ABSTRACT
If we accept that the Princian aesthetic is defined by a unique pop sensibility, then the artist’s approach to music-making inevitably reveals his inner workings. This chapter returns to the issue of creativity, from a musicological entry point, in a bid to argue aspects of Prince’s performativity. Adumbrating the ingredients of a musician’s performativity is always the question of proficiency, and we approach this from two specific directions:
technical mastery and virtuosic display; and
production, engineering and recording.
