Cool Comments From Two YouTube Discussion Threads Of Prince's Performance Of His Song "Cool"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on the African American vernacular meanings of the word "cool".

Part III provides information about Prince and showcases the song "Cool" as performed by Prince, the composer of that song. Selected comments from two YouTube videos of Prince's performances of that song are also included in this post. Click Part II for the lyrics for this song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/03/how-vernacular-meaning-of-cool-changed.html for Part I of this series. Part I provides some historical information about the changing vernacular meanings of the word "cool" in the United States.

Click for Part II of this series. Part II provides information about The Time (also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven) and the song "Cool". This post also showcases five YouTube examples of the song "Cool" as performed by The Time. That song's lyrics are also included in this post along with selected comments from those discussion threads. Particular attention is given to those comments that include the superlative meaning for the word "cool" or include more contemporary African American originated vernacular words with that same or very similar meaning.

The content of this post is presented for linguistic, historical, folkloric, and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Prince for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)
'Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, philanthropist, dancer and record producer. He was a musical innovator who was known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, extravagant dress and makeup, and wide vocal range. His music integrates a wide variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia, and pop. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.[2] He won seven Grammy Awards,[3] an American Music Award,[4] a Golden Globe Award,[5] and an Academy Award for the film Purple Rain.[6] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.[7] Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists, "the most influential artists of the rock & roll era".[8]"...

-snip-
Click the link for Part II of this series given above for information about the 1981 song "Cool" that was written, produced, and partly performed by Prince.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Exclusive Video: Prince's Welcome 2 America Tour



Live Nation, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011

...Prince performing in Charlotte, NC during his Welcome 2 America tour!
-snip-
Songs performed: "Cool" and "Let's Work"

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Example #2: Prince Crazy2Cool



Jérémy Caby, Published on Apr 27, 2016

live zenith Paris juin 2014 2nd show

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Based on my direct experiences and my informal research, the vernacular word "cool" has changed among African Americans and perhaps among other Americans, and others from the meaning "self-possessed, "calm", "unruffled", "laid back" to being "great", "hip", "awesome", to a term that means that something that is/was said or done is [or someone is] "alright, "okay", "acceptable".

I also think that when African Americans changed the vernacular usage/meaning of the word "cool" (and other vernacular words that we created) when that word is appropriated by White Americans. That word is then replaced by another (or other) vernacular terms and only used by African Americans to evoke, represent, and/or pay homage to those artists and those "old school" times (such as in YouTube video discussion threads about The Time's and Prince's song "Cool".)

My position is that African Americans [and perhaps also other Americans] no longer routinely use the vernacular word "cool" as a superlative. I think that since at least the beginning 2000s, if not earlier, African Americans replaced the vernacular word "cool" (meaning "great", "hip", "awesome") and some other similarly defined African American originated superlative words/phrases such as "bad", "hip", and "hot" with "He [or it] is the sh&t" (usually with that word's full spelling) and such vernacular terms has "It [or he] is fire [fiyah]", "He [or it] is sick", and "He's a beast".

With regard to what I think is the largely retired use of the vernacular word "cool" as a superlative among African Americans, after reading a number of YouTube discussion threads of the Time's and Prince's performances of the song "Cool", it seems that African Americans ad others used/use certain adverbs with the vernacular word "cool" and not others (for instance, "real" and not "really").

I plan to publish other pancocojams posts that showcase African American music examples of the vernacular word "cool". Those posts will be identified by clicking the "vernacular use of the word cool" tag below.

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM DISCUSSION THREADS FOR PRINCE'S PERFORMANCE OF "COOL"
Here are selected comments that include the vernacular use of "cool" from the discussion threads for these five featured YouTube examples. Additional comments are also quoted that include African American originated vernacular terms with the same meanings from the 1980s (or earlier) as well as more contemporary African American vernacular terms that have the same superlative meaning as the word "cool".

I'm particularly interested in the use of adverbs as qualifiers of the vernacular word "cool" (and other African American originated vernacular words).

These comments are given in relative chronological order with the oldest comments given first except for replies. They are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Note that I only use partial spelling of profanity on this pancocojams blog to help ensure that its content is accessible in schools and other public institutions. The amended spelling for profanity [even if the intended meaning is complimentary] is noted by an asterisk.

Disclaimer: I don't mean to imply that all the YouTube commenters who are quoted in this post are African Americans. However, based on the photographs of the commenters a large number of these commenters are Black.

