Featured in Prince: The Final Secret Documentary
Featured in Prince: The Final Secret Documentary
De Angela is featured in a documentary, Prince: The Final Secret, for the first time ever, alongside one of her musical/bass heroes, Levi Seacer, Jr., as well as Michael Bland, David Z., and several others. The documentary premiered on Reelz on Sunday, June 11, 2023, at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT. You can watch it on Peacock.
This documentary is the first to focus on Prince’s philanthropy. Prince was a generous giver, and his philanthropic side should be talked about more. This documentary only touches the tip of the iceberg, and we’ll probably never know the depths, as more often than not Prince gave, anonymously. Many thanks to Randy Martin, the director, and David Cook, the writer for a wonderful documentary and experience!
Spoke at Prince Celebration 2023 @ Paisley Park!
Spoke at Prince Celebration 2023 @ Paisley Park!
De Angela is endlessly grateful for the honor and privilege to be on Prince’s stage for #PrinceCelebration2023 #Celebration2023 on Saturday, June 10, 2023 in the same sacred space where the greatest concert film of ALL TIME (Sign O’ The Times live) and even Graffiti Bridge were filmed, where Prince rehearsed tirelessly for a gazillion hours and performed countless performances upon performances! It’s a memory that she will carry with her forever, forever ever… Forever, ever, ever…
Thank you to Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer for the invitation to speak on the Fam panel, all the staff/crew of Paisley Park particularly Mark Webster for all of his hard work and extraordinary efforts to make the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway and other historic purple results a reality, her fellow panelists Dr. Funkenberry Rodney L Fitzgerald Casey Rain Kim Camilia, and Reg Chapman of WCCO | CBS Minnesota for the wonderful moderation, everybody who cheered her on when she got on Prince’s stage, and every single person who continued to give her words of encouragement before and after.
Prince left all of us Paisley Park 2 commune and celebrate his life & legacy! It is up to ALL of us to keep his name on the lips of the children so it can remain open for generations to come! It’s gonna take a village!
Interviewed on WURD Radio
Interviewed on WURD Radio Philly
De Angela was interviewed by Tonya Pendleton on the radio show “Reality Check” on WURD Radio in Philly!
Quoted in Marketplace Article
De Angela quoted in an article on marketplace.org about Prince
De Angela was quoted in the article, “30 years ago, Prince changed the way artists negotiate with the music industry,” by Stephanie Hughes on June 7, 2023, at marketplace.org. She was featured alongside Anil Dash and writer Dan Piepenbring, who collaborated with Prince on his posthumous memoir The Beautiful Ones.
Spoke at All 7 Years: The Past, Present, and Future of Prince Studies @ UROC!
Spoke at All 7 Years: The Past, Present, and Future of Prince Studies @ UROC!
De Angela spoke at All 7 Years: The Past, Present, and Future of Prince Studies at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), on Prince’s birthday, June 7, 2023, at 1-2:30pm CT, alongside Kirsty Fairclough, Andrea Swensson, and Elliott H. Powell!
Curating Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium
Event website: https://triplethreat.polishedsolid.com
#TripleThreat40 is a 3-day symposium, celebrating Prince for 40 years of the albums 1999, What Time Is It?, and Vanity 6 on Friday, March 31, 2023–Sunday, April 2, 2023, at NYU Tandon In Brooklyn, New York. We are planning to livestream it, as well.
This will be the first in-person @polishedsolid symposium since 2019! There will be 40-plus speakers and 11 panels with 17 presentations, 5 roundtable discussions, and 1 keynote. We are extremely excited that Jill Jones, who recorded, toured, and acted in Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge with Prince, is our special guest. In addition to music, we'll also discuss race, gender, politics, sexuality, and fashion.
It is open to the public, so please invite your friends and consider joining us!
For more details, including the schedule and speakers, visit the symposium website: https://triplethreat.polishedsolid.com.
FREE Registration at http://triplethreat40.eventbrite.com!
Follow @polishedsolid on Twitter to be kept abreast of announcements.
This event is FREE, but please consider donating to the PRN Alumni Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit officially formed in 2017 and founded by former employees of Paisley Park and the international icon Prince. The group’s mission is to continue the generosity of their late boss who supported opportunities for underprivileged youth to grow in music, tech, arts, and education, and helped alumni members in need. The foundation also supports urban farming initiatives that create sources of healthy foods where they are otherwise scarce. To learn more about the PRN Alumni Foundation, visit prnalumni.org.
