Prince's pop life, song by song, in chronological order.
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The Belle of St. Mark
While “Glamorous” sounded tailor-made for Sheila’s particular talents (even if it wasn’t), “Belle” is well-crafted but faceless, embodying the essentialist cynicism of the publishing imprint Prince used for his female side projects: “Girlsongs.”
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Ronnie, Talk to Russia
It’s difficult to determine just how seriously “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” was meant to be taken.
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Sexuality
Like Prince’s earlier stabs at social commentary, “Sexuality” offers a kind of generalized, non-denominational liberation through hedonism and individual self-expression.
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Controversy, Part 3: Do I Believe in God? Do I Believe in Me?
More even than race and sexuality, the distinction between “God” and “me”–the sacred and the secular, the spirit and the flesh, etc.–was the prevailing theme of Prince’s career.