November Rain, Purple Reign, and Paisley Park

November Rain, Purple Reign, and Paisley Park Shannon M. Cochran (bio) When I made the decision to visit Minneapolis, I was elated, but also nervous. I wondered, "How will it feel walking through the house where Prince lived and transitioned?" Nonetheless, preparing for the trip was exciting as I had never been to Minnesota before. In fact, I would never thought of going to Minneapolis because it held no significance for me other than it being Prince's home and a town known for great music. Some people personally and professionally close to me were aware that I researched Prince and used him for years as a text in some of my courses focused on race, gender, and representation to help students learn theory. I also like Prince the artist and admired him as a human being. He was a philanthropist who supported many causes that went unpublicized until his death. After I settled on a date to travel, I told my friends and family that I would finally be heading up to Minnesota to experience and assess Prince's home; that I wanted to view his archives in hopes of finding material that I could use to enrich my students' learning experiences in my Gender Studies, African American Studies, Black Popular Culture, and my Blackness and Media courses. I use Prince as a text in my pedagogy in certain classes because of the rich material his art, life, and legacy provide. He is also simply an exciting subject and students love learning theory via his body. I also thought a visit to the museum might spark ideas for future research. Being able to get close and analyze some "artifacts" that were not previously made available to the public would help me better contextualize Prince, the man and workaholic. Thus, in my mind, this trip would be special because Prince was reared in Minneapolis and continued to live there even after he became an international superstar. Thus, Minneapolis remained extremely important to him, occupying a special place in his heart. My father and Uncle Glenn were among those who cheered me on and told me that I was doing something that the average person might not be able to do; walk through Prince's home. I explained to them that it, as a museum, was open to the public. They countered that while that may be true, not everyone can afford the admission, let alone fly in from out of town. My uncle sent [End Page 183] me a cute celebratory Prince meme while telling me how excited and happy he was for me. That meant the world to me. I wanted to go for myself, but for them, and my beloved late Uncle Gary, as well. I grew up on Prince's music and around people who respected his musicianship. So, I booked my flight and finalized my plans. I resolved to get around the area by taxi or a rideshare such as Lyft. As I rode from the airport once my flight landed, I took in the sights. It was a chilly, but not unbearably cold, November day with rain showers in the forecast. Not surprisingly, the metropolitan area is replete with Prince's likeness and other images. First Avenue, where scenes of Purple Rain were filmed, the Capri Theater, where he played his first gig in 1979, and Electric Fetus, where he shopped and released music, are among the city's longstanding cultural institutions. It is rare that such a world-renowned celebrity figure as Prince would not head to New York or Los Angeles or some glamorous location in another country the minute they reached a certain celebrity status. Prince's Paisley Park is not the typical rich person's residence. It is not a mansion per se or a house for that matter. Instead, it is a large building sprawled out over a patch of land. Nevertheless, it is the place where Prince's genius would be on full display. It was his sanctuary—where he worked around the clock—where he lived, ate, and breathed his craft, every waking hour. He created, wrote, and produced some of the most daring and outrageously spectacular pieces

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