Thread by @darlingnisi

Okay we're on our way for VIP Day 3 of #Celebration2023 via Uber this time!Reupped on tissues and only temporarily energized after about 3 hours of sleep! 😂

Day 1 ICYMI

https://twitter.com/darlingnisi/status/1666801917035524096?t=3tuA9po7LGhmBO7gMaJBxA&s=19

Day 2 ICYMI

https://twitter.com/darlingnisi/status/1667261385837891604?t=3tuA9po7LGhmBO7gMaJBxA&s=19

Best of luck to folks on the Fan Panel today! I know y'all are going through it right now! @drfunkenberry @polishedsolid @CaseyRain @kimcamilia @Pr1nce365

Out for lunch! Updates so far...(btw they're playing boyfriend in the food tent)! 🥰

Saw the second half of this concert with these songs. Shout out to Kathy Jensen from the Hornheadz especially as she soloed whole Mayte danced to And God Created Woman a nice touch to spotlight the ladies.

Sidenote, can we get the Hornheads here next year as a panel? We've had the NPG Hornz before...👀

After that was the Fan Panel. Moderated by Reg Chapman they introduced themselves and their platforms.

Violet Reality - YouTube interviews/Prince News
De Angela - Symposia "What Did Prince do this week" YouTube
Prince 365 - Facebook/Clubhouse/Parties
Funkenbery- News/Interviews/Kinda official but also unofficial marketing for P

Shout out to @drfunkenberry for name checking other folks in the Prince creator space as well as PRN Alumni folks who support him. 💜

I'm going to rock skip their talk today mostly because of you follow me you know what these folks do for sure, but some things of note.

Shout out to @CaseyRain for being vulnerable on stage and sharing his experience losing his mom to Cancer when he was 5. His family rallied around them and he was close to one cousin in particular. Casey always admired the holographic D&P album but couldn't find a copy.

His cousin Diamond had one and offered it to him. He said do you know why I'm giving you this... your mom gave it to me as a gift a month before she passed. 💜

Important point that @drfunkenberry made, folks get spun up and angry a lot over noise in the fandom. He mentioned folks should be mindful of what you consume and how it impacts you. "Now you've read something on the Internet that made you upset in YOUR own house."

As P said, "you can get on the internet, but don't let it get on you."

Another thing @drfunkenberry said that teared up several folks around me. "It's like now we're all the kids in the 7 music video and our music director is missing." Poignant thought. The emotion of that was reinforced walking through the NPG music club where 7 was playing. 😥

There's also a documentary coming out on reelz tomorrow about Prince's philanthropy. @polishedsolid was featured in it!

That was mostly it!

I have to say, not sure about the format of this panel. These folks all have experience interviewing alumni themselves. Would love to see them used that way instead of being interviewed themselves if they can be integrated.

Fams are going to go deep with questions that folks outside our bubble won't know to ask, and the audience that comes to celebration is here to more than the standard stuff, you know?

Oh also @MDean got a shout out along with Purple Underground, @PurplePlayg (who brought some of their teen students 🥹), @TheOneYT8 and others! 💜

Heading back in for the rest! Talk to you soon!

Okay just left notes for the rest of the day...

They have established a Prince Legacy Award and Rosie Gaines is the first recipient! They did a montage of her and we got audio of her acceptance speech! She mentioned she was an Alto before joining the band and P pushed her into her Soprano range.

She was very gracious and very thankful for everyone who has ever supported her. And of course very thankful for the role Prince played in her life.

They also brought out her band mates (minus Tommy and Michael B) and Paisley staff to honor her.

Levi - Talking to P, P said we need a replacement for Boni Boyer (she'd left the band and later passed away in 1996) RIP

Levi said he knew someone and brought Rosie in. He told the story of how P wasn't interested in meeting her until hearing her voice. He had written a couple of songs that he wanted her to record. Levi and Rosie knocked it out in an hour and brought Prince the tape.

Prince listened to it and was impressed. "That voice is in MY studio right now?!"

Levi then began to cry "there's so much history...my friend Rosie...he trusted me..." 😢

Prince said Rosie Gaines was the next Aretha Franklin.

Toya Gaines, Rosie's daughter, accepted the award. The first thing she did was address Levi and thanked him for changing her mother's life and their family's life. She also joked that Rosie could have replaced him as she is also a multi-instrumentalist.

Toya was around Paisley as well at age 10 while her mom was working there. Londell invited her to join the next panel. The 7 panel.

7 panel : Tony M, Levi Seacer, Morris Hayes, Damon Dickson, Michael Koppelman, Toya Gaines

Started with Toya, how did growing up around Paisley Park impact you?

A: It felt like an amusement park and watching the band's work ethic made her have a strong sense of discipline in knowing what it takes to achieve excellence.

Why the number seven is important and what it means...

Levi : Prince is a spiritual person. Even when he didn't talk about God, His presence is in the music. 7 means completeness.

