Prince may have been known for his brilliance in more ways than one, but Beyoncé is highlighting a lesser-known talent of the late legendary artist -- his comedic timing.
The Lemonade singer penned the foreword of Prince: A Private View -- a photo retrospective of the pop icon's life, featuring the photography of Afshin Shahidi (father of Black-ish star Yara Shahidi) -- on shelves Oct. 24. In one excerpt, Queen Bey admits she almost lost it while performing with the "Purple Rain" rocker at the 2004 GRAMMYs, because of how he ended the performance.
Photo: St. Martin's Press
“Prince’s timing was genius and his sense of humor, spontaneous and unexpected," Beyonce, 34, writes. "At the end of 'Purple Rain'/'Let’s Go Crazy'/'Crazy in Love' medley, I had no idea he would say what he did. We did talk about making a face but when he blurted out 'Don’t hate us ‘cause we fab,' it took everything I had to keep my composure."
Remembering the performance, we can see why it'd be hard not to!
Backing up, Beyoncé begins the excerpt by telling the story of how the two prepared for their spectacular GRAMMYs appearance.
“I was a huge Prince fan and admirer of his sense of style on and off stage long before the fall of 2003, right after my twenty-second birthday, when we said yes to performing together at the 46th GRAMMY Awards in 2004," she writes. "We set our rehearsals together for one week before the show. Toward the end of January, I traveled to Los Angeles to settle in to a soundstage to prepare for our performance. When Prince walked into the rehearsals, dressed impeccably from head to toe, he greeted everyone with a shy, almost mischievous smile and a commanding presence."
“There were many teachable moments during those rehearsals and Prince proved to be a generous teacher," she continues.
Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota on April 21, 2016 at age 57.
Of course, Beyonce's story of Prince makes perfect sense when you consider all the times the music genius brilliantly spoke his mind.
Watch the video below for some of the many times he did so -- including when he kicked Kim Kardashian West off the stage!
