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In pics: Legendary Prince, master of rock, soul, pop and funk, dies at 57

Prince died at his secluded comp died at his secluded compound in Minnesota, aged 57 on Thursday, April 21.

By :  dr swati srivastava
Update: 2016-04-22 07:15 GMT
Prince, whose pioneering brand of danceable funk and virtuoso talents made him one of the most influential figures in music, died at his secluded compound in Minnesota, aged 57 on Thursday, April 21.
\"Wait a few days before you waste any prayers,\" he reportedly told the roughly 200 in attendance.
The musician invited fans via Twitter Saturday to a \"dance party\" at Paisley Park, where he kept his back recordings in vaults, in a bid to prove his health problems were behind him, Minnesota's Star Tribune newspaper reported.
He was in the middle of a pared-back 'Piano and a Microphone' tour when he began experiencing health problems.
Named after his jazz pianist and songwriter father's stage name, the pop icon was born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, although his family had its roots in Louisiana. The famously private musician revealed in rare interviews that he suffered from epilepsy as a child but told his mother, jazz singer Mattie Della, that he had been cured by divine intervention.
He changed his name in the 1990s to an unpronounceable \"love symbol\" and wrote \"slave\" on his cheek to protest contractual conditions by his label Warner Brothers. He was prolific in his output, recently releasing albums through streaming site Tidal, and had taken to scheduling shows at the last minute to avoid scalpers.
Prince, whose huge catalogue of hits includes 'Purple Rain', '1999', 'Cream' and 'Kiss', lived on the outskirts of Minneapolis, where he often kept to himself, although he was known to invite people over at a moment's notice.
Actor Will Smith was among dozens of Hollywood stars who took to social media within an hour of the news breaking, saying he had spoken to Prince the night before and was shocked at the loss of the \"beautiful poet\" and \"true inspiration.\"
U2's Bono posted a photo of the lyrics of Prince song 'The Cross', which read in part: \"Soon all of our problems/Will be taken by the cross.\" \"I never met Mozart, I never met Duke Ellington or Charlie Parker I never met Elvis But I met Prince,\" Bono said in a tweet.
\"He changed the world!! A true visionary. What a loss. I'm devastated,\" Madonna, a fellow 1980s icon who recorded with and briefly dated Prince, wrote on Instagram. Rolling Stones frontman Jagger tweeted that Prince's \"talent was limitless,\" describing him as \"one of the most unique and talented artists of the last 30 years.\"
The singer became an international sensation in the 1980s, when he popularized the Minneapolis sound, bringing rock and R&B into a readily danceable funk mix. 'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin led an outpouring of tributes from the entertainment industry, describing Prince as \"an original and a one of a kind\" and insisting his music would live on.
A musical prodigy from a broken home, his innovative music spanned rock, funk and jazz. Prince sold more than 100 million records during his career.
The news prompted a flood of tributes from the worlds of entertainment and politics, from Barack Obama to Madonna and Mick Jagger, as well as ordinary fans, and even a tweet from NASA of a purple nebula, in Prince's signature color.
His sudden death came just a week after the enigmatic Grammy and Oscar winner, acclaimed for his guitar skills and soaring falsetto, was taken to a hospital with a flu-like illness that he later made light of.
Prince died at his secluded comp died at his secluded compound in Minnesota, aged 57 on Thursday, April 21.

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