The
Artist formerly Known as Prince was a
journalistic creation, formed after he changed his name to an unpronouncable
glyph. The (almost demeaning)
moniker stuck, as it were, and has served as a minor point of
confusion since. The symbol he changed his name to came to him in a bout of
meditation.
It did serve some legal use, however. It was negotiating fodder when he wanted to break out of his
contract with
Warner Brothers. He did not want to work for that company any more, and through a
loophole in his contract associated with his new unpronouncable name, some
shrewd bargaining, and down-right stubborness, his lawyers got him out of his
contract with Warner Brothers after a couple of
albums. (He was going to reach into his library of pre-recorded
material anyway, he was quite sick of Warner brothers).
Many fans and other sites, simply referred to him as The Artist during these years, to omit the
demeaning connotation associated with the title. This
performer, born
Prince Roger Nelson, is now simply
Prince again.