Prince as ‘knowing big brother’
The multitalented musician Prince’s painful past as a child of divorce is the key to understanding what makes him tick — and what makes him an icon to Generation X, according to Touré, the cultural critic and author. “Divorce is the ‘Rosebud’ of Gen X,” said Touré, referring to the touchstone of the film “Citizen Kane,” “and it’s the ‘Rosebud’ of Prince.” Born in 1958, Prince is a baby boomer. But Touré, speaking Tuesday on the subject “I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became A Gen X Icon,” said Prince’s latchkey beginnings let him connect with Gen X in a way that his contemporaries couldn’t. “He spoke to the things we cared about, our desires, our fears, our longings, and that’s a larger part of why he became an icon,” said Touré, at 41 a Gen Xer. “He was a knowing big brother, helping Gen Xers know who they wanted to be...