As a kid I remember seeing Prince’s early records in stores, and just knowing that there was something naughty and also kind of exhilarating about him.

Of course, it might have been the album, Dirty Mind, with its (gasp!) racy title—coupled with the fact that he’s posing in skimpy briefs (and a fierce jacket) on the cover. Immediately, even back then, I think it was apparent to my 11-year-old self that here was a performer not beholding to any narrow interpretations of sexuality or identity. He went further. He wasn’t just a singer. He wasn’t just a black musician. He wasn’t just naughty. He was really mixing things up.

Then, of course, once you saw Prince perform, all that got amped up even more. You knew you were watching someone unafraid to go all out when it came to presenting sex and mucking up traditional roles in a musical context. And yes, here was a black man unafraid to be flamboyant and fey. Fun! Fearless!

In fact, on the heels of his first cross-over hit single “I Wanna Be Your Lover” Prince ended up opening for the Rolling Stones in Los Angeles during their 1981 tour. To heighten uncertainty and speculation about his sexuality, Prince took the stage wearing bikini briefs, leg warmers, high-heeled boots, and a trench coat. The crowd booed and threw garbage, but his iconoclastic image was fiercely cemented.

1999 and its hit singles and music videos (“Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” “Delirious”) established Prince—alongside Michael Jackson and the super-safe Lionel Richie—at the forefront of the first African-American artists on MTV. And while Jackson’s videos at the time were hot and revolutionary, only Prince’s carried the buzz and fizz of real sexual energy.

By the time Purple Rain came around and Prince fully exploded onto the pop culture landscape, we all were already familiar with this musical genius (a cliché term—but one that fits) and the rambunctious innuendo and horny subtext to much of his work. He exuded sensuality—in a rather androgynous, almost ambisexual form—and it was thrilling. And it didn’t hurt that the first single from that album, “When Doves Cry,” is still one of the coolest pop tunes ever recorded.

My mother commented on seeing Prince on TV during the 1999-album era, “He reminds me of Little Richard,” and she laughed. And that was pretty apt, as both had a penchant for onstage drama, big hair, make-up, and rollicking, floozily fun music. Of course, Prince’s music also boasts infinite layers of soul, R&B, funk, rock, gospel, blues and just about every other element that makes you either hump, dance or pray.

All of this from a diva-riffic, pint-sized hellion who battled with his record company for years (yes, he wrote “SLAVE” across his cheek when he appeared in public; then he changed his name to a symbol, and then to “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”—all efforts to subvert the domination he felt under the thumb of Warner Brothers Records), and who released one album supposedly so raw (“The Black Album”) that it never got a proper release. He made some movies after Purple Rain, but they didn’t follow-up that film’s mad success. Even so, he kept on making stunning music. The single “Kiss” hailed from Parade: Music from Under The Cherry Moon, and while the album may have been lackluster, the single is one of the most perfect pop songs ever recorded (and a staple of dancing wedding reception guests everywhere).

A still from the "Kiss" video. Classic!

Prince also worked magic as a music mogul, producing music and discovering artists (from Wendy and Lisa to Vanity Six to Apollonia to The Time to Sheila E., for starters—and let’s not forget his “Sugar Walls” and “U Got the Look” collaborations with Sheena Easton), as well as writing songs that would become mega-hits for other artists from Chaka Khan to Kenny Rogers (my faves: The Bangles’ “Manic Monday” and Sinead O’Connor’s shattering “Nothing Compares 2 U”). And of course, thank god he wrote “Little Red Corvette” as it’s given Sandra Bernhard music cred for the last 10+ years.

Prince has woven in social commentary into his work (“Sign O’ The Times”), run his own recording studio (Paisley Park) and he’s continued to be relevant—and fierce. 2006’s album, 3121, debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200. And while his new record releases may not generate the widespread frenzy that they used to, did you see his half-time show at the Super Bowl last year? Prince is still one of our finest performers—ever.

And hello! The man gave us tunes like “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” “When Doves Cry,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Purple Rain,” the awesomely scurrilous “Darling Nikki” (which single-handedly—no pun intended—helped kick-start Tipper Gore’s campaign for warning labels on music back in the 1980’s). Plus, I also love “Paisley Park,” “Alphabet Street,” “Gett Off,” “Cream” and of course, “Erotic City.” These songs are forever in our culture.

All from a pint-sized guy who stated in a 1980 single, “Am I black or white / Am I straight or gay? / Controversy!” And that was way before such things were common (or passé).

So big props to Prince for being an unparalleled artist, a fearless furtherer of sexual ambiguity and fluidity, and for rocking our world for nearly 30 years.

Prince onstage in 2007. Still on it!