Morris : Prince showed up and thanked him for the times they talked about religion around the time of his conversion. Prince told him "we're going to get you baptized"

Morris was like "I already got baptized and the first one took". 😂

Michael Koppelman noted they didn't really talk like that but also passively shouted out @Miss_EThompson and mentioned that a woman was writing a book about Prince's spirituality. 💜

Toya said she asked her mom Rosie Gaines about Prince's attachment to the number seven and Rosie also said it was about completion but also elevation.

Q: What's a special moment that you don't mind sharing?

Koppelman: "Prince wasn't that nice to me". He would ride the engineers hard. But one time he got in a bike accident and messed his face up and Prince was kind to him about it.

Damon Dickson: Prince called him to talk about religion and chastised him for not knowing God's name (Jehovah). He also noted that Prince went to his wedding.

Morris: there are five versions of Prince Purple Rain, Tough, Fun, Sad, Neverland.... Looking out for people without making a big deal. When they would visit cities where someone was from, he would cut a large check to the schools they went to growing up.

He also once again noted that Prince gave money to Spike Lee to finish up the Malcolm X movie... He learned about that not from Prince but from Spike.

Levi told the story about how Andre Cymone ended up with the Dance Electric. I have to check around to see how well known it is because he did ask us not to gossip about it but I'll just say. P can be beefing with folks, but if they really need something he will help.

Tony M : reiterated that P really supported him in his hip hop journey. He also said he'd be in the room when Prince would get calls from the record company. He'd get up to leave to give him privacy and Prince would ask him to stay so he could learn how to negotiate for himself.

Toya said P would call the house :
P: "Rosie"
Toya (age 14) : Yeah
P: I need you to come to the studio. You coming right now?
Toya: Yeah I'll be there
P: Toya?! Go get ya mama.

After that Prince would call and let the phone ring once as an indicator for Rosie to call him back, lol.

Q: Advice for current artists that you think Prince would give :

Tony M : Own your masters
Damon : hone your craft and your work ethic
Morris: Be gracious with what you know to help others

Levi : P was the ultimate leader. There's a saying "take a direction and if nobody is following you you're just taking a walk." Deeper part of P's music is spiritual and inspires you to get up and do something. Don't get caught up in the visual, LISTEN to unlock your inspiration.

Michael K: in the midst of everything be true to yourself.

Toya: be innovators not emulators. "Leave the classics where they are and make some"

What are you doing to further Prince's legacy?

Tony M : keeping the music alive and bringing it to more people. He also hopes to help curate music they were there for that is authentic to who Prince was as they were in the room creating alongside him.

Morris: Have to involve young people. Prince was the teacher they learned from, and they want to impart wisdom they learned unto others as well. Masterclasses.

Damon: Work with talented groups like @nunnabove. "When I saw them last night I saw what the future of Prince's legacy looks like...I hold how Prince coached us to make us excellent and I want to do that for others"

Levi: When we love each other everything isn't always warm and fuzzy. Honesty is also important. Musicians ask Levi's opinion of their musicianship. He would say "Prince never would have picked you" and wait for a response

"champions wouldn't have their feelings hurt by something like that... They would ask what they need to do to become better"

Toya: Keep the music going and growing.

End 7 Panel

Excellent panel. The mark that Prince left on these folks... He truly does live on through them. 💜

Next up Sounds of Blackness! I've always known who they were but I didn't realize how many of their songs I knew! Got my life to I Believe, Optimistic, and Hold on Change is Coming (Co written by Levi Seacer btw) especially.

Stoklely next! He did several of his own songs, a Prince set, and of course touched Mint Condition as well! Amazing to hear You Send Me Swingin' and Pretty Brown Eyes, Live!

You can absolutely see that purple influence. His whole band MOVES! And his knees are INTACT okay?!?

Getting some food and a good nap since we don't have to be back until 11:00 p.m. tonight. It was a solid day today.

I have to say though, It is tricky to have musical guests that are not Prince bands at things like this. It reminds me of when he would have people open for him or be at his after shows because unless you're tapped into the genres he was into these people seem random.

I also kind of wish they were introduced with how they are tied to Prince. Again Sounds of Blackness supported him during his Minneapolis stop of the Lovesexy Tour and Stokely worked on Call My Name among other things.

I grew up listening to Sounds of Blackness and Mint Condition so these folks mean something to me. Heard some gripes about this last night as well for the same reason, I'm kind of like are you here for good music or only Prince because....

Many of the songs we heard last night I have heard Prince cover, have heard before his shows, or have heard interpolations of in his music.

He's a musicologist, It's probably why I enjoy his music so much because I can hear it. 💜

And again so much emotion up on stage today several people teared up...Stoklely did as well. He couldn't finish his thought from being overwhelmed... Took a minute to collect himself and just started the final song instead.

So much love for that man. 💜