The Artist Formerly Known As Prince

What do you do when you’re the biggest pop star alive and your record label can’t keep up? If you’re Prince, you declare war on your own name. In this episode of Tape Spaghetti, Scott and Blake trace how the hitmaker behind Purple Rain became an unpronounceable symbol in 1993. After signing a massive $100 million deal with Warner Bros. Records, Prince chafed at their glacially slow release schedule. Sitting on a mountain of unreleased music, he decided to engage in a legendary act of defiance. He abandoned the name Prince for an unpronounceable glyph—the Love Symbol #2—and wrote “slave” on his cheek at public appearances. The media, baffled, dubbed him “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.” Warner had to send out floppy disks so journalists could even type the symbol. Meanwhile, Prince by carpet-bombed them with albums until he fulfilled his deal, then released Emancipation on his own label. By 2000, he’d reclaimed his name and his masters. Did Prince carve his name in music history by deleting it altogether? This is one of pop’s wildest branding stunts—and one of its boldest victories.