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF49nZ1ydJg
(given above as Showcase Video #1)

2013
1. Hiesenberg Walt
"probably the coolest man alive.... coming from a guy straight as an arrow"

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2. Trish Hellrazor
"Good Lawd he's just COOL!!!!"

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3. harpreet singh
"Lot of Morris e Day in there!!
"wait a minute.."

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Reply
4. jazzy1ification
"But still, it's prince's song, da Boss, tight as hell"

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5. ahulin49
"That bass run at 3:25 was sick.."

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6. saberyvonne1
"Prince is HOTTTT!"

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7. Simply1Tracie
"I ❤️ you Prince!!! You're so damn hott!"

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8. ronninb1up
"Prince is by far the Smartest Music Artists of the 70's 80's 90's 2000's, Why ? What So we know about him ? NOTHING, ALL WE DO IN NOW IS ONSTAGE HE IS A BEAST. ...AFTER THAT NOTHING AT, I ADMIRE GOD THIS MAN AS A MUSITION IS A Genuine ARTIST....."
-snip-
"Beast" is a high compliment perhaps because a person so named has the power to easily vanquish mere humans.

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9. Ali Sinclair
"Prince is the coolest futhermucker on the planet - always has been and always will be"

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10. xplanet2112
"This is him showing it like it should be! Not too sure about this rock tip he's on, don't get me wrong it's cool n all but this is the Prince I wanna see!! Two classic funky old school Prince tunes played live, sheeeeet, It don't get much better than that!"
-snip-
In this comment "cool" means "It's alright"; "It's okay". I think this vernacular meaning for "cool" is used by African Americans nowadays more than its superlative meaning.

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2014
11. ArtnMusicLady
"PRINCE is 4EVER Supa CooL! I LOVE U PRINCE! A musical GENIUS indeed"

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12. Tony Williams
"Prince is the baddest musician on the planet!!"

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13. Shae Rosemary
"he's just COOL....Aint nobody better..."

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14. Alicia White
"2 Funky!!!"

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15. Ray Baby
"Ccccccccccccccc Ooooooooooo Llllllll!"

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16. leav4g
"Prince getting down. One of the persons on my bucket list to go see live. Always bad."

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17. Xi Zui
"So mighty fine."

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18. martha jane
"His bass player is off the HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOk."

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2015
19. Andzia Zach
"This is the coolest video I've seen in my entire life. I'll be watching it on loop eating my last supper!"

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20. Tisha King
"Why would anyone thumbs down this?!?! I know everyone has their own opinion, but this is off the chain!!! Prince is STILL amazing!!!"

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21. Pedat The Circumspect IBMOR
"Well it IS Prince, ya know? What can you say? The lady thumping the bass is hella tight on that mug...Ida Nielsen..cute as hell too!

You see Matt Fink still on the keyboards, huh? Now that cat IS old! And of course, I remember the drummer John Blackwell. He's been Prince's concert drummer for ages. I first saw him at Prince's Lovesexy tour in Columbus, Ohio and he beat the hella outta them drums, and never left the pocket."
-snip-
Another commenter corrected this comment by writing that the keyboardist was Renato Neto.

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22. Will Dixon
"the coldest Kat in the industry PERIOD."

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23. mike1who1
"Cool Morris Day and the Time.. Dand that female bass player ripping it up. These young ppl need to get schooled.. Also, I can see some of James Brown in his moves."

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24. blueangeloftheseas
"hONEY, BABY CAN'T YOU SEE......AIN'T NOBODY BAD LIKE ME"

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2016
25. Boss LadyLaLa1
"Aint nobody bad like PRINCE!!! So cool."
-snip-
It just occurred to me that the word "so" in "so cool", "so fine", "so funky" etc is probably a clip of "so very".

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26. Rob Orton
"Way to cool for this planet, Prince RIP and thank you ."

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27. Flick Flick1
"Has anyone cooler ever walked the earth? I don't think so."

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28. cheezeburger100
"Baddd man..Baddd to tha Bone..Rest easy my sweet Prince!!"

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29. Toni Peterson
"Prince directeď,wrote and invented Time he is the Boss,King they did what he said"

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30. Brenda Spillane
"This makes me happy every time I hear it! Coz there ain't nobody bad like me! C.O.O.L Do you know why? Coz your Cool! PRINCE the Funkmaster! King of the Funk!"

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Reply
31. longlivethe80s
"+Toni Peterson You may be right, but The Time are badasses and The Revolution was upstaged consistently by them."

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32. Norlee Garcia
Prince is one smoking hot Cool brother. Luv u man where ever you're at. Peace be with you.

