“Don’t Make Me Black:” Revisiting the Relationship between Prince and Warner Brothers

• In Event: Prince Rogers Nelson and the Black Past, Place, and Future

Abstract

This paper will discuss the historical significance and implications of Prince’s relationship with Warner Brothers on Black music’s relationship with the music industry. One of the fundamental beliefs within the record industry is that only black audiences are interested in recordings made by black artists and musicians. Thus no matter the genre of the artist, labels relegated black artists to a specialty category known as “race records.” Prince's signing with Warner Brothers in 1977 and his insisting on both creative control and freedom from the marginalization that comes from being designated a “black artist” should not be read as an attempt escape his racial identity, but rather as an effort to confront the racist history of “crossover” records - a practice where black artists would be forced to prove their merit among black audiences before their label would promote them to larger and whiter audiences. Prince’s astounding success with Warner Brothers had complicated results that both ushered in a new era of record labels “black music divisions” and of greater financial investment in black music-making, but his singular success could not establish equitable treatment for black artists within the record label system—something that still remains a challenge.

Author

• Fredara M. Hadley, Oberlin College