#TripleThreat40 is a polished solid production, curated by De Angela L. Duff, and co-produced by princesyllabus.org!
The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson is not affiliated, associated or connected with the ‘Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium,’ nor has it endorsed or sponsored the ‘Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium.’ Further, the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson has not licensed any of its intellectual property to the producers, advertisers or directors of ‘Prince #TripleThreat40 Symposium.’
Published in AMP: American Music Perspectives special issue on Prince
Super excited to be in this AMP: American Music Perspectives special issue on Prince, Vol. 2 No. 1, Pennsylvania State University Press, alongside Natalie Clifford, Sam Coley, Kamilah Cummings, Darryle Merlette, and Twila L. Perry, with an expanded version of my Prince 78-88: An Interdisciplinary Conference presentation entitled “Controversy: Materializing the Mystique and Mythology of Prince”!
You need a university account to read it, though!💜 However, you can always watch the actual presentation!
Participated in the Dance / Music / Sex / Romance Controversy Podcast
I had a blast talking for (four) hours about my favorite Prince album, Controversy, on the Dance / Music / Sex / Romance podcast with my brother in Lovesexy Harold Pride and host, Zachary Hoskins.
It is my very first time being on somebody else’s podcast to talk about one of Prince’s albums and not one of the polished solid symposia or other Prince events!
Thank you, Zach, for having me on–even though I invited myself (LOL!), and for compiling all of the podcast notes–a very nice touch (as I am a liner notes junkie)!
Published in Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture Volume 12 Numbers 2&3 (September 2022)
Super excited to be in this special issue of Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture Volume 12 Numbers 2&3 (September 2022), “Dream Factories: Prince, Sign o’ the Times, Box Sets and Cultural Artefacts,” alongside Casci Ritchie and others with my essay, “Prince as producer and creator of worlds: Absent narratives in Prince’s Purple Rain, 1999 and Sign o’ the Times deluxe box sets”! You’ll need a university account to read it, though!
MASSIVE thanks, again, to the amazing Dr. Kirsty Fairclough and extraordinary Dr. Mike Alleyne for the opportunity.
Mentioned in Minneapolis' Star Tribune
It was so so great to finally meet and share a meal with Jon Bream, music journalist and the author of my very first Prince book, Prince: Inside The Purple Reign (1984), at this year’s 2022 Prince Celebration at Paisley Park! It was an absolute surprise and honor to get a mention in his Star Tribune review of Celebration.
#1plus1plus1is3 Featured in the Journal of Popular Music Studies
Massive gratitude to the Journal of Popular Music Studies, Volume 34, Issue 2, p. 5–27, for highlighting last year's Prince #1plus1plus1is3 Virtual Symposium in their field notes section of their June 2022 edition, released just in time to celebrate Prince's upcoming birthday.
https://online.ucpress.edu/jpms/article/34/2/5/182288/1plus1plus1is3Transcripts-from-a-Virtual-Symposium (You'll need a university account to register to read them.)
Three transcripts are featured, representing each album celebrated during the event: Controversy (1981), Diamonds & Pearls (1991), and The Rainbow Children (2001).
It was extremely difficult to whittle down twenty stellar presentations to just three. My heartfelt thanks & gratitude also extends to ALL of the presenters from #1plus1plus1is3!
To accompany the transcripts, you can (re)watch the video archives of each transcript:
Controversy #1plus1plus1is3 Presentation: "I Wish We All Were Nude: Prince’s Controversy Shower Poster as Aesthetic Linchpin & Artifact" by Zachary Hoskins
Diamonds & Pearls #1plus1plus1is3 Presentation: “A Tale Of Two Princes: Diamonds & Pearls & the Myth of Colorblindness in the Work of Prince” by Kamilah Cummings
The Rainbow Children #1plus1plus1is3 Presentation: “Deconstruction: Work & Racial Capitalism in The Rainbow Children” by Robert Loss
For abstracts and bios of the speakers, visit https://1plus1plus1is3.polishedsolid.com.
Massive thanks to Dr. Elliott Powell!💜🙏
Invited by Tonya Pendleton to Speak on Clubhouse about Prince (April 21, 2022)
@TonyaPendleton invited me to speak about Prince and more specifically my Prince symposia on Clubhouse on a very significant date, April 21 (the date of Prince's passing). It was my first time speaking on the platform. I’m a bit uneasy with the culture of Clubhouse. However, because I was amongst purple family and friends, it was a welcoming experience.
