Prince described Justin Bieber as a mediocre artist in a never-before-seen interview
The late 'Purple Rain' hitmaker had a phenomenal pop career which spanned five decades and saw him release 35 albums on which he mastered all musical genres.
Since his shock death at the age of 57 last month an interview he conducted in 2014 for Rolling Stone magazine has now surfaced in which he took aim with a jibe against 'Sorry' singer Justin, whom he claimed epitomised record labels obsession with signing a personality over a purely talented individual.
In the Q&A, Prince said: "You're trying to find the personality first, make sure you've got that locked in. And it's better if they got scandal on 'em or a reality show or sex tape. And they have it down to an art. They're getting street cred for Justin Bieber now!"
Prince conducted the interview at his Paisley Park home in Minneapolis when he was aged 55 and Justin was 20. It was intended to run as a cover on the magazine but was later scrapped and this is the first time excerpts from the chat have been released.
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