

I Would Die 4 U

His Majesty’s Pop Life / The Purple Mix Club

Pop Life (extended version)