Abstract
<jats:p>In “Prince as Revolutionary Mother,” I’m using a queer and black feminist framework to take a new look at Prince’s complex approach to collaboration and mentorship. Writing against images of Prince’s creativity as singular and individualized genius, I consider the ways that mentorship and friendship characterize a form of erotic production. Prince gives us a chance to see Black Feminist kinship and carework in action, even as it is sometimes shaped by counter forces of patriarchy, homophobia and intergenerational trauma. I draw from Black feminist theorizing of motherhood and kinship by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, June Jordan, and Audre Lorde, looking closely at the music of Prince together with Meshell Ndegeocello and Janelle Monáe.</jats:p>