Anyone who is anyone has a Prince story.
Former NBA star Alonzo Mourning shared his Prince story during an appearance on Legends Live with Trill Withers. Mourning remembers going to Prince’s Paisley