Seven Times Prince Predicted Today's Society
It’s been a while since we’ve been in your inbox, but wanted to throw in this gem.
Spring is here, and parties + events + lineups are plenty. Check your inbox for a calendar + schedule of parties all over NYC! In the meantime, dropping this purple gem in your inbox.
Once upon a time there was an Artist Formerly Known As Prince, a musical genius ahead of his time, whose lyrics weren’t just meant for singing and dancing but also for thinking. He saw where the world was headed, and if you really listen to his lyrics, it’s almost like they’re predictions.
It’s been 11 years since this iconic legend passed away from an alleged fentanyl overdose. If you listen to Prince’s music today, you’ll realize he wasn’t just making music. His music was prophetic and more than just words.
Here are seven times the Purple One called it before the rest of us were even paying attention.
1. "1999" and Tech Overload
🎶 “2000, zero, zero, party over, oops, out of time.” 🎶
Prince told us the world was going to end, and while we didn’t exactly implode with the Y2K bug, we got something more subtle —endless scrolling. We entered the digital revolution, a time that has evolved into technology running our lives. Androids & iPhones, wifi, social media. We have access to the world 24/7. The internet never sleeps. Prince knew that eventually we would have to face the music, even if it wasn’t a literal apocalypse.
2. "Slave" and Owning Your Masters
🎶 “I’m just a slave, I’ve got no business here.” 🎶
Way before artists like Taylor Swift were fighting for their masters, Prince was already ringing alarm bells about the music industry’s corporate chokehold. He said “If you don’t own your masters, your masters own you.” Today more than ever, ownership is everything, from music catalog battles to content creators on social media. Prince was out here waving the flag for creative independence before it became the rally cry of artists today.
3. "Sign O’ the Times" and Global Crises
🎶 “In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name.” 🎶
Prince didn’t just sing about his personal life, he also saw the cracks in the world. From AIDS to drug addiction and a planet crumbling under the weight of its own issues, Sign O’ the Times was a heavy reality check. From a global pandemic to climate change and endless political unrest, Prince’s lyrics read more like a news report than a song from 1987. It’s as if he was already watching the world burn while the rest of us were just lighting the match.
4. "Computer Blue" and Love in the Age of Apps
🎶 “Where is my love life? Where can it be?” 🎶
Before swiping right on dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, Prince was already asking the big question — where’s the connection? Computer Blue feels like it was written for a generation swiping right on loneliness, even though the song dropped in 1984. Prince knew that as tech advanced, human connection would dwindle. Now we’re living in a world where love is an algorithm, where a DM slide is the modern-day pickup line, and intimacy turns into getting ghosted.
5. "Baltimore" and Racial Injustice
🎶 “Does anybody hear us pray? / For Michael Brown or Freddie Gray?” 🎶
Prince didn’t just stand on the sidelines, he spoke up. Baltimore was his anthem against police brutality and racial injustice, released in response to the deaths of Freddie Gray and Michael Brown. It’s already been 10 years since this was released in May 2015. Before hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter, Prince’s music was loud for the voiceless. Today his lyrics hit just as hard as the same struggles for racial equality and justice continue, making his message tragically timeless.
6. "New World" and Surveillance Culture
🎶 “When the lines blur every boy and girl / How we gonna make it in this brave new world?” 🎶
Prince was out here talking about Big Brother in New World before we were carrying tiny surveillance devices in our pockets aka smartphones. With Alexa, Google, and surveillance cameras around every corner, we’re living in the world Prince warned us about. Our every move is tracked, every word monitored. The digital world didn’t just change the game, it became the game, and Prince saw it coming miles away.
7. "The Internet’s Completely Over"
In 2010, Prince dropped a bomb — “The internet’s completely over.” What Prince was actually saying is that the internet we loved, the Wild West of creativity and freedom, was dead. Today the autocrats and oligarchs of the world are the same few companies who control the algorithms, endless ads, and social media. Yes, the internet is still around, but is it the same? Or did it die the moment we handed over our power to Big Tech?
Prince wasn’t just making hits, but he was sending us a message. He saw where the world was headed long before we did. And now, in 2025, we’re living in a world where his predictions have come true. So, next time you press play on one of his songs, listen a little closer. The Purple One was always trying to tell us something, we just had to pay attention.
