I put on Pink Cashmere earlier at work and felt like bawling...still in shock/mourning over the loss of one of my favorite artists and icons of all time. My parents were later baby boomers that shared the music they grew up on and listened to as young adults with their kids (aka my sister and I) from the time of our birth. 12 hour long road trips to visit the Grandparents were truly façades for the real journeys down memory lane. We were schooled on who was who,what was when,and when was when,and by age three Prince,Michael Jackson,Stevie(both of them)EWF and countless more were family jams. As I grew older and became more interested in the instrumentation and composition of the music,as well as the deeper meaning behind their lyrics,I looked to music that was unlike anything else before or since...one of the first artists that truly spoke to me as a human being truly defined by HIMSELF and not the world around him,unafraid to be who he is,unafraid to push the boundaries of what is acceptable and what isn't,what's cool and what's not,what is sex and what is love? Prince is one of the greatest musicians and writers of all time,but more than that,he made true lyrical and musical art and was not pressured into diluting his image,message, or sound to appease anyone. There will never be another like him because he never tried to be anything more than himself,the quiet and mild mannered Genius himself that ROARED in the face of the industry and made music for the sake of art and creative expression. In a given song he was a player,a lover,a rocker,an innovator,a spiritual advisor,and a poet. Yes,he was financially successful,but his true success was in his ability to capture emotion and create beauty and recognize it in both others,the world,and through his vision was able to translate that into melody for our souls. RIP to the self made legend of a cornucopia of genres that manifested him as a genre all his own,and steal your girl while wearing her heels... #RIPPrince #RIP #Heroes #Prince #PrinceRogersNelson #MyHeartIsHeavy #MyEarsAreOpen #MyThoughtsAreWithYou