June 2023
Prince's Birthday, Celebration 2023, All 7 Years: The Past, Present, and Future of Prince Studies, Prince: His Final Secret documentary, What Did Prince Do This Week?, #TripleThreat40 Symposium
“Hello, hello, hello, hello!” ~Prince
This is my first newsletter of the year. I can not believe that it is already June! The year, so far, has been relentless. Work has been non-stop, and it’s been difficult to juggle all my Prince commitments. I’ve been wanting to share some bonus newsletters spotlighting my last symposium and my new, weekly video series, but I’ve been barely keeping my head above water. I do plan on getting these bonus issues out in July or by August at the latest. So, thank you for your patience with the newsletter!
This month, there will be a couple of firsts for me. I'll be speaking at Paisley Park for the first time, this week on Saturday, and I'll also be appearing in a documentary, of course, about… wait for it…. Prince! But, about something special to me… Prince’s philanthropy!
And of course, I’ll also be celebrating Prince’s birthday on June 7, alongside my 5th wedding anniversary with my wonderful and very supportive husband, in MPLS! June is always an eventful month of celebration!
I am so grateful for all of your support and kind words, this year. I couldn't do it without you!
Thanks for reading! ~De Angela
Speaking at Prince Celebration 2023 @ Paisley Park!
The little southern girl at 10 or 11 listening to Prince’s Dirty Mind album for the first time in North Carolina at my Aunt Net’s house would have never ever ever eva in a gazillion years thought she would be afforded the opportunity to speak on Prince’s stage at Paisley Park, his 65,000 square-foot recording studio, soundstage, and home, for Celebration 2023.
I am DEEPLY grateful to the Prince Estate for this INCREDIBLE WOW AKA “The Unexpected”!
“You can call it the unexpected or you can call it… WOW!” ~Prince
I hope to see some of you there! I’ll be speaking during both the Diamond and Pearl tracks on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
Speaking at All 7 Years: The Past, Present, and Future of Prince Studies @ UROC!
I’ll be speaking at All 7 Years: The Past, Present, and Future of Prince Studies at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), on Prince’s birthday, June 7, 2023, at 1-2:30pm CT, alongside Kirsty Fairclough, Andrea Swensson, and Elliott H. Powell!
Many thanks to Kirsty and The International Centre 4 Prince Studies for the invitation to participate! I hope to see some of you here, as well!
Featured in Prince: His Final Secret Documentary
Another first in June 2023! I’m featured in a documentary, Prince: His Final Secret, for the first time ever, alongside one of my musical/bass heroes, Levi Seacer, Jr., as well as Michael Bland, David Z., and several others. It officially airs on Reelz on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT. I hope you’ll tune in IF you’re not at Celebration!
I am thrilled that this documentary is finally coming out. It is the first to focus on Prince's philanthropy, and I agreed to participate only because of this. Prince was a generous giver, and his philanthropic side should be talked about more. This documentary only touches the tip of the iceberg, and we’ll probably never know the depths, as more often than not Prince gave, anonymously. Many thanks to Randy Martin, the director, and David Cook, the writer for a wonderful documentary and experience!
Co-Hosting the What Did Prince Do This Week? #WDPDTW Virtual Book Club Series alongside Michael Dean!
What Did Prince Do This Week? #WDPDTW is an interactive, online, weekly book club, live every Saturday at noon ET on @polishedsolid on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch to discuss with YOU what Prince did during the parallel week, beginning in 1983.
It is a very, very slow read of Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 (Expanded Edition) by Duane Tudahl over the course of two years. Yes, it is a commitment, but we’ll read the book in very short, digestible, bite-sized chunks! Here’s the schedule.
We’ll then move on to Duane’s 2nd book, Prince and the Parade and Sign O’ The Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985 and 1986. And, in four years, Duane’s 3rd book will most likely have been released.
We began this journey in January 2023! Hope some of you will be committed, brave, and crazy enough to join us on this very LONG journey!
Michael Dean is my co-host, as he is the only other person in my purple circle crazy enough to commit to this, and we’re already up to Week 22. However, you can catch up because they’re archived every week on my YouTube channel in the #WDPDTW What Did Prince Do This Week? playlist. There are also accompanying playlists with the music or documentaries we discuss for the more recent episodes.
Please join Michael Dean and C Liegh McInnis if you won’t be at Celebration for Week 23 of What Did Prince Do This Week? this Saturday, at noon ET. Massive thanks to them both for holding it down while I’m at Celebration!
Met Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis at Pop Conference 2023!
It was an honor and privilege to be in the same room as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis at Pop Conference 2023! Massive thanks to Jason King for allowing me to ask my question about my favorite album by The Time, Pandemonium!
Curated the Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium
I WILL create an entire BONUS newsletter issue around the #TripleThreat40 symposium, a 3-day symposium celebrating Prince for 40 years of the albums 1999, What Time Is It?, and Vanity 6 on Friday, March 31, 2023–Sunday, April 2, 2023, at NYU in Brooklyn, New York. It is long overdue! I KNOW, but it is coming! I still need to create the recap video before I do. In the meantime, you can watch the entire symposium online on YouTube and Vimeo.
THANK U from the bottom of my heart 2 every single attendee, speaker, staff/crew, & most of all the generosity of her time & spirit of the 1 & only Jill Jones and Chris Rob & his band, for his explosive performance, and Tammy Sharpe and Chinisha Scott for adding the chili sauce!
#TripleThreat40 was the best 1 yet! Hope Prince’s spirit felt the purple bat signal we were shining! Memories were definitely made! #Prince4Ever
The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson is not affiliated, associated or connected with the ‘Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium,’ nor has it endorsed or sponsored the ‘Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium.’ Further, the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson has not licensed any of its IP, etc.
