Prince Covers Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” With Nile Rodgers, Subtweets Lil’ Mo At Essence Fest
Prince played Essence Festival this year and was great as always, running through 24 songs during his July 4th headlining set where he requested that everyone in the audience wear purple. Before he got started, however, he joined Nile Rodgers on stage to play on the Rodgers-produced David Bowie hit “Let’s Dance,” from the 1983 album that Rodgers said changed his life. A handy compilation of videos of the performance can be seen below.
That wasn’t all the Purple One was up to that night. When he rolls through, there’s bound to be a lot of security surrounding him and some people get caught in the crossfires. Case in point: R&B singer Lil’ Mo — who had VIP passes but wasn’t performing at the festival — couldn’t get backstage to go to the bathroom during Prince’s set. Because it’s the 21st century, she took to social media to complain:
Commenters weren’t happy and laid into the singer. “Where is your career? Where is your Grammy? Where is your Oscar? You don’t even have a song that is memorable. All the while, Prince has numerous #1 hits.”
Complex reports that Prince sent multiple tweets about the incident but only one remains:
WINNER OF THE CAPTION THIS PICTURE THANG:
"I hope she know, none of her clothes match." pic.twitter.com/c8cZl1naW4
— 3RDEYEGIRL (@3RDEYEGIRL) July 6, 2014
[Photo via Nile Rodgers.]