Prince has never been a stranger to controversy. He constantly challenged gender and sex norms both musically and aesthetically. Back in the 80s, it was extremely taboo to try and tackle any of those kinds of ideas. But he released enough timeless records and fantastic albums at such a prolific rate, it was impossible to ignore him.

However, there is one song in his catalogue that has gone under the radar for years, and it’s his most controversial by far. Back in 1980, Prince released his subversive, rugged album Dirty Mind. Towards the end of the album, there’s “Sister”, an inflammatory song about incest. He sang about being 16 years old and being preyed upon by his 32-year-old sister and how it sparked his sexual awakening.

“My sister never made love to anyone else but me/She’s the reason for my, uh, sexuality/Showed me where it’s supposed to go/A blow job doesn’t mean blow/Incest is everything it’s said to be,” the Minnesotan legend cooed.

Naturally, fans and skeptics alike were aghast at how he could sing about such a wild topic. Moreover, it begged the question: did he actually have sex with his sister?

Prince Released an Insanely Controversial Song About Incest Back in 1980

The Purple Rain star never made it explicitly clear whether or not “Sister” came from a real place or not. The initial instinct is to believe that he’s trying to spark a reaction from the audience, given the rest of the X-rated songwriting on Dirty Mind.

However, a 1981 interview with the Kingsport Times-News suggested that Prince only wanted to write from his own experiences. Not doing so made him especially thorny towards the state of the industry at the time.

“I only write about things that occur,” he told the publication. “I’m not going to sit around and make up a bunch of phony stories about fantasies and such and put that out. That would make me a lot of money, but it’s not the way it should be done. I’m not going to bow down to the establishment to make records like they want me to make. That’s why there’s a record sales slump.” 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Prince talked about it as just another part of life. “It’s something that’s inside of all of us to some degree, whether we like it or not. We may think about it or encounter it in some form or other,” he said.

Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images

The post The Extremely Controversial Prince Song You Might’ve Forgotten About appeared first on VICE.

💾

Britney Spears has long been the prototype pop star for many. When looking at the modern superstars today, all of them emulate what she did to some degree. Whether it’s the dancing, the singing, or just the general look and aura of her, she was the blueprint for a lot of artists.

But Spears didn’t become this influential out of nowhere. Even she admired other pop and R&B stars to become the seismic force in pop culture she became. For her, that person was always Janet Jackson. On an Instagram post, she paid tribute to The Velvet Rope legend.

In the caption, she recalled being a young teenager, watching her music videos in awe. For Britney Spears, it was an experience she could hardly understand. But she knew she wanted to experience her magnetism over and over again.

“At 13 years old, if a Janet Jackson video came on the TV, my mouth dropped open,” she wrote. “I kept repeating in my head, ‘No, no. Please come back, I wanna see that again. Where the hell did that come from?’ It was her ability to be incredibly mysterious, so dark with a vibe that sucked you in immediately, and then this haunting, simple, angelic tone.”

Britney Spears Honors Janet Jackson With a Post on Instagram

Then, Spears admired her stylistic choices as a vocalist and as an entertainer. “[Janet Jackson’s] not trying to be sexy, she just is,” she continued. “She can’t help it. She has always been god to me. She’s not just a singer, she is an entertainer in people’s eyes. Not only do adults feel her presence in such a spellbound way, she’s able to captivate the hearts of children as well! I was so young, and she spoke to my heart and soul like no one else.”

Then, at the end of her tribute, Britney Spears even admitted that she was kind of rambling. Still, she felt the need to give flowers to an artist that means so much to her. “I have no idea why I’m writing this, but I do believe people like her are here for a reason … Just her smile alone changed the world forever … She’s my girl crush this month,” she concluded.

Janet Jackson’s impact on Britney Spears is especially evident when looking back at some of her forays into R&B. Her Neptunes-produced “I’m a Slave 4 U” nods to a lot of the same whispery, sensual qualities that made Jackson such an alluring presence throughout her career.

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The post Britney Spears Reveals the R&B Icon She Admires Most: ‘She Has Always Been God to Me’ appeared first on VICE.