2020-2021 books about prince

“Purple Rain” defined an era.  

The books on the first list I’ll present are all published in the years 2020 (because that's the year the pandemic was all we remember) and 2021.  Years after the music giant made his transition April 21, 2016 brought a myriad of creative literary insights.  The author Toure has put pen to paper for the second time to reveal his unique perspective of “the artist formerly known as” Prince.  Lastly the list contains 1 title outside of the year 2020-2021 because what list would be complete without at least one title referencing “Purple Rain.”

1. Prince: A Portrait of the Artist Sexton, Paul
   
2. Nothing Compares 2 U: An Oral History of Prince Touré ; Melvoin, Susannah
   
3. Prince and the Parade and Sign O' the Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985 and 1986 Tudahl, Duane ; John, Elton
   
4. Prince Sanchez Vegara, Maria Isabel ; Cachetejack
   
5. Fame: Prince Frizell, Michael ; Lovera, Ernesto
   
6. This Thing Called Life: Prince's Odyssey, on and Off the Record Karlen, Neal
   
7. Biographic Prince Flavell, Liz
   
8. Prince FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Purple Reign Lizie, Arthur
   Continued Thanks: True Stories of How Prince Changed People's Lives
   
9. Hart, Marco 't ; Adonis, Patia
   
10. Where's Prince?: Search for Prince in 1999, Purple Rain, Paisley Park and More
    
11. Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
    

BOOKS BY AND ABOUT PRINCE BY BLACK AUTHORS

1. The Beautiful Ones
   
2. Wax Poetics Issue 50 (Paperback) includes Questlove's commentary "33 Reasons Why Prince Is Hip-Hop."
   
3. I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon
   
4. Diamonds and Curlz
   
5. Wally, Where’d You Put  Those Glasses Wally Safford
   
6. My Life in the Purple KingdomBrownmark
   
7. I Wonder U: How Prince Went Beyond Race and Back Nama, Adilifu
   

I remember sneaking off to see the movie.  I knew if I mentioned where i was going to my parents directly, they’d have plenty to say about it, so instead I think I said I was going to one of my friends’ houses.  Thankfully they didn’t check because I’d completely forgotten the world while watching it.  Afterward I was in a daze and then realized very vividly why my parents would have been livid if they knew where I was.  I felt that I’d come of age after watching it.  I somehow felt older, but not so much wise, but like I’d experienced something outside of my age group.

I was happy to learn that Prince was in the process of writing a memoir to be published by Penguin Random House before his transition.  The name he chose was “The Beautiful Ones.”
He also interviewed and selected journalist Dan Piepenbring.  The two worked together for 3 months and Prince had already wrote about 50 pages himself.  Piepenbring stated in “Prince Wanted To 'Break The Mold Of The Memoir,' ...” was meant to address the music industry and injustices of racism

Wally Safford receiving the only raffle prize of the evening which of course "just happened" to be PURPLE packaging.

Prince former bodyguard, Wally Safford interviewed by Margena Christian at Afriware Books Kwanzaa even 2019.

Morris. Day's brother (David Day) and sister were surprise guests at Afriware Kwanzaa event with Wally Safford and Dr. Margena Christian.

Thankfully, the part Prince wrote himself was reproduced in full so adoring fans will get what they were clamouring for, Prince unedited.

In a 2014 interview with Arsenio Hall, Prince answered the question,, “What song turns you on no matter how many times you do it?”  Prince said that he usually just responds with “the next one” but that he really liked one he already wrote called, “Breakdown.”  It is beautiful!!!  Listen on youtube here. 

​I found it interesting to note that of all the books written in 2020-2021, only 1 was published that was written by a black person.  Because of this, I’ve added a list of books about Prince written by Black authors.

​The closest I ever got to Prince was an epic Kwanzaa event my bookstore, Afriware Books, Co hosted in 2019.  We had a crew of volunteers, and Prince’s former bodyguard Wally Safford gave the  Keynote address.  Dr. Margena Christian interviewed him and co-authored his new book, “Wally Where’d You Get Those Glasses” 

He explained that his book was named after the song Prince wrote for him by the same name. Here’s the Youtube video    https://youtu.be/bnjPXiOtW-I   of the son. Safford was a delight to listen to.  He has endless stories and anecdotal wise sayings.  His 6th and seventh senses are what he said bonded him closely with Prince.  He’d have a premonition about scenes that played out in actually life.  Safford writes that Jerome told him years after Prince dismissed him from the group that he was with Prince in his prime and that he was the closest person to Prince.

Final Thoughts

​As always, I appreciate that you have read through this blog post.  I hope that you’ve become curious to read more books about the artist known forever as Prince.  We ask that you consider purchasing your books from our Black owned bookstore, Afriware Books, Co.  If there is a title you’d like to purchase that is not mentioned here, or could not be found on the website, feel free to email us at:  afriwarebooks@afriwarebooks.com

Blog Notes

Youtube interview Author Touré Discusses Revealing New Book About Prince
https://youtu.be/f3y_AOqnm8w

Youtube documentary, “Prince: Last Year of a Legend - full version”
https://youtu.be/7dIYOtQVa8k
Youtube interview with Wally safford https://youtu.be/cve4AzOKKCo