Music legend Prince passed away today at his home in suburban Minneapolis, the Associated Press has confirmed.
The singer was hospitalized last week after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, IL; he had been fighting the flu for several weeks, as TMZ reported on April 15. The Carver County Sheriff's department of Chanhassen, MN, arrived at at the singer's Paisley Park studio at 9:43 a.m this morning, TMZ reports. AP confirmed that Prince had passed away at 12 p.m. EST.
Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958. He began making music in the mid-'70s, and went on to top the charts with tracks like "Little Red Corvette," "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "Purple Rain," "Kiss," and countless others.
In 1993, Prince changed his stage name to a combination of the symbols for male and female, which would come to be known as "The Love Symbol." Following that shift, he came to be known as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." Later, he would change it back again and become "The Artist Formerly Known as 'The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.'"
Throughout his career, Prince toured extensively and to great acclaim. His performance at the 2007 Super Bowl has been deemed the greatest halftime show ever by Billboard. His prowess as a live performer was matched only by his instrumental abilities: He has been called one of the most preternaturally gifted artists of all time by Rolling Stone.
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