The state of Minnesota will celebrate Prince Day on June 7, the day of his birth. The governor encouraged Minnesotans to wear purple in tribute to “The Purple One.” (Getty)
On Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton officially proclaimed June 7 as “Prince Day.” The late musician was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958. He died of an opioid overdose on April 21 at age 57.
Dayton encouraged Minnesotans to wear purple on Prince Day “in honor of The Purple One’s enduring legacy.” On the same day, BET also announced the performers who will honor Prince at the BET Awards and the Tidal streaming service added 15 of his albums.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. ‘Prince Day’ Is Officially June 7, 2016
Minnesota will honor the beloved Prince on June 7, 2016, which Governor Mark Dayton called “Prince Day” in an official proclamation. Dayton praised Prince for creating “The Minneapolis Sound” and contributing to the global music catalog as well as “Minnesota’s worldwide prominence and its economic growth.”
Gov. Dayton and @tinaflintsmith have declared tomorrow, June 7, 2016, as #PrinceDay in MN. t.co/W4uFVTKLTO
Prince was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to parents John Nelson, a jazz musician, and Mattie Shaw, a social worker. Over the course of his music career, he earned seven Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Purple Rain,” the theme song for the movie of the same name, which Prince starred in. He also was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in
2004 (watch his performance at the induction ceremony above).
2. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Will Celebrate Prince Day with a Free Dance Party
Let’s go crazy! FREE #Prince dance party Tues night @ 7pm. t.co/CUV6GsJt9p
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will celebrate “Prince Day” with a free “Let’s Go Crazy: A Prince Dance Party” on the plaza of the museum in Cleveland, Ohio, according to The Plain Dealer. The event is set for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will feature live music, a costume contest, trivia and other activities.
Performers announced the party include DJ Roadrunner, DJ KNyce, DJ Corey Grand and vocalists Lolah Brown, Jabtune and D’bryant Cross. Admission to the museum’s Ahmet Ertegun Hall and a screening of Prince’s 2004 induction ceremony has been reduced to $5.
3. Sheila E., The Roots and D’Angelo Will Pay Tribute to Prince at the BET Awards
@SheilaEdrummer, @JanelleMonae, @theroots and @TheDangelo are only a few … #BETAwards #CelebratePrince #PrinceDay
The 2016 BET Awards will honor Prince with performances by Sheila E., The Roots, D’Angelo, Janelle Monae and more on Sunday, June 26. The late musician received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
A number of artists have paid tribute to Prince at their individual concerts including Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce. The Roots drummer Questlove introduced Madonna and Stevie Wonder’s tribute performance at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, joined by Stevie Wonder at the end. BET immediately threw shade at the performance in a now-deleted tweet that read, “Yeah, we saw that. Don’t worry. We Got You.”
Madonna fired back on Instagram writing, “Anyone who wants to do a tribute to Prince is welcome to. Whatever your age, gender or skin color. If you loved him and he inspired you then show it!!!! I love Prince 4 ever.” Questlove also defended her shortly after the show in a series of tweets. He wrote:
Because of P’s well known love for the *poof* vanishing act. A lot of us are left feeling incomplete in the act of saying goodbye. For starters it’s hard to accept him no longer being here. & in the upcoming award season for ’17 there will be a gang of tributes. Naturally there will be folded arms & shade thrown because the Purple Standard is hard boots to fill & a lot of us don’t wanna come 2 grips w the fact that Prince – (an on the surface) face of health & invincible agelessness – succomb [sic] to something so… friggin basic.
4. Tidal Releases 15 Prince Albums
Today we honor @Prince t.co/We5OlPBrLl
Prince pulled most of his music off streaming services, but kept his catalog available on the Jay Z-owned Tidal. The streaming service released 15 more albums including The Black Album (1994), Crystal Ball (1998) and The Rainbow Children (2001), according to The New York Times.
Prince stuck with Tidal because of the company’s respect for the musicians and the music they make. He said in a statement in August 2015 when he released his new album HitNRun Phase One:
After one meeting, it was obvious that Jay Z and the team he has assembled at Tidal recognize and applaud the effort that real musicians put in2 their craft 2 achieve the very best they can at this pivotal time in the music industry.
Tidal has two subscriptions available: Premium or HiFi. A Premium subscription cost $9.99 a month (the value plan is $8.49 per month, six months pre-paid). A HiFI subscription, which streams Lossless High Fidelity sound quality, cost $19.99 a month (the value plan is $16.99 per month, six months pre-paid). Each starts with a 30-day free trial.
5. Prince Died of a Fentanyl Overdose
Prince was found dead on the morning of April 21. Autopsy results showed he died of an opioid overdose. (Getty)
A couple months shy of his 58th birthday, Prince died of a “self-administered fentanyl” overdose on April 21, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office announced on June 2. His death was ruled an accident.
A couple staff members and a medical student found Prince’s body in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate. The Carver County Sheriff’s Department continues its investigation into Prince’s death.
