I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon

Celebrated journalist, TV personality, and award-winning author Toure investigates one of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in contemporary American culture: Prince. Celebrated journalist, TV personality, and award-winning author Toure investigates one of the most enigmatic and fascinating figures in contemporary American culture: PRINCE Drawing on new research and enlivened by Toure s unique pop-cultural fluency, "I Would Die 4 U "relies on surprising and in-depth interviews with Prince s band members, former girlfriends, musicologists, and even Bible scholars to deconstruct the artist s life and work. Prince s baby boomer status allowed him to play a wise older brother to the latchkey kids of generation X. Defying traditional categories of race, gender, and sexuality, he nonetheless presents a very traditional conception of religion and God in his music. He was an MTV megastar and a religious evangelist, using images of sex and profanity to invite us into a musical conversation about the healing power of God. By demystifying the man and his music, "I Would Die 4 U "shows us how Prince defined a generation."

“Praise for Who''s Afraid of Post-Blackness? : "Tour”

Praise for Toure: "[An] apostle of the hip-hop aesthetic." Darryl Pinckney, "New York Review of Books" "Toure is one of our nation s most astute and witty observes of the American scene. Not only is he one of the most gifted writers of his generation, but his sharp insight, poetic phrasing, and biting humor and his brilliant command of so many aspects of pop culture make his dazzling performance on page a sheer joy to read. Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University "Toure is an exceptional journalist...He is if you can imagine it Oscar Wilde as a street thug. This is the marvelous tone he's been able to achieve." Tom Wolfe "Toure has the sarcasm, intellect, and dogged nose for narrative that has made him his generation s premiere chronicler of the chaos, ambition, and boundary-crossing that have accompanied African-American culture s rude and ingenious takeover of American Pop, Inc. Greg Tate "From 50 Cent to Dale Earnhardt, Jr., we sent Toure out on stories and he got it, whatever it was, every time. His work is like his subjects: stylish, vivid, and burning with energy. Jann Wenner, founder of "Rolling Stone""

Tour? is a correspondent for MSNBC and a columnist for Time.com. He is the author of "Never Drank the Kool-Aid", a collection of essays, "Soul City", a novel, and the "Portable Promised Land", a collection of short stories. He hosts two shows on Fuse, the "Hiphop Shop "and "On the Record", and remains a contributing editor to "Rolling Stone".

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