Hearing that Prince had died was an unbelievable thing to process when it happened in April of 2016.

The Minneapolis-bred musical legend passed away at his Paisley Park home outside of the city in the neighboring suburb of Chanhassen. It was later revealed to be an accidental overdose on fentanyl, a shocking thing to hear on a number of levels, particularly because of his longtime anti-drug stance.

In the decade since, we’ve gotten a closer look at the legendary wealth of unreleased material inside his vault. More than 100 previously unreleased songs have been surfaced. Fans can also tour Paisley Park, to get a better understanding of where he did his work and a glimpse of his process and approach.

His legacy, including mammoth albums like 1982’s 1999, which spawned hits including “Little Red Corvette” and the title track — and of course, the worldwide blockbuster album and film, Purple Rain — continues to grow with each passing day.

He’ll be remembered at the 10-year mark of his passing with Prince Celebration 2026, billed as a five-day global gathering honoring his life and legacy (June 3-June 7) at Paisley Park and across Minneapolis.

There will be panel discussions, a block party and community sing-along and of course, no shortage of music. To that end, on Friday (June 5), a number of his former musical associates will join forces for an all-star concert featuring special guests like Tevin Campbell, Morris Day and Miguel.

As part of that musical gathering, members of his band, the Revolution, will unite on stage with members of his subsequent group, New Power Generation, for the first time. Revolution drummer Bobby Z is among those who will be participating in the concert at the Armory in downtown Minneapolis (a notable location for a number of reasons — Prince filmed his music video for “1999” at the venue).

During a brief conversation, Bobby Z told UCR what it’s been like getting ready for the concert (though he was tight when it came to talking about specific details) and also shared some of his memories of working with the legendary musician.

It’s great that fans will get to see members of NPG and the Revolution play together for the first time. 
Well, I think that 10 years on, they wanted to put something special together, and Londell McMillan of the [Prince] estate called in some favors. Tevin Campbell, Miguel, the star of the upcoming Broadway [version of Purple Rain], Kris Kollins, will be performing some songs, as well as [members of] the NPG [like] Sonny Thompson, [and] the great Morris Hayes, who was his musical director for 20 years, is leading us.

Schedule-wise, it worked out that Lisa [Coleman, keyboardist for the Revolution] and I could join in and play some of the classics in a new way. It adds an extra excitement and a little fun to bring back members, and alumni from different eras. I think it’ll be very entertaining and very very exciting for people.

You’re probably having the opportunity to play on some material that you did not play with Prince. What have the interesting moments been for you, or perhaps even challenging, as far things that you’ve been working on.[We’ve been] going back to the tapes, like Prince used to hand out rehearsal tapes and we’d listen to stuff. [So we have been] coming back to tapes, learning [certain songs and] just hooking up the gear. I’m going to have some original [Pearl] Syncussion drums that were used on those classic albums [like] 1999 and Purple Rain. It’s just fun to celebrate him in so many little ways, you know what I mean?

New arrangements, new songs, playing together, different singers, but it all comes together with “Purple Rain.” When everybody joins in, it kind of brings it back to what it’s all about, which is remembering this man and his music 10 years on, and celebrating his love for Minneapolis and Minnesota, and just bringing that all home.

You mentioned those Syncussion drums. Do you still have a good amount of your old gear?
I do have some of that stuff,and I have friends that have some of the original stuff. Some of this stuff became obsolete and hard to find, but a lot of aficionados, you know, have kept it up. So I’m using a special set that I used during one of the Revolution shows when I did a heart benefit. I’m really bringing out the real authentic stuff on this one.

Watch Prince’s ‘Raspberry Beret’ Video

With hindsight, what have you come to appreciate about the music itself?
Just listening to these records when they pop up, that whether you’re in the store and “Raspberry Beret” pops on, how nonchalant it is into the culture. When people say “Let’s party like it’s [whatever year they say], you know it’s Prince [they are referencing].

There’s just certain things that have just become normal to us, and he’s ingrained in our historical and musical culture. He inspired so many people to do so many things. It’s absolutely incredible to look back and [more recent stuff like] Stranger Things, where they put “Purple Rain” in there, that’ll bring a new generation to appreciate this. He’s everlasting now, [to paraphrase] one of his songs, I think he’s ever-present, and it’s really remarkable.

READ MORE: Prince Tracks Skyrocket After Appearance in ‘Stranger Things’

I talked to you and Matt back in 2017 and one of the things he shared was that there was definitely a negotiation process between Prince and his management and Warner Brothers, when it came to getting them on board with the idea of doing a movie and being willing to fund it. In a sense, there’s a chance Purple Rain might never have happened, which is interesting to think about how the trajectory could have been completely different.
Oh yeah, I mean, timing is everything and with show business especially. The fact that Purple Rain was the sixth album of his first six-album deal, so he comes with the power of 1999 with “Little Red Corvette” and the hit [song] “1999” [as well], we got a little leverage there. His desire was to take [what was happening with] MTV and just go mad. You know, do a movie and go way beyond that.

But we were also inspired by things like Quadrophenia, which I don’t think people realize was such a huge impact on Prince, the Who’s movie with Sting in it, about the mods and the rockers. You know, [Purple Rain is] kind of a West Side Story with the Time versus the Revolution. There were inspiring stories that led to this, but his drive to get his management to convince the powers that be in Hollywood to make a movie is legendary, for sure.

Watch Prince’s ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ Video

What was the experience of doing Saturday Night Live in 1981? That’s known to be a grueling process getting ready for the actual show sometimes. How was it for you?
Todd Rundgren was actually the musical guest, so [he] did two songs and somehow we got  to be a featured artist [also]. I don’t know if there’s ever been a second act [like that]. We did “Party Up.” It was a kind of a blur because you’re so nervous that you just can’t believe it, but I think the performance was historic,

When that camera’s rolling, you know, the thing about Prince that was so great is that you were rehearsed so much, you did have that discipline. You need that in those moments when there’s 20,000 people or there’s live television cameras on you, you know, the discipline is everything. That made for a lot of historic moments that we could stay focused and and stay on track and just do the parts. Just play your part, do your job,

That was 1981 and even a few years in, there had already been a lot of evolution there. Who was the Prince that you met when you got enlisted in 1978?
Yeah, I mean, we were all kids, you know.  I met Prince and then Andre [Cymone] and we became a trio. There was no money and no band and [we were] just trying to make a beginning. The first tour there was like 17 people that we finally hobbled [together]. Luckily, we found Dez Dickerson, who was just the perfect fit, Gayle Chapman and Matt Fink, Dr. Fink. you know, we formed a unit that really worked,

But it took a while for for Prince to figure out his leadership skills. Once he had that, then he was able to lead us all the way to [becoming] Prince and the Revolution. So it evolves with each album, but he kept getting better and better and better, faster and faster and faster. And that brings you along with it and makes you go beyond your normal skills. [Bobby Z chuckles] He had the ability to elevate people in a way that was kind of not human. He was a supernatural character for sure.

Watch Prince’s ‘1999’ Video