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33. Cartoon Mikeez1
"What a life this man had. Not many are lucky enough to. But Prince was certainly one of em. Awesome kickass pop and rock ballads. Master of electric guitar. Outstanding vocal range. Lover of women. Man he only ever had the hottest females by his side throughout his life. And I mean the women he dated were not the normal women of our planet. The guy was just magic-like. R.I.P Prince."

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34. Natalie Abernathy
"As a Saginaw Mi DJ Called Him His Royal Badness! He loved the name so much he trademark the name! RIP! Just can't stop CRYING!"

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35. B B
"I see your comments and what more superlatives could you add to describe the depths of this man. He was absolutely stunning cheeky exacting playful sexy as heck and he showed us his true inner beauty in every recording. This concert piece is an absolute favourite must've seen this 20 times it's fabulous. You hear about Elvis who I love stumbling through his concerts before his end at 42. Prince was about 50 here right? And he was rocking like a 20 year old. The loss is epic and palpable. Blessings and comfort to those who were truly close to him."

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36. Archie Jackson
"James brown, sly stone Marvin gaye, Jimmy hendrix ,Carlos santana and Erie isley all wrapped up in 1 bad ass .package.."

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37. Barry Wolk
"I saw Prince do this number (that he wrote for Morris Day and the Time decades ago) at Madison Square Garden in NYC in December of 2010 and I can assure you that it was the biggest, greatest, bestest party... EVER!!
Look at the way this cat moves!!"

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38. von list
"This my friends is (1 of) the BEST GREATEST FANTASTIC'est (if thats not a word, it is now) shows he did. He is SMOKING baby!!! "can I get a witness"? maybe a Jehovah Witness...😄"
-snip-
This is an inside joke as Prince was a Jehovah Witness.

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39. BA Brinson
"Anyone know the name of the Bass Player and Miss cool lady on (Organ) not sure what to call it? thanks"

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Reply
40. Julia Thaxton Drumz
"Ida Nielsen on bass and Cassandra O'Neal on organ/piano."

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41. Toni Peterson
"this is too good Prince just cool"

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2017
42. joangreg
"I was ill in bed last weekend with really bad viral infection....I have ALWAYS adored the man......his music,....stage presence.....and was honoured to see him perform..... this set just lifted me...from feeling down in the dumps..miserable....boy could he move and couldn't stop playing it for days....Yeah he was SUPERCOOL....RIP beautiful man.....miss you always...."

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43. Melissa Wilson
"He is so cool big time!!!"

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From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq_N5TKOwIg&t=631s [given as Showcase Video #2 above]

2016
2. Nongoma Ndlovu
"this man was toooo fly for life!"

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Reply
2. SheisAware Now, 2017
"Nongoma Ndlovu, Absolutely right!"

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3.Orange Haze
"It would be a sin to not release this FULL show on a dvd/bluray! Prince with 3rd Eye Girl absolutely smoked! Can't believe we lost him at the pinnacle of his career"

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4. Don Funk
"Prince live is the Music! - crazy take me with u with a rasberry beret, u got the look just 2 cool"

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5. Vicki Coleman
"BAD ASS!💋☔️🎸"

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Reply
6. Mary Coleman
"Church 👏👏👏👏💜💜💜💜💜"
-snip-
"Church" here is probably the same thing as saying "Amen!" to indicate that you wholeheartedly agree with what was said.

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7. Howard Be
"Absolutely f&&king* crazy cool performance. O PRICE why the f&&k* did you took this medicine ;( Solo guitar in U got the look is extremely cool ... U were the best in Ur kind!"
-snip-
As a reminder, these words were fully spelled out in this comment.

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2017
8. Juge44
"Brilliant!! Love the way he's so cool at the start when the curtain drops!"

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9. Heil Hydra
"Prince wasn't low energy like Jeb Bush! He was HIGH ENERGY"
-snip-
Jeb Bush, former governor of the Florida, who Donald Trump accused of being bland and having low energy.

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10. Heil Hydra
"Prince was HIGH ENERGY"
-snip-
There were no comments in this discussion thread that indicated that Prince's performance in that concert or Prince himself was low energy. My guess is that the commenter was using the old (outdated and retired meaning for the word "cool": "calm", "emotionally tightly controlled", "laid-back", etc.

A lot of commenters in the first discussion thread wrote that Prince himself and his concert performances were electrifying, and heated up the atmostphere. This is the opposite meaning of the word "cool" as it was used for "cool jazz" and "Keep your cool", and "Cool out".

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This concludes this pancocojams series on the vernacular meanings and use of the word "cool".

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