Save The Dates
A perk of reading the newsletter is getting some exclusive information! So, here you go…
April 12-14, 2024, the 3-day #EroticCity40 symposium, celebrating 40 years of Purple Rain, Ice Cream Castle, Apollonia 6, and The Glamorous Life in Brooklyn at NYU!
August 10-11, 2024, the 2-day *VIRTUAL* #Come30 Symposium, celebrating 30 years of Prince’s Come
Thank you Edgar Kruize & DJ UMB for the #1999Thread #PrinceTwitterThread!
Thank you to Edgar Kruize and DJ UMB for creating a companion #1999Thread #PrinceTwitterThread as a prelude to the #TripleThreat40 symposium! I am forever grateful for your continued support!💜
"Me and Prince, we Geminis. We passionate!”~Tupac
Purple Rain Review w/ Tonya Pendleton on Micheaux Mission LIVE!
I love it when my fellow purple nerds participate in purple programming. Tonya Pendleton was truly wonderful, like she always is, on the Micheaux Mission - Two Men. One Podcast. Every Black Film Ever Made. Check out trailers of their favorite Black films, special live presentations and more from hosts Vincent Williams and Len Webb. If you haven’t checked this series out, you should. And, of course, you should start with this one.
Thank You, #ManicMovieMonday from #PrinceTwitterThread!💜
This is my favorite #ManicMovieMonday poster, so far! Love the font! And the taglines are hilarious in that they pretty much mirror the actual lyrics! Sheer BRILLIANCE, Edgar Kruize!👏
Goodbye for now, Purple Paisley Brunch!
Thank you, Tonya Giddens, for all the blood, sweat, and tears you've put into this INCREDIBLE series of programming! We love U! "Iron sharpens iron!"
However, if this is truly your last event, what a way to go out—with style and class, as only you can do, Tonya! Hearing “I’m Yours” for the first time in my life live was a moment I’ll never ever forget. I think even Prince would have been impressed with honoring him with THE cut off of his debut album, For You. Seeing Jellybean Johnson, Eddie M., and L.A.W. on the same stage was FIRE!🔥🔥🔥
THANK YOU, Grown Folks Music!
Thank you, Grown Folks Music, for so many years of amazing music content!
I was honored 2 be a part of your extended family. The Grown Folks Music crew is absolutely loved and appreciated, particularly Ivan Orr and Ricky Wyatt! GFM Forever! Your platform will be sorely missed!🖤
RIP In Music, Bobby Caldwell!🖤
Thank you, Bobby Caldwell, for your incredible voice and songwriting! Rest in Music! Your songs will live on FOREVER!
Rest in Music, Burt Bacharach!🖤
Your endless music catalog says it all! Thank you for the music!
Rest In Music, Wayne Shorter!🖤
Rest in Power, Tina Turner! There will NEVER be another! Thank you 4 showing us what persistence & determination shines like!🖤
I have this image on my living room wall. It is my absolute favorite image of Tina Turner, and I have many. At 40 by 40 inches, I can’t miss seeing it every single day. I bought it when I returned to NYC in 2019 after moving back from Atlanta. It was a difficult time for me, as I didn’t want to leave my Mama yet again… But, the image reminded me that you gotta keep moving… you gotta keep growing… and you gotta keep “working for the man every night and day…”! So, this image signifies a LOT, and, of course, it represents Tina… Mere words could never describe what she means to me and countless others, so I’ll let this image speak for me…
Thank you, Michael A. Gonzales, for shining a bright light on Ephraim Lewis!
“To me, all the songs on the album are about opening up to the creative forces in life,” Lewis said in 1992, “about spirituality—coming together as people, regardless of colour, age, upbringing or financial status. I’d say my music is subtly deep; it has an ethereal quality to it.”
Ephraim Lewis Skin (1992)
When this album first came out in 1992, I played it religiously, and the song I played the most was, “It Can’t Be Forever.” It’s more poignant now at 52 than it was then at 22. I rarely play it now, as it reminds me of my dear departed friend, Kevin J. Roberts. We listened to music together, constantly. That and going to see movies was what we did! We listened to this one together a lot!
I was devastated in 1994 when I found out that Ephraim Lewis had died at 26. If he had lived, I KNOW he would have continued to create painfully beautiful, but moving music! Check out the entire album if you’ve never listened to it and if you have, give it a spin again. You won’t regret it!
There are so many songs that will make you feel (“Captured” and “Drowning in Your Eyes” to name a couple more).
It Can’t Be Forever
Written by Ephraim Lewis & Kevin Bacon (not the actor)
There's always people talking one time
They talk for years and years
Say well "we'll take a chance" and in time
They're looking back
It's disappeared
Take it now
Listen to your heart
Won't be staying over
Wake up and it's gone
Make it now
Listen to your heart
Hold your head up high and have no fear of being wrongIt can't be, it can't be forever
Till it's too late
It can't be, it can't be forever
Don't wait, don't wait
No falling under the spell of here today
Tomorrow will do just as well
It's so easy to believe in the power of others
They come and go
And in the strange half light they seem to know some
But who can tell
So be brave
Walk into the fire, no one else can guide you
No one else can make you strong
Walk into the fire, hold your head up higher
And have no fear of being wrongIt can't be, it can't be forever
Till it's too late
It can't be, it can't be forever
Don't wait, don't waitAnd all this time, we believe in a dream
And when will it come? Never!It can't be, it can't be forever
Till it's too late
It can't be, it can't be forever
Don't wait, don't wait
Congratulations on your being part of the panel at Celebration.