Prince fought a record label by becoming a symbol, built a career on provocation, and later knocked on doors to share his faith. This deep dive explores how a turbulent childhood in Minneapolis, a seizure disorder, and a teenage life spent in a neighbor’s basement drove his lifelong quest for absolute independence.

We cover his signing with Warner Bros. and full creative control at 19, being booed off stage opening for the Rolling Stones, and his blurring of race and gender norms. We also explore the 1993 name change to the love symbol, the fight over master recordings, the loss of his infant son, his awakening as a Jehovah’s Witness, his death in 2016, and the vault of unreleased music at Paisley Park.

• How basketball, ballet and music became tools of control
• Playing every instrument and earning creative control
• Turning rejection into defiance after the Rolling Stones show
• The love symbol, the word slave and the fight for master tapes
• Faith, contradiction and a legacy still locked in the vault