November 2020
#SOTTSDC After Salon, #SOTTSDC After Salon Peeps & other Purple Friends on other podcast platforms, my 50th birthday
#SOTTSDC After Salon!
Some of you mentioned that the original #SOTTSDC event on Oct 10, 2020, was too short. For those of you who wanted to take a deeper dive, I hope you enjoyed the five, virtual #SOTTSDC After Salons from Oct 24 - Nov 21!
What’s a salon? It’s an informal gathering (often in someone’s living room) of old and new friends engaging in intimate and stimulating conversations.
4 weeks went by SO fast! I will TRULY miss our weekly gatherings in our virtual living room. Our Saturday mornings were a blast together! I heard from many of you that you went through withdrawals afterward.
MASSIVE thanks to each and every person who joined us in the chat. Your comments were 🔥 and had us in stitches at times 😂. The gatherings wouldn’t have been as enjoyable without you. I can’t name everyone because I wouldn't want to leave anyone out but please do know YOU & your energy were appreciated!
Mere words could NEVER communicate what my amazing friends, who joined me to discuss my and their favorite subject, mean to me, but a mere thank you will have to suffice...
MASSIVE thanks to my 5-week crew who held it down with me, Saturday after Saturday:
🍑 +🖤 Author, Professor, and Most Importantly My Fellow Deep Southerner
C. Liegh McInnis
🍑 +🖤 Music Producer Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange
🍑 +🖤 Most Importantly My Absolute Oldest Prince Friend from High School
Ricky Wyatt of Grown Folks Music
MASSIVE thanks to my brother in Prince who joined us for the first 3 episodes:
🍑 +🖤 Arthur Turnbull of The Music Snobs and MadUnreal podcasts
MASSIVE thanks to my brother in Lovesexy who joined us for the last 2 episodes:
🍑 +🖤 Prince Scholar Harold Pride who coined the term, “Band With No Name.”
MASSIVE thanks to my triplet who came with receipts for the last 2 episodes:
🍑 +🖤 Prince Scholar and Professor Kamilah Cummings
MASSIVE thanks for sharing the emotional moment of opening your box set live in front of all of us to remind us how amazing this box set truly is:
🍑 +🖤 Journalist Tonya Pendleton
MASSIVE thanks to our surprise guests for stopping by and joining in on the conversation during select episodes!
🍑 +🖤 Michael Dean of the Podcast on Prince
🍑 +🖤 The Pimp Assistant Wally Safford of The Band With No Name
In the meantime, keep #SOTTSuperDeluxe on rotation. It's going to take a while to marinate on everything!
With these six long-form virtual gatherings, I tried to give the Prince’s Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Box Set the reverence it deserves.
IF you missed any of the gatherings I hope you’ll go back and watch. You can find the video archives in the #SOTTSDC playlist on my YouTube channel.
IF you missed the kick-off celebration on Oct. 10 with Dr. Fink, Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, and many other incredible guests, I would highly recommend that you start there. You can find the videos in the links above or the previous newsletter.
Oct 10 - #SOTTSDC
Oct 24 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: Vault Tracks 1
Oct 31 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: Vault Tracks 2
Nov 07 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: Vault Tracks 3
Nov 14 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: SOTT Live & The Band with No Name Pt 2
Nov 21 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: SOTT Live & The Band with No Name Pt 2
Oct 24 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: SOTT Vault Tracks 1
#SOTTSDC Virtual After Salon: Vault Tracks 1 feat. Author and Professor C. Liegh McInnis, Ivan Orr of Grown Folks Music, Music Producer Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange, Arthur Turnbull of The Music Snobs & MadUnreal podcasts, Ricky Wyatt of Grown Folks Music, and me.
Oct 31 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: SOTT Vault Tracks 2
#SOTTSDC Virtual After Salon: Vault Tracks 2 feat. Author and Professor C. Liegh McInnis, Music Producer Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange, Arthur Turnbull of The Music Snobs & MadUnreal podcasts, Ricky Wyatt of Grown Folks Music, and me.
Nov 07 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: Vault Tracks 3
feat. Author and Professor C. Liegh McInnis, Music Producer Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange, Arthur Turnbull of The Music Snobs and MadUnreal podcasts, Ricky Wyatt of Grown Folks Music, and me.
Nov 14 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: SOTT Live & The Band w/ No Name Pt 1
feat. Professor and Prince scholar Kamilah Cummings, Michael Dean of The Podcast on Prince (during 2nd half), Author and Producer C. Liegh McInnis, Music Producer Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange, Prince Scholar Harold Pride who coined the term "The Band with No Name" (during the 1st half), Ricky Wyatt of Grown Folks Music, and me.
