Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
Legendary singer, songwriter, and artist Prince Rogers Nelson, popularly known by his mononym Prince, has died at 57. The Associated Press confirmed that the singer passed away in Minnesota on Thursday morning.
“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57,” his publicist Yvette Noel-Schure said in an official statement. “There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time,” Noel-Schure concluded.
According to CNN, an investigation is currently underway into the artist’s death. Authorities said that they will not reveal the identity of the deceased individual on Prince’s property until the first of kin has been notified.
In TMZ‘s report, Prince needed medical attention on April 15, which resulted in his private jet having to make an emergency landing in Illinois.
Friends and fans have already taken to social media to express their grief.
Born on June 7, 1958 to Mattie Della (Shaw) and John Lewis Nelson, Prince, along with his sister, Tika Evene, took an early interest in making music. In the decades that followed, Prince would leave an indelible mark in the halls of history as an influential and innovative force.
Among his numerous industry successes, Prince sold over 100 million records globally, won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for Purple Rain; and a total of seven Grammy Awards.
Beyond his artistry, Prince pushed the boundaries of gender expression with his androgynous take on male sexuality. In his Vogue magazine essay “The Best Gender-Bender Rock Stars of All Time,” Edward Barsamian wrote that Prince was “promoting a new archetype of masculinity wrapped in a shiny container.”
A true iconoclast, Prince refused to conform to mainstream musical norms, and was successful to the end on his own terms. As he said in a rare 2004 interview with Rolling Stone, “despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people.”