Prince

 

Prince revolutionised the perception of black music in the 1980's with huge worldwide hits such as Kiss, 1999, Little Red Corvette etc but he really became a global sensation after the release of the semi autobiographical film "Purple Rain" and also the album and song of the same name. 

"Prince remains one of most ambitious and prolific songwriters of his generation. He tested the boundaries of taste and decency with explicit sexual lyrics and stage shows during his early career and in the 1990s fought for ownership of his name and control of his music, played out in a public battle with his former label, Warners. Still in demand as one of the most flamboyant live performers around, Prince remains a controversial and elusive creative force - as much a mystery as ever." - taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0177bjb (Black Music Legends of the 1980's).

I chose Prince because although he is still an active artist he has become synonymous with the 1980's as this was his break out and most controversial period. In the 1980's the two biggest musical acts on the planet at that time were Michael Jackson and Prince, they were both black and both offered something very different. Where as Michael Jackson offered a radio friendly sound, Prince really pushed the envelope with his sexually suggestive songs such as "Head", "Little Red Courvette" and others.

"Prince writes, produces, and plays his own music; Michael Jackson is a song and dance man. Prince is among our most prolific artists, responsible for a ridiculous amount of original music which has constantly kept his devoted fans on their toes; Jackson is a recluse who keeps his delusional army of sycophants waiting with bated breath for increasingly meager output." - http://www.cinemablend.com/music/Great-Debate-Michael-Jackson-Versus-Prince-5562.html 

It was very hard for to try and find something to represent the present day after focusing on an artist of the calibre of Prince. I chose Chris Brown because he is a hugely successful modern day artist but many of his music video themes and songs have been influenced through people such as Michael Jackson and Prince with modern day twist. Music video's such as "Turn up the music" will definitely represent the contemporary but they will also show the impact of what the 1980's had on this musical generation especially amongst black music and mainly RnB. Being a successful black RnB artist in the present time is always going to draw inevitable comparisons with artists such as Michael Jackson, especially with artists such as Chris Brown and Usher. Sometimes I feel asthough this comparison is unfair becasue of how ground breaking Michael Jackson was as a perfomer. You rarely find someone being compared to Prince though.

Videos like the above one can be seen to be timeless as they are not set in the present so they dont appear to become outdated. This is made ever easier in the present with special effects.