By his own admission, BrownMark was heading down the wrong path until music saved him. The Minneapolis bassist worked hard in local bands, trying to crossover between black and white club audiences—and then in 1981, Prince called. My Life in the Purple Kingdom is his memoir of early life growing up black in a predominantly white city and his tenure with Prince, culminating with Purple Rain. Prince and his creative process remain mysterious throughout My Life in the Purple Kingdom. What’s clear is the rock star life—BrownMark jumped into a fast car and roared down the freeway with poverty in the rear view. Any aesthetic insights come from Questlove’s forward, as The Roots’ front man explains Prince’s obsession with duality. “Even his hometown was a Twin City,” he puts it.
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