When friends call, I show up for them because they show up for me. I didn’t know if I could keep myself together, but I did! I was grateful that Arthur Turnbull joined me for a portion of the conversation. Arthur is yet another dear purple friend who always answers my call particularly when it comes to being my wingman (co-host) for the online symposia.
Curated Prince #SexyMF30 Virtual Symposium
#SexyMF30 was a polished solid production, created and curated by De Angela L. Duff.
This 2-day virtual symposium celebrated Prince for 30 years of the Love Symbol album, on 26-27 March 2022 (Sat-Sun)!
There were 33 speakers (academics, music journalists, podcasters, authors, and independent scholars), 6 moderators, 3 roundtable discussions about the album, Act I & II tours, and 3 Chains O’ Gold video collection, and 12 presentations about the album, fashion/style of the era, 3 Chains O’ Gold video collection and comic book.
Event website: http://sexymf.polishedsolid.com
Betty Davis Syllabus
I compiled this Betty Davis Syllabus (#BettyDavisSyllabus) quickly to seize the moment to introduce Betty Davis to new fans and music lovers who want a deeper dive. I also compiled this for my aunt, an avid music lover who had never heard of Betty Davis upon her passing, despite being a teenager in the seventies.
I wanted to create a list of media for anyone to get acclimated to Betty Davis’ music and the important scholarship surrounding her. I thought it essential to have my initial pass crowdsourced to ensure the best coverage of the breadth of academic scholarship about Betty Davis.
In curating the 2018 Betty Davis symposium, my goal was to spread the word about her. However, my Prince work consumed me, instead. I want to rectify that by spearheading this Betty Davis syllabus.
Words could never communicate her impact on me & countless others! However, I hope this compilation of resources will begin to articulate Betty Davis’ impact on music, culture, and folks all around the world.
Please take the time to first and foremost listen to Betty Davis and then watch and read about her. Trust me! It will be an incredible journey!
![BLACK PORTRAITURE[S] VII Conference](https://www.polishedsolid.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bp-vii-play_and_performance-uai-258x172.jpeg)
Presented at Black Portraiture[s] VII
De Angela presented at the Black Portraitures[VII] conference: Play and Performance on Feb 18, 2022, at Express Newark at Rutgers University-Newark in Newark, NJ, on the What Else Can There Be? Black Play / Cultural (Dis)Locations panel.
"Under The Cherry Moon: Prince at Play"
Abstract:
This presentation will discuss Prince at play in his second feature film and directorial
debut, Under The Cherry Moon (UTCM)! On the heels of the massive success of Purple
Rain, most artists would have followed up with a sequel. Prince did not. UTCM was a
black and white, artistic buddy film, shot in France, and released in 1986.
While UTCM is often maligned by most, the film is the ultimate public document of
Prince as his most authentic self. While Purple Rain conjures the mystique that Prince
constructed and carefully crafted for the public, UTCM reveals him as he truly was with
his close friends and associates: hilariously funny and always at play.
Moreover, the most pervasive theme throughout UTCM is play. The film’s reception can
shift massively if viewed through this lens. Let me guide you through a “new position” of
this brilliant motion picture.
Video Transcript Featured in Journal of Popular Music Studies
I am thrilled to have the transcript of my virtual talk, “Conjuring the Prince Mystique” from the virtual 78-88: Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference, 3 - 5 June 2021 (organized by Dr. Kirsty Fairclough, Dr. Mike Alleyne, and Kristen Zschomler) included in the Journal of Popular Music Studies, Volume 33, Number 4, pp. 23–27 (Electronic ISSN: 1533-1598).
This issue features a digital lecture roundup, book reviews, and a special issue on music and gentrification. Check it out if you have access to an academic library!
If you don’t have access, you can always watch the video from my personal archives:
78-88 Conference Presentation: Conjuring The Prince Mystique from De Angela Duff on Vimeo.
Many thanks to outgoing editors Robin James and Eric Weisbard for selecting my talk as exemplary of the online style of conference presentations that COVID-19 generated, among several other presentations.
Also, congratulations to one of the incoming editors to the Journal of Popular Music Studies, my purple friend and one of the core four: Elliott H. Powell!
