Community shares remembrance of Prince

“Prince was a big part of my parents’ lives and they introduced me to his music and he was one of the first musicians that I listened to with my parents which is really special. I think in general he was a big inspiration to the weirdos to the world and I just think that’s really cool,” Hannah Paavola, senior.

“He was the greatest musician of all time he played every instrument. They say Michael Jackson is but Michael Jackson was a performer and the best performer but as a musician he was the best of all time. And plus he’s from here and he knew how to represent,” said Collin Hammond, sophomore.

“He was such an inspiration to the black community. He came out of a not very diverse place, and he became such an icon around the world. He’s going to be missed,” said Aminah Harut, senior.

“It’s very sad to lose someone who is so inspiring to so many musicians that he was very much an idol and inspiration to a lot of students here and especially in our state of Minnesota. It’s really tragic but his legacy will never die,” said Jessica Torrinson, junior.

“The first CD I ever bought was Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls. I was about 12 or 13 years old,” said Mr. Ryan Hogan, Language Arts.

“It’s sad because we lost such an iconic Minnesotan. I will continue to view him as one of the greatest Minnesotan artists of all time,” said Julia Heath, senior

“When I found out he passed away, it felt like a John Lennon type death. He represents for many people [of my generation] our youth. So him passing away was like a death to my youth,” said Mr. Tim Owen, World Language.

“I don’t think he’s really dead because death is beneath him,” said Sydney Baird-Holmes, senior.

“I watched Prince perform at the SuperBowl in 2007. That performance inspired me to get an iTunes account. My first song on the account was Purple Reign because that is what he performed and I made my iTunes password ‘Prince,’” said Max Stillman, senior.

“[I found out he died] during third block. My heart stopped and I couldn’t concentrate. I texted my mom because she was in love with Prince. My mom was a huge fan of Prince so I grew up listening to him. It was one of those connections I had with my mom. My mom always sang I Would Die 4 U, it’s a special song for me. I can’t believe he died because he was a huge influence for me,” said Armand Martin, sophomore.

“I was a sophomore when Purple Rain came out. He was super countercultural, especially growing up in Utah. Then when I moved to Minnesota, the fact that Prince was from here kind of legitimized the move. I was like, ‘Yeah, I can live there,’” said Mr. Douglas Dart, Language Arts

“I’m affected greatly by the fact that Prince affected so many people in Minneapolis so much. It’s insane to think that one person had that effect on everyone,” said Lola Heimlich, senior.