Chapter 18. Purple Rain: The Rogue

There are songs you hear. There are songs you remember. And then there are songs that feel like they were carved into the sky. “Purple Rain” belongs in that rarest of places. If you ask us, it sits comfortably among the greatest songs ever written alongside those few timeless pieces that somehow become bigger than music itself. And at the centre of it all stood Prince: mysterious, flamboyant, fearless, ridiculously talented… and, without a doubt, ROGUE.

Prince wasn’t simply a musician. He was a walking contradiction. Purple, lace, guitars, heels, soul, funk, rock, spirituality, sexuality he took every box people tried to put him in and set fire to the box. He played with identity, challenged expectations and refused to become what the music industry thought a superstar should be. He even changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol during his battle with Warner Bros., famously appearing with the word “slave” written on his cheek as he fought for control over his music and artistic freedom.

And then there was the music. Prince was almost frighteningly productive. His legendary vault contained an enormous amount of unreleased material, with reports of recordings spanning decades. Some estimates have suggested there was enough material to keep releasing music long after his death. The man didn’t just make music he seemed to manufacture it faster than the world could consume it.

Here’s another little piece of Prince madness: he was a multi-instrumentalist who could play practically everything. He played every instrument on his debut album, and his obsession with creating never really stopped. He could record at an astonishing pace, sometimes producing multiple songs in a day.

But perhaps the most interesting part of Prince’s story isn’t what he did on stage. It’s what he did when nobody was watching.

Prince was famously private about his giving. Much of his philanthropy only became known after his death. He quietly supported people and causes without always wanting his name attached to them. He anonymously donated money to help save a historic library serving the African-American community, helped pay the medical bills of drummer Clyde Stubblefield, supported clean-energy projects and helped create YesWeCode, an initiative aimed at opening pathways into technology for people from underrepresented communities.

That is the strange beauty of Prince.

The world saw the purple suits.
The world saw the heels.
The world saw the outrageous performances.
The world saw the symbol.
The world saw the rebel.

But behind the rebellion was generosity. Behind the ego was an artist obsessed with giving people opportunities. Behind the mystery was someone quietly helping others without needing applause.

And maybe that’s exactly what makes someone a rogue.

A rogue doesn’t necessarily mean evil. Sometimes it means refusing to follow the road everyone else is walking down. Sometimes it means being uncomfortable, unpredictable, impossible to categorise. Sometimes it means looking at the rules and asking, “Who made these?”

Prince did exactly that.

And then, decades after first creating “Purple Rain”, he stood on the world’s biggest stages and performed it while actual rain poured from the sky. At the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show, Prince reportedly even asked for the rain to be made harder. Because apparently ordinary rain wasn’t dramatic enough for Prince.

Purple Rain wasn’t just a song. It was a warning.

A warning that you could be different.
That you could be strange.
That you could be misunderstood.
That you could reject the mould.
That you could create your own rules.

Prince didn’t spend his life trying to fit in.

He spent it becoming impossible to replace.

And that’s what being a Rogue is about.

Not being perfect.
Not being innocent.
Not being what everyone expects.

Being unapologetically yourself.

So turn up the music. Pick up the guitar. Wear the purple. Break a few expectations.

And if Prince taught us anything, it’s this:

Don’t ask permission to be legendary.

Be a Rogue.

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Because sometimes the people who refuse to follow the rules are the ones who leave the biggest mark.