The artist formerly known as Prince has a new wife, new baby and a new attitude - Interview - Cover Story

Ebony, Jan, 1997 by Lynn Norment

Emancipation is defined as freedom from restraint, control or the power of another, freedom from bondage.

For The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, emancipation is freedom, and much, much more. It is the title of his new, ambitious 36-song, three-compact disc set. Emancipation is also his personal creed and way of life as he celebrates his "freedom" from contractual obligations to Warner Brothers Records. He says emancipation also describes his new life as a husband and family man, his new persona since he left Prince behind. Emancipation describes his new attitude.

On Valentines Day 1996, the Artist, as he is referred to around Paisley Park Enterprises, married Puerto Rican Mayte Garcia during a church ceremony ny in Minneapolis, his hometown. He says in October she gave birth to a child, but he will not disclose the name, birth date, gender or any details about the baby. He refuses to discuss tabloid reports that the child was born with birth defects. "As you can see, my wife is no longer pregnant," he says, gesturing to the beautiful, slim Mayte at his side. She is tastefully attired in a charcoal gray suit with short wrap skirt and knee-length boots. A huge diamond ring adorns her left hand. "l hope to have a bunch more kids running around here."

Later, when interviewed by other national media, he made similar statements. For example, when Oprah Winfrey asked about the new baby, he said: "Our family exists. Its just the beginning." When she followed with a question concerning tabloid reports of birth defects, the Artist said: "It's all good. Never mind what you hear."

As he personally takes EBONY on a tour of Paisley Park, he points out the colorful carpets and hand-painted walls, cellings and borders. The curlicued male-female hieroglyph that is now his name is displayed throughout the 65,000-square-foot facility. In the atrium beneath a spectacular skylight is a marble floor with an inlay of the hieroglyph. There is a warm, cheerful ambiance, which is reflected in the host. He says he changed the high-tech, antiseptic tic white decor of Paisley Park to something "more colorful, more alive" to reflect his new life and new attitude.

There are four state-of-the-art recording studios, a nightclub, rehearsal hall and a huge sound stage, where he tapes videos and private performances. There are also a basketball court, dining room with a chef on call around-the-lock (& works through the night quite often). From the windows of office suite, he can keep an eve on the new playground. There are also several play areas inside the huge complex.

"As you can see, I'm not broke like some rumors have it," & says with a charming smile and sweeping gesture, referring to reports that his disputes with Warner. Brothers have rendered him financially. strapped. "I'm not bitter toward Warner Brothers," he say's of the company for which he has released 20 albums and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. "The journey I've gone through has made me stronger." After settling into his office suite, Which is comfortably and tastefully decorated ("I basically live here"), he explains that his differences with the record company had nothing to do with money. (The $100-million, six-record deal he signed in 1992 reportedly, advanced him $10 million per recording.) Rather than money, his discontentment had a lot to do with creative control and ownership of his work.

In November, he legally became a "free" artist no longer encumbered by a record company contract. Consequently, says the Artist, his evolution from Prince, the bad-boy, soulful rock-and-roll, bump-and-grind entertainer to the emancipated artist and businessman whose name is an unpronounceable glyph and who is at peace with himself is complete.

"My evolution started when I got married," he says, sitting comfortably in a chair, wearing yellow, slacks, a black jersey with "New Power Generation" in black letters, and yellow suede ankle boots. "When I look back at my life and as it is today" I would not be at this point or position if I had not made changes in my life. You know, people are fearful by nature... Things change. We all evolve into something. I want tons and tons of children running around this place," he says, gesturing with slender hands, a simple gold band on his left ring finger. "Now I'm on the light path," he says as he and Mayte snuggle affectionately. "It took all that I've been through to get on the right path. You gotta believe that things will change."

Just when did things start changing for the 38-year-old entertainer?

"When I accepted God in my he says. "I've always been close to, God, but I took things for granted. This is it celebration of things that led up to this point. Real faith ill God got me to this point." He also emphasizes that it was Mayte who helped to open his eyes and to advance his spiritual evolution and emancipation.

He says he met Mayte in 1990 in Europe. Then both tell how she was "dragged" to it Prince concert ill Barcelona, Spain, by her mother and sister. While watching the artist perform for the first time, she says she felt a "familiarity" with him. Two weeks later the Artist saw her in a crowed (with her mother) from the window of his car in Germany. "There's my future wife," he told Rosie Gaines, who was with him. A short time later he met the young woman he admired from afar. after his friend and associate producer Kirk Johnson gave him Mayte's videotape. "On it was a photo of her as a belly dancer," he recalls. "She was 16. I fell in love."