Prince, Secret Philanthropic Force That He Is, Once Paid Off Clyde Stubblefield's Medical Bills
It's no secret now that when Prince wasn't curled over a mixing console or locked up in his studio or leaving a stage ablaze in his wake, that he was out here, very secretly, enacting real and substantive change in the world. Whether by way of his Love 4 One Another charity organization or private donation, behind-the-scenes, Prince made it clear that he took his philanthropic duties quite seriously.
According to Billboard, Prince's privately funded revolution included an $80,000 bid to help the Funky Drummer, none other than Clyde Stubblefield, pay off his medical bills after he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in the early 2000s and started chemotherapy regiment. Stubblefield, of course, is an actual legend, who played with James Brown and is the architect of what is unquestionably the single most sampled drum breaks in hip-hop history. At the age of 73, Stubblefield is still with us and we now know that Prince is to thank. There will surely be more stories of Prince's veiled altruism in the weeks ahead, only adding to an incomparable legacy, still expanding and deepening a week after his untimely death.
