Prince Rogers Nelson (born June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American pop musician. He performs simply as Prince, but has also been known by various other names, among them an unpronounceable symbol and The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.
His career has spanned several styles: from his early material, rooted in R&B, soul and funk, he has consistently expanded his musical palette throughout his career, absorbing many other genres including New Wave, pop, rock, jazz, and hip hop. The distinctive characteristics of the early-to-mid 1980s work that brought him to super-stardom--including sparse and industrial-sounding drum machine arrangements, and the use of synthesizer riffs to serve the role traditionally occupied by horn riffs in earlier R&B, funk and soul music--was called the "Minneapolis sound" and has proved very influential.
Prince is a prolific artist, having released several hundred songs both under his own name and with other artists. Well known as a perfectionist, Prince is highly protective of his music. He produces, composes, arranges and performs nearly all of the songs on his albums. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
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