When Prince Rogers Nelson died in 2016, my 88-year old father expressed the same shock and sadness as my generation did. He said, “Prince was one of the good ones.” My father expressing such sentiment surprised me; he was a deeply religious man. He explained to me that he knew he was a good one because he was devout in his beliefs about God. He knew that Prince was singing religious things in secular music, and admired him for his anti-drug and alcohol stance and his door-to-door ministry. The sex stuff? Didn’t matter; Christians are naturally sinful, he said; he couldn’t judge him for it, and only Prince would have to work that out with the Lord.  

Author Pamela Ayo Yetunde makes a similar argument in her latest book, Dearly Beloved. Prince’s music may have been filled by that deadly sin known as lust, but “deadly sin” is simply a code word for “human nature.” But Prince evolved. His early records documented lust for lust’s sake, but over time the premise became lust for love’s sake, until finally he reached a point where lust transcends the body and becomes something eternal, something deeply spiritual. God gave you desire, it’s what you do with it that matters. 

Dearly Beloved breaks this premise down by studying Prince intensely. Lyrics are examined; his movies are interpreted, his artwork considered in a very thoughtful and meaningful way—all of these things converge to make a whole, complete Prince experience. Prince left nothing to the imagination—he put his heart into all aspects of his career. And that, of course, meant he wasn’t about to leave out his faith and belief in a higher power that gives man feelings and emotions. 

So, does the premise of Dearly Beloved hold up? For some, it might seem a stretch, painting this lusty man as a spiritual being. But Dearly Beloved makes a good case for the premises that Prince was a dichotomy that takes some reconciliation when you consider all aspects of his being. 

Purchase: Amazon

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