# At 68, Morris Day Finally Confirms What We All Suspected!

In the early 1980s, Minneapolis birthed a musical empire under Prince’s iron grip. He didn’t just create music; he crafted entire worlds where his rules reigned supreme.

The Time, a funky, charismatic band led by Morris Day’s larger-than-life persona, was meant to be his side project. On stage, their sharp suits and slick grooves dazzled fans, but behind the scenes, Prince controlled every detail.

He wrote the songs, played the instruments, and produced under aliases, leaving Morris and the band as performers in his shadow. Yet, live, The Time often outshone their creator, sparking a tension between control and freedom that would define and ultimately fracture their legacy.

Prince’s design turned The Time into both a mirror and a rival. While Morris felt like a puppet—singing over Prince’s demos as if tracing a template—the band’s live charisma, with Morris’s showmanship and Jerome Benton’s mirror antics, stole crowds from Prince himself.

This dynamic exploded in *Purple Rain* (1984), where Morris played a flashy foil to Prince’s brooding lead, a rivalry that wasn’t just scripted but reflected real backstage struggles. The Time’s success became a double-edged sword; they were too good, threatening Prince’s spotlight, yet tethered to his will.

Cracks emerged by the mid-80s. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, key members, sought creative freedom, secretly producing for the SOS Band in Atlanta. Their track *Just Be Good to Me* became a hit, but a snowstorm delayed their return, missing a San Antonio gig.

Prince, unforgiving, fired them. Ironically, Jam and Lewis soared, shaping pop and R&B with Janet Jackson’s breakout, proving their genius beyond Prince’s orbit. Their exit exposed The Time’s fragility—Prince demanded obedience, but his musicians craved autonomy.

Morris became the band’s face, but offstage, his persona crumbled. Late arrivals, arguments, and drug struggles plagued him, including a rumored barefoot trek through a Minnesota snowstorm to Prince’s house for money.

Despite packed arenas, paychecks were meager, fueling resentment over Prince’s control. *Purple Rain* showcased their peak, but infighting and Morris’s addiction deepened the collapse. In his memoir, Morris admitted feeling like a prop, not a star, with even playful moments like a food fight with Prince stinging as disrespect.

Post-Prince’s 2016 death, unresolved grief and irony lingered—Prince had criticized Morris’s drug use, yet fentanyl claimed him. Reunions like 1990’s *Graffiti Bridge* and 2011’s Original 7 faltered amid egos and money disputes. In 2022, Morris revealed the Prince estate barred him from using “Morris Day and The Time,” stripping his identity after 40 years.

The estate cited 1982 contracts, seeing it as business; to Morris, it was betrayal. The Time’s tragedy endures—despite hits and style, they never owned their music, money, or name. Prince gave them life but kept them bound, even from beyond. At 68, Morris confirms what fans suspected: brilliance tangled with control left a legacy of what-ifs.