Prince Rogers Nelson (Minneapolis, June 7, 1958 – Chanhassen, April 21, 2016) was an American rock, soul, funk and new wave singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He used the stage name Prince, although he was also known under an unpronounceable symbol, which he used between 1993 and 2000. This name change proved controversial and, during that period, many referred to him as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", often abbreviated as "TAFKAP", or simply "The Artist".
During the 80s, he was one of the most important and innovative artists. He is considered the founder of the so-called "Minneapolis sound", a sound that he began to shape on his third album, Dirty Mind and that was substantiated in 1981 on his album Controversy and in the proof of an album clearly influenced by him: the debut album from The Time. Prince reached the peak of his popularity with the album Purple Rain (1984) and the film of the same title.
In the United States alone, he sold about 39,5 million albums4 and nearly 100 million worldwide. The work "Purple Rain" won the Oscar for best soundtrack for Prince himself, who also won a Grammy award for the album. The album included other songs that achieved high popularity, such as "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy", which became international hits and elevated him to superstar level.