对许多音乐爱好者来说4月21日是个悲伤的日子。又一位流行音乐巨星普林斯•罗杰斯•内尔森去世，享年57岁，目前死因尚不清楚。
On the streets of Minneapolis, US, Prince’s hometown, thousands of fans in purple outfits lined up to pay tribute to their favorite native son. Tears fell freely, as they blasted his famous songs like Purple Rain.
在普林斯的家乡美国明尼阿波利斯，成百上千名歌迷身穿紫色服装聚集在街头悼念这位他们最爱的明尼阿波利斯之子。他们一边高唱普林斯的代表作《紫雨》等，一边痛哭流涕。
Over the course of more than 35 years, Prince won seven Grammy awards, was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and sold more than 100 million records. He revolutionized the music industry by successfully blurring the boundaries of rock, R&B, funk, pop and soul. But Prince is mostly remembered as an outlier in the music industry.
在35年的音乐生涯中，普林斯获得过7次格莱美奖，还在2004年入选美国摇滚名人堂，唱片总销量超过一亿张。他成功打破了摇滚、蓝调、放克、流行乐和灵魂乐之间的界限，给音乐产业带来了一场大变革。不过更多时候普林斯是以音乐界的异类被人记住的。
Prince’s passion for music was atypical. According to The Wall Street Journal, he could hold marathon recording sessions that lasted 48 hours with good quality control. After finishing multi-hour performances on tour, he sometimes visited local pubs and kept playing until dawn.
普林斯对音乐有着异乎寻常的热爱。《华尔街日报》称他能持续48小时的马拉松式录音，还能保证录音的质量。在结束数小时的巡回演出后，他有时还会去当地的酒吧，一直玩到天亮。
“There’s not a person around who can stay awake as long as I can,” he said in an interview in 1985. “Music is what keeps me awake.”
他曾在1985年的一次采访中说：“我周围没有人能像我一样保持清醒这么长时间。唤醒我的是音乐。”
Prince also taught modern audiences the
普林斯还教现代听众要尊重艺术的自主性。20世纪90年代，为了争夺对自己音乐的主动权，他公开叫板自己的唱片公司——华纳兄弟。
He wrote “slave” across on his cheek and changed his name to an unpronounceable “love symbol”, as a means of protest. “When you stop a man from dreaming, he becomes a slave. That’s where I was,” Prince told Rolling Stone in a 1996 interview. “If you don’t own your masters, your master owns you.” Gradually, fans started to refer to him as the “Artist Formerly Known as Prince”.
为了表示抗议，他在自己的脸颊上写上“奴隶”二字，还把自己的名字改为一个极难发音的“爱的象征”。1996年，在接受《滚石》杂志采访时，他说：“当你剥夺了一个人做梦的权利，那他和奴隶毫无二致。那就是我当时的处境。如果你不当自己的主人，就会成为他人的奴隶。”此后，粉丝们开始称他为“曾经名叫普林斯的歌手”。
In recent years, streaming has become one of the most popular ways of accessing music. But Prince saw this trend as a new way for tech companies to exploit musicians. Prince took legal actions to remove pirated videos of him on YouTube. He refused to put his music on major streaming services like Spotify and iTunes. Prince’s actions have influenced some of today’s highest-selling artists, like Taylor Swift and Adele. In other words, he helped reshape the landscape of modern music.
近年来，流媒体逐渐成为最受欢迎的获取音乐的渠道。而普林斯则把这种趋势视为科技公司剥削音乐人的新手段。他采取法律手段，清除了油管上自己的盗版视频。他拒绝将自己的音乐放在诸如Spotify和iTunes这样的大型流媒体服务器上。普林斯的行为影响了一批现在高销量的歌手，比如泰勒•斯威夫特和阿黛尔。换言之，他为重塑现代音乐界的格局做出了贡献。
Prince’s sudden death is a great loss in the world of music. On social media, dozens of US celebrities, including Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Justin Timberlake and Madonna, expressed their condolences. Even US President Barack Obama praised Prince for his great contributions to music.
普林斯的意外离世是全球音乐界的重大损失。凯蒂•佩里、The Weeknd、贾斯汀•汀布莱克、麦当娜等许多美国明星在社交媒体上悼念他。就连美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马也高度评价了普林斯对音乐界做出的杰出贡献。
“Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent,” Obama said in a statement. “‘A strong spirit transcends rules,’ Prince once said – and nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative.”
奥巴马发表悼文说：“很少有歌手能对流行音乐的唱法和发展轨迹产生如此重大的影响，也鲜少有人有此才华能感动这么多听众。普林斯曾说过‘坚韧的意志超越一切规则的束缚’，没有人的精神比他更强大、更勇敢、更富创意。”
