Named “2025’s Best Non-Fiction”
by African American Literary Awards Show (AALAS)

Dearly Beloved: Prince, Spirituality, and This Thing Called Life

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

When Prince spoke those words over celestial organ sounds in the opening moments of Let's Go Crazy he wasn't just inaugurating yet another Billboard Hot 100 hit--one of forty-seven in his career; he was also giving voice to the deep-seated and richly complex spiritual underpinning of his art. Prince is beloved by millions worldwide, and a true legend of the pop genre. Yet most of his fans don't recognize the spiritual messages coded within his work, nor understand the connections between Prince's own religious devotion--which evolved over time--and the sexualized messages of his music. Prince was beguiling and used his seductive and mysterious charm to draw his fans into his spiritual and cosmic worldviews, often without their knowledge.

In Dearly Beloved, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, a lifelong Prince fan and founder of the Theology of Prince project when she taught at United Theological Seminary in Prince's own Minneapolis, decodes the spiritual and sexual messages behind Prince's work, from For You to Graffiti Bridge to The Rainbow Children and beyond.

Exploring more than forty years of his music and art, you will discover Prince as a spiritual giant. He might not have always gotten it right, but nonetheless he cast a powerful vision for what it means to be dearly beloved, what it takes to gather intentionally, the opportunities presented by being in the present, and how to engage with the complexities of human experience. For anyone who loves Prince, is inspired by him, is confused by his lyrics, or is curious about what his music means--and for all who live in search of deeper meaning and tools for cultivating resilience in difficult times--Dearly Beloved is an essential spiritual guide.

Prince Gospel Music Conclave

After Dearly Beloved: Prince, Spirituality, & This Thing Called Life was released, I realized that I still had hope -- hope that someone, anyone, would nominate Prince to be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (GMHF).  I also realized that there are songs that the GMHF would never consider and that his body of work could be taken as undermining his gospel music contributions.  With these things in mind, knowing that Prince's fans are passionate and immeasurable, and inspired by the conclave to elect Pope Leo the XIV, I decided to invite Prince fans on Facebook into a conclave to select Prince songs they would put on a double album that would demonstrate his gospel music commitments.  We created two lists, one for the GMHF and the other for sacred music programs at colleges and universities. 

For your consideration Gospel Music Hall of Fame, we nominate Prince
For your consideration sacred music programs, we suggest Prince