From recluse to healer Prince rocks in Baltimore concert

(MENAFN- Arab News) BALTIMORE: Prince the famously withdrawn and eccentric pop superstar refashioned himself Sunday as a community healer as he led a peace concert in Baltimore.
Two weeks after sometimes violent protests erupted over the death of African-American Freddie Gray who sustained injuries in Baltimore police custody Prince threw what he called a 'Rally 4 Peace' at a downtown arena in which he debuted a live song dedicated to the scarred US city.
For the song 'Baltimore' Prince brought to the stage Marilyn Mosby the young prosecutor who pleasantly surprised many demonstrators by swiftly bringing charges against six police officers over Gray's death.
'Are we gonna see another bloody day? / We're tired of crying and people dying / Let's take all the guns away' Prince sang in 'Baltimore' which he released online before the concert.
The song whose gentle guitar riffs reflect more hope than anger also refers to Michael Brown an African-American teenager whose shooting death by police sparked protests in Ferguson Missouri.
'Does anyone hear us pray? / For Michael Brown or Freddie Gray? / Peace is more than the absence of war' Prince sings before leading the chant 'If there ain't no justice then there ain't no peace.'
Prince drove home his message of empowerment in one of his signature songs 'Purple Rain' as he told the crowd in an extended interlude 'The system is broken so it's going to take the young people to fix it.'
Prince sprightly with elegant dance moves at nearly 57 years old told the crowd to seek 'peace' as much as 'piece' a slice of the economic output of their community.
'I want to stay tonight in a hotel that is owned by one of you' he told the crowd of thousands many wearing gray at Prince's urging in tribute to Freddie Gray. The activism marks a revival of sorts for Prince who since his superstardom in the 1980s has made headlines not only for his music but for his idiosyncrasies such as changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol amid a dispute with his record label.
Even the tickets for the show on sale a whole three days in advance showed a different approach for Prince who in recent years has grown fond of announcing concerts at the last minute.
But even if he has preferred the seclusion of his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota Prince has never from the start of his career played it safe.
In a show of magnanimity not just political but musical Prince performed for Baltimore 'Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough' by Michael Jackson often described in the 1980s as Prince's rival even if the real extent of their hostility remains a matter of conjecture.
Prince said that proceeds from the concert would go to charity and authorities readily accommodated the show with city's the light rail extending its hours.
The only hint of trouble came not with police but the concert's security who zealously enforced Prince's ban on photos.