Can Prince Get Some RESPEK ?

It is possible, also, that he, like millions of other Americans, sought some pain relief in prescribed medications. It’s also possible that an accidental overdose killed him, because you’re not going to get me to believe that a devoutly religious man who wouldn’t allow cursing or meat on his property was popping pain meds for the high.

Yet that’s what media ‘reports’ would have you think. But why would a global superstar with means have to resort to picking up pain meds he was misusing at the local Walgreens? Prince wasn’t Uncle Pookie from the block. If he needed meds in quantities that wouldn’t alert the authorities or medical gatekeepers, we’re quite sure he would have done so through a dealer, not a doctor.

It is also possible that a driven 57-year-old man who was well-known for eating light and rarely sleeping, who missed two shows on April 7^th due to ‘flu symptoms’ and whose chef recently confirmed was fighting a sore throat and upset stomach in the weeks before his death, was simply fighting the flu and went back to work too quickly? The night he was taken off the plane was directly after playing two 80-minute shows. He’d told the Atlanta promoter that he wasn’t 100 percent but wanted to complete the dates. Have any of the media reports told you that the flu kills thousands of people every year and that the CDC says that flu symptoms often take a fatal turn two weeks after they first show up?

Prince’s drive came from his music. He said, in one of the many interviews that have flooded the web after his death, (as he side-eyes us from Heaven, but we hope with the knowledge that it just shows him how much he’s missed) that fame, money, and women are what came along with it. He didn’t bother anyone, nor did he, unlike other Black music icons, have any scandal whatsoever attached to his name. In fact, we’re now finding out what he was a secret philanthropist with an interest in Black and humanitarian causes.

His legendary parties weren’t posted to the ‘Gram (although he did have one) and he didn’t seek paparazzi infamy or social media clicks the way so many celebs do. He just wanted control, ownership and to be paid for his music. In fact, you’d need to go far and wide to find anyone who, despite his Gemini quirkiness and stubbornness, wasn’t distraught at his death or had something negative to say about him as a person.

As Cam Newton would say “What is understood shouldn’t have to be said.’ Whatever the autopsy reports show doesn’t really matter. It only covers what exactly took him from us. What happened in the end doesn’t negate the 37 years he spent making the world a funkier, happier and more musical place. If you think that the mainstream media doesn’t want to destroy our heroes think of the respectful treatment of rock icon David Bowie and comedian Robin Williams.

Bowie, also a pretty private guy, died of cancer and that was that. At least, that’s what you were told. I’m not suggesting that’s not exactly what happened, I’m saying the details on how and when he was diagnosed and when and where he died were withheld from the media and they largely respected his wishes for privacy. Was he as much a part of the current pop culture zeitgeist as Prince was? No. But Robin Williams was and despite that his death was a suicide and that his children fought his stepmother over a portion of his estate, he was allowed to retain some measure of dignity.

Our artists are special to us. If they mess up, we are largely forgiving or at least understanding. Their tragic and untimely deaths might be sad but in some cases, they were at the very least, not a shock. In Prince’s case, his death was so unexpected it felt completely wrong. If it turns out that he was in such pain that he needed meds just to keep doing what he loved, its sad that he didn’t realize letting people know wouldn’t have diminished him in our eyes.

But it’s even sadder that those who profit off death in the same way that vultures feast on carrion can’t at least get their facts straight before they rush to judgment. Prince gave his all every show he ever did, including the final ones. We could at least give the world and his family and friends time to grieve before we start slinging dirt on the reputation he worked so hard to maintain.

Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.