Entering year two of his return to solo branding, 1988 saw Prince displaying an expanded confidence driven by former collaborators who were now a part of his own band. Taken from an aftershow adlib from the same year, “You Look Like You’re From Oakland!” will explore the progression of Prince’s outside collaborations that led to the formation of his first post-Revolution band – the explosive, massively talented and unnamed group at the center of his only major motion picture concert film, “Sign O’ The Times.” For two criminally brief years, the band supported their leader on the most revered tours of his entire career, Sign O’ The Times and Lovesexy respectively. Armed with wide-ranging intuitiveness and a commanding appetite for spontaneity, “You look like you’re from Oakland!” will highlight the 3 women members of the group whose influences from both Oakland and Chicago helped name the stylistic experimentation that made the Lovesexy band a one of a kind.

Harold Pride is a community-based lecturer and arts enthusiast. His previous presentations include “Sonic Visuals” (Spelman College, 2012) and “Take This Beat” (University of Salford – Manchester UK, 2017.) He also participated in a panel discussion on Prince’s social activism, “Black Albums Matter” (California State University, Los Angeles.) Attending close to 40 Prince concerts over the span of his career, he was also featured in a promotional commercial for Prince’s “The Rainbow Children” album, filmed at Paisley Park.