The Band With No Name is Sheila E., Levi Seacer, Jr., Miko Weaver, Boni Boyer, Dr. Fink, Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, Greg Brooks, Wally Safford, and Cat Glover.
Nov 21 - #SOTTSDC After Salon: SOTT Live & The Band w/ No Name Pt 2
feat. Surprise Guest from the Band With No Name Wally Safford, Professor and Prince scholar Kamilah Cummings, Author and Professor C. Liegh McInnis, Music Producer Nicolay of The Foreign Exchange, Journalist Tonya Pendleton, Prince Scholar Harold Pride who coined the term "The Band with No Name," Ricky Wyatt of Grown Folks Music, and me.
This was our fifth and final #SOTTSDC After Salon and it was the longest. However for good reason... MASSIVE thanks to the truly wonderful Wally Safford for dropping by our virtual living room to talk to us during the last hour or so! How fortuitous! The universe heard we were calling his name. We can never repay him for all that he did for Prince and for his stage presence during the Purple Rain, Parade, SOTT & Lovesexy eras.
Make sure to check out Wally Safford’s podcast Wally's All Access on iTunes, Spotify, and other podcast platforms and buy his incredible book: Wally, Where'd You Get Those Glasses?: My Life Through the Lens from Parliament, Pendergrass and Prince.
The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson is not affiliated, associated, or connected with the ‘Peach + Black 2: A Virtual Sign O' The Times Super Deluxe Celebration (#SOTTSDC),’ nor has it endorsed or sponsored the ‘ Peach + Black 2: A Virtual Sign O' The Times Super Deluxe Celebration (#SOTTSDC)! Further, the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson has not licensed any of its intellectual property to the producers, advertisers, or directors of ‘ Peach + Black 2: A Virtual Sign O' The Times Super Deluxe Celebration (#SOTTSDC).’!🍑 +🖤
#Prince4ever
In The Works
For the third time on 5 Jan 2021, I will contribute to the #PrinceTwitterThread series, curated by Edgar Kruize and DJ UMB, for Part 2 (The Vault Tracks) of the Sign O' The Times Super Deluxe Edition. My contribution will be for the songs, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings” & “And That Says What?” Many of my Prince friends are also contributing, but I don’t want to pick favorites. So check out the lineup for yourself and you’ll KNOW if you have attended any of my Prince events.
I hope you'll join us in 2021 for the 3-day #1plus1plus1is3 symposium to celebrate:
💜 40 yrs of Controversy,
💜 30 yrs of Diamonds & Pearls, &
💜 20 yrs of The Rainbow Children.To be in the know about the upcoming #1plus1plus1is3 symposium, sign up for this newsletter or follow me on Twitter!
Thanks for reading! If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can read previous issues in the archive. If you are not a subscriber, please consider becoming one and/or spreading the word with your purple friends.
P.S. My #SOTTSDC After Salon Peeps, C. Liegh McInnis, Kamilah Cummings, & Tonya Pendleton, as well as other purple friends Darling Nisi & Erica Thompson, on Other Podcast Platforms
All of the following podcasts are essential listening! This critical analysis of the perception of Prince is SO important.
Ep03 of USfest: the democracy party!
The Prophetic Pop Life of Prince w Professor C. Liegh McInnis
Muse 2 The Pharaoh Podcast: Planting Flags in the Funk: Prince, Black Exceptionalism and the Myth of the Magical Negro Part 1
Commentary around Prince often notes his “magical” quality as he seemed to be someone who defied definition or even understanding. In this 2-part episode, they thread the connotation of the word “magic” through the trope of the “magical Negro” to weave a nuanced conversation exploring Prince’s embodiment of Black exceptionalism.
Host: Darling Nisi; Guests: Kamilah Cummings, Erica Thompson, and Tonya Pendleton
Muse 2 The Pharaoh Podcast: Planting Flags in the Funk: Prince, Black Exceptionalism and the Myth of the Magical Negro Part 2
This episode concludes a two-part discussion examining three areas: "The Mandingo Factor," "The Cool Factor," and "The Tragic Figure."
Host: Darling Nisi; Guests: Kamilah Cummings, Erica Thompson, and Tonya Pendleton
Happy 50th Birthday to Me!
On November 23, 2020, I celebrated my 50th birthday. I may or may not write a reflection of my past 50 years in an upcoming newsletter. It’s been a pretty wild ride. If I decide not to, suffice it to say I am grateful to be above ground so I can look forward to many more Prince box sets (i.e. Lovesexy/Black Album. Just putting that out there in the universe as much as I can) and unreleased treasures. Prince continues to be the gift that keeps on giving to me!💜🙏