Jesus Reigns...Oh The Prince Influence

I have been fighting doing a Prince blog post, because I had a feeling of where it would lead to. I figured since I feature him in a post (Read it HERE), I didn't need. Prince Rogers Nelson has passed away. Like many I have cry and watched various specials in his memory. 

I can't put Purple Pain in the DVD yet, I am not ready. And I am kicking myself that I don't also own his other movies, Under the Cherry Moon & Graffiti Bridge. I don't believe he is gone to soon because God doesn't not make mistakes. But yeah I was not through listening to his works. I hope his unreleased vault is opened but if not we will jam all the music that was released.

I don't remember music without Prince. I was a little girl (under 10) when Purple Rain came to cable. It was the 1st grown up movie that I actually "understood". I even understood that The Kid was upset with Apollonia for being friends with Morris & Jerome. He was so upset that he wrote a mean song that made her cry & run out. Later, I understood that he called a whore (without profane language) with that song. That is one of my first memories of Prince & his music. But it is not my favorite. I can imagine a few churches incorporating his music in worship periods, this weekend. I saw one on a Facebook post (Praise His Name & He Made a Way) and it is the reason why I am blogging on this topic. Bishop Paul S. Morton had a Prince moment during his song, Let It Rain (Yes, I provided the LINK) in 2003. But none of it, ran through my head like this memory from 2001 when I was a student at Lamar University in Beaumont, Tx. I went to church with Football Nerd. I think the church was called Triumph. Fact about Me: If I don't know a worship song, the worship team has one verse to catch my attention. Well, somebody must have told this group. The chords played sound very familiar. The verse was very touching. Then they got to the chorus. 

♫Jesus Reigns, Jesus Reigns

Jesus Reigns, Jesus Reigns

I Want to Tell the Whole Wide World That Jesus Reigns♫

I was stunned. Folks was running and shouting to the Lord.

Football Nerd snarked "If you were worshiping, you would not have noticed the song" You know I gave him side eye. (Years later he said he didn't remember saying that) The Worship Team had rearranged Purple Rain for worship. Like the Youtube Video I found as an example above. It did it's intended job because the spirit was high all service long. When they say Prince's influence stretched to all genres of music, It really did. Hey it touched even a church in small town America. I wonder if Triumph sang Jesus Reign for worship this weekend. Hope they did. 

Prince will miss. But his music & his impact will live on. RIP Prince

Oh I'm Okay!!!

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

Oh I'm Eclectic Now But... (African-American Music Month)

As Kerry Washington’s character in the “I Think I Love My Wife’ might have said, I used to have N-word Ears when I was younger.

And though I may be eclectic now, I will Always Love Black music. I don’t ever remember not Loving Black music. I grew up in a home & a community where music was played all the time. Most times (except Saturday afternoons when Lawrence Welk reruns and A Gaither (The daddies to the Oak Ridge Boys) Gospel Hour came on) it was Black music. We got dressed to it. We cleaned to it. We got our hair done to it. It was played at all the picnics, luncheons & barbecues. In my home we even slept to it. There was a blues juke joint on the corner of my street. My Foundation church is a 6 minute walk from my home. Across the street from it is a COGIC church. I was in the 6^th grade with the little girl who was their drum player. You could hear her play all outside of their church. She was good. (I’m going to ask her on FB does she still play sometimes) I grew up surrounded by black music.  My first memories of loving a song was a black song.

When I was preschool age, you couldn't tell me I was not Evelyn Champagne King. I knew all the words to Love Come Down. I could dance like her on the video. Yes, I had the two two-step sway down. Matter of fact I still do that move. At school while the radio was playing, I would sing along happily to this song.

I said at school because unlike parents now my mother didn't take kindly to children signing “Adult” songs out loud. She would ask in a minute “So what does that song mean” in a minute. My siblings and I would never be on YouTube, World Star, or Ellen singing “Super Bass”. We would be signing “Let It Go” or “HAPPY”. To my mom, Children should sing children songs, gospel included. Back then we had soulful children singers and somgs so we didn't lack in that experience. Oh but I loved that song. King had a pure voice that was telling a story (That I didn't know the meaning of until I was a teenager. Yes, I was Shocked too) about love whole heartedly.

Black music still plays a significant role in my life. Even the newer stuff out. Happy by Pharrell makes me Happy like everyone else. Oh and Drake is turning the rap game around for me. Yes, Jimmy of Degrassi: The Next Generation has my ear. I get dressed to Fancy and Worst Behavior just like these young girls, too. The guy has flow. Then there is Jhene’ Aiko with a song called The Worst. As the kids say, that song gets me all in my feelings. The hook says:

I don't need you

I don't need you

I don't need you

I don't need you

I still want you

I don't mean to

I don't mean to

I don't mean to

I don't mean to

But I love you

Oh I like it. This Picture Quote describes my feelings for the song perfectly.

Oh I love to hear new music by the older artists. The new Michael Jackson (without Justin Timberlake version) Love Never Felt So Good http://youtu.be/GJDdBbgJafU is a banger. Some company has it in a commercial and I stop and bop around every time I hear it. LoL Then there is Prince with Breakdown http://youtu.be/iE6g-jnEhew & Breakfast Can Wait http://youtu.be/GHbyNrGXpAA. I don’t know a Prince song I dislike. You know “Purple Rain” is 30 years old. Once I was old enough to understand the lyrics to Purple Rain & Darling Nikki 

 I declared him The Musical Genius.   

Love Come Down can come on now and instantly I turn into that little girl in day care. Swaying thinking I had a flower in my hair and a flowing dress. That’s the kind of feelings Black music gives me.

My N-word Ears still left me a memory clone or two of themselves as I ventured into other music. I’ll never abandon them as the music has never abandoned me. Bobby Womack passed this weekend. RIP He sang a song called No Matter How I Get http://youtu.be/4cvQMmsGkLg. It’s my favorite song by him. Well, Black Music that song is for you. No Matter How High I get…

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms