He’s always had faith. More than three decades prior to his tragic death on Thursday, April 21, Prince spoke about his belief in God and his hope to one day see the “afterworld,” in his first-ever televised interview for MTV in 1985.
“I believe in God. There’s only one God. And I believe in the afterworld,” the “Purple Rain” crooner states in the clip. “Hopefully we all see it.”
“I have been accused of a lot of things contrary to this and I want people to know that I’m very sincere in my beliefs,” he adds. “And I pray every night. And I don’t ask for much. I just say, ‘Thank you.’”
The late pop legend, who was 27 years old at the time and known for titillating audiences with his shocking costumes and unapologetic sexuality, spoke with the network from the set of his video for “America,” the final single from his seventh studio album, Around the World in a Day.
Ronin Ro, the author of Prince’s authorized biography, Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks, tells Us Weekly exclusively that the superstar “really embraced” religion.
“When he started as a kid, he was a Seventh-day Adventist. That’s known for being really close to what’s in the Bible — he had a strong biblical foundation,” Ro explains to Us. “In the late ’90s, he experienced setbacks and his bass player at the time introduced him to Jehovah’s Witnesses. He really embraced it. He definitely had faith.”
The groundbreaking musician was baptized in 2001. From that point on in his career, Prince refrained from swearing in his songs.
As Us Weekly previously reported, the seven-time Grammy winner died at the age of 57 after being found unresponsive in an elevator on Thursday at his Paisley Park studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Watch the video above.
