Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
It was probably the greatest moment of my life. I was in Paisley Park playing basketball with Prince. He was then a living legend who was so mysterious that people knew very little about him beyond the fact that he was one of the greatest musicians, songwriters and performers of all time. I was dying for a way to get him to open up. We had already had an interview that felt like talking to someone wearing a mask. I wanted to get a glimpse of the real man. I had heard that he loved basketball and so I asked if we could play and he said … yes. The story of me playing basketball with Prince is at the heart of the episode of “Star Stories With Touré” titled “Chappelle Was Right: Prince Got Game.”
I did not know that he was then growing so tired of interviewers that he had said he wasn’t interested in talking to anyone who couldn’t play music or basketball. Those were really the only two things he cared about so if you wanted to relate to him, it had to be one of those two topics. Lucky for me, I asked if we could play basketball. He loved the request.
One thing I have always known throughout my journalism career is that sometimes people lie with their mouths but they usually can’t lie with their bodies. I mean, you may be able to present a fake version of yourself when you’re talking or doing an interview, but when you’re in action doing something, it’s hard to maintain a façade. I did an interview with Prince where I got very little because he was totally behind his mask. I was hoping that a game of basketball would open him up. It did.
As soon as we started playing one on one, I started to see the real Prince or at least one of his sides. Call this…
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