Co-producing PRN Alumni's 5-Year Anniversary Virtual Event
On Saturday, 13 November 2021, De Angela is co-producing, alongside the PRN Alumni Foundation, a one-day virtual event to commemorate five years of the PRN Alumni Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit founded by former Prince staff who share the global icon’s philanthropic mission in supporting youth programs dedicated to the education, enrichment, and expression of music and the arts, supporting urban farming initiatives, and helping alumni members in need.
This event will be centered around Prince’s acoustic album The Truth, originally released as an accompaniment to the 1996 triple CD set Crystal Ball, which finally received its own spotlight when released as a limited edition standalone for Record Store Day, earlier this year. It’s worthy of further conversation and introspection.
We hope you’ll join us!
Event website: https://prnalumni5.polishedsolid.com
Eventbrite: https://prnalumni5.eventbrite.com
Spoke at the 2nd Annual Dayton Funk Symposium
I was honored to present “Pour Some Water On Me: Prince and the Ohio Players” at the 2nd Annual Dayton Funk Symposium, at the University of Ohio in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday, 6 November 2021. Even though my presentation was virtual, the conference was in person.
I am thrilled that the University of Dayton has posted its video archives from the first (2018) AND second (2021) Dayton Funk Symposia. I wish more conferences would do so. There are a lot of stellar talks.
So now, you can also, specifically, watch the Q&A portion of my talk, beginning at the 43-minute mark. If you want to see the talk itself at the highest resolution, you can watch the featured video above without the Q&A portion
James "Diamond" Williams, drummer of the Ohio Players, attended my talk AND remembered my family, vividly. What an honor & privilege! I will never ever forget that moment. FLOORED! Before the University of Dayton posted the video archives, I could only hear, but, now that the video archives have been shared, I can see him, as well. Thank you so very much, Dr. Sharon Gratto and the University of Dayton, for the opportunity and documentation!
Abstract:
In Prince’s incomplete and posthumous memoir, The Beautiful Ones, the Ohio Players is referenced four times. However, Prince’s love of the Ohio Players was evident, decades before the release of this book. Prince has covered Ohio Players’ classics, such as “Skin Tight,” “I Want To Be Free,” “Love Rollercoaster,” and “Heaven Must Be Like This,” in numerous rehearsals, shows, and after shows over the years. However, the Ohio Players are rarely discussed as one of Prince’s influences by music critics. This talk will attempt to deconstruct why, while also exploring Prince’s funk roots and influences.
Quoted in People Magazine Prince Special Edition (September 2021)
Call People magazine, Rolling Stone.
Call your next of kin, 'cause your ass is gone”
~Prince from "Positivity"
Even though she was credited incorrectly, being quoted in a special edition Prince magazine is literally a dream come true for De Angela. She is NOT the host of the Prince podcast; the brilliant Andrea Swensson is. It would have been INCREDIBLE for De Angela to be credited correctly for her polished solid Prince symposia, but she is grateful nevertheless.
She owes her deepest gratitude to Michael Gonzales and Ericka Blount for this incredible opportunity.
NEVER in a million years did she ever expect to see her name in one of the many Prince special edition magazine issues she's been collecting over the years. Also, the quote is featured on one of the best spreads of this edition, featuring an “I KNOW I’m clean!” Prince classic photo. She couldn’t ask for anything more! Those eyes are peeping her quote. Of course, that’s not true, but it tickles her to suspend disbelief for a moment!
Curated Welcome 2 America Virtual Celebration (#W2AVC)
#W2AVC Thank You and Recap!
This was NOT a symposium. This was a virtual celebration for the release of Prince’s Welcome 2 America, the first complete, unreleased album from Prince’s vault on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
This event was in the spirit of last year’s Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Celebration (#SOTTSDC) & the tradition of Harlem Renaissance salons, where gifted & creative poets, writers, artists, musicians, activists & scholars came together 2 have conversations & debates in a supportive & welcoming space!
For #W2AVC speaker bios, visit https://w2avc.polishedsolid.com and to watch the complete video archives of the entire day, visit https://w2avc.polishedsolid.com/media/.
#W2AVC was a polished solid production, curated by De Angela L. Duff.
The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson is not affiliated, associated, or connected with the ‘Welcome 2 America Virtual Celebration (#W2AVC),’ nor has it endorsed or sponsored the ‘Welcome 2 America Virtual Celebration (#W2AVC).’ Further, the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson has not licensed any of its intellectual property to the producers, advertisers, or directors of ‘Welcome 2 America Virtual Celebration (#W2AVC).’