Far too often 1981’s Controversy is labeled as an in-between album, a transitional phase between the rude boy sound and image as presented in the ‘Dirty Mind’ era and the full-blown crossover pop superstar that had emerged by the time the 1999 album rolled around. The significance of the Controversy era has always been hiding in plain sight though. In the lyrics Prince presented those that were willing to look beyond the obvious with themes and ideas that would be dominant in his career for years to come. “Reproduction of a new breed, leaders, stand up, organize,” Prince exclaims in ‘Sexuality’ and two decades later he would repeat the exact same statement in The Rainbow Children. This presentation will argue that all three albums that are celebrated during the #1plus1plus1is3 symposium are all part of the very same narrative that started in the Controversy era. “New age revelation, I think we got a case!

Edgar Kruize is a freelance author, journalist and content creator based in the Netherlands. He is co-owner of communications agency buro33. He is specialized in music in general and specifically the entertainment industry. Kruize has been working for various (trade) magazines, concert and tour promoters, festival organizers and record companies for over two decades. He has written nine books on various musical subjects and is co-owner and publisher at Permafrost Publishers.

All it took was a cough in the Raspberry Beret video to have the young Edgar notice the artist he’d later found out to be Prince. Prince’s impressive body of work has been an inspiration in life and work. Kruize is the author of the book Prince: The Dutch Experience (2017), in which all of Prince’s steps in the Netherlands are retraced. Also, he co-hosts the Dutch Prince-blog PurplePicks.net, wrote the liner notes for the 2019 Sign “O” The Times deluxe DVD/Blu-ray set (along with appearing in the documentary about the making of that movie), and (co)hosted multiple Prince-themed lectures and live interviews. He is also the co-host of the #PrinceTwitterThread series.