"We've all been at war since 1914. The world's just been chaotic. It's caused injury to man for a long time now. The only thing that's gonna get us out of this mess is coming back to God. I like to try to keep focus there. Man hasn't realy done too well, getting us out of this predicament, so I think sooner or later we're gonna all have to turn back to God. "

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to John L. Nelson and Matti Shaw. Both of his parents were musicians -- John Nelson was a pianist and songwriter, and Matti Shaw was a singer. Prince was named after his father, whose stage name was Prince Rogers.

Prince's parents separated when he was very young. He had a troubled relationship with his stepfather, which caused him to run away from home. He lived with his father for a short period, who bought Prince his first guitar. He was soon taken in by a neighborhood family, the Andersons, becoming a friend of their son Andre Anderson. In junior high school, Prince and Anderson joined Prince's cousin Charles Smith in a band called Grand Central. By high school he was creating his own music, which was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Miles Davis and others.

Prince's career began in the late 70's with the jazz band "The Prince Rogers Trio." In 1976, he worked with Chris Moon, a demo producer in Minneapolis. The demo proved successful, and Moon introduced him to several contract labels, promoted as the star of the future. Warner Bros. soon offered him a long-term contract. His first album was released in 1978, titled For You, written primarily by Prince. His second album was released in 1980, entitled Dirty Mind. The album was known for its sexual explicit lyrics, such as in the songs "Head" and "Sister."

The album 1999 was released in 1982, and became Prince's breakthrough release. It sold three million copies internationally. The album went top ten on the billboard Hot 100, and was placed number six in Village Voice's annual Pazz and Jop critics poll. The release of Purple Rain along with the film, established Prince among the top rank of popular musicians of the 1980s. "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" were two singles from the album that became smash hits globally. However, Purple Rain is Prince's only cinematic success.

In 1987 Prince released Sign 'O' The Times, which became one of the top 100 greatest albums of all time. In 1987 he also released The Black Album and Lovesexy in 1988. Then in 1989, Prince recorded the soundtrack for the movie Batman, which pulled him back up to the top of U.S. album charts. Most popular was "Batdance," a worldwide hit.

The album Diamonds and Pearls came out in 1991, giving Prince his fifth US number one single with the song "Cream." Diamonds and Pearls also marked the debut of Prince's new band, the New Power Generation (NPG).

Prince's 12th album was released in 1993, titled The Love Symbol Album. He changed his stage name into a unpronounceable symbol during this time. Since the symbol was unpronounceable, he became known as "The artist formerly known as Prince." In 2000, he became known as Prince again.

From 2001 to 2003, Prince released two jazz-influenced albums, which has given him the chance to connect differently with his fans: through NPG Music Club, at pre-concert sound checks, and at yearly "celebrations" at Paisley Park. He sends invites for tours of his studio, interviews, and discussions. Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

In April 2004, Prince released Musicology, a success compounded by a major concert tour. That year, Pollstar named Prince the top music concert draw in the USA. In March 2006, Prince released his album 3121. This was folloed in August 2006 by Ultimate, a double disc set containing one CD of previous hits and another of extended versions and mixes of material that was previously available only on vinyl record B-sides.

In October 2008, Prince released Indigo Nights, a collection of songs performed live at aftershows in the IndigO2 nightclub in London, England. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Prince announced his intention to release three albums in 2009: LOTUSFLOW3R, MPLSOUND, and an album by a new protege, Bria Valente, called Elixir. At the beginning of 2009 Prince launched a new website, Lotusflow3r, which includes streaming audio of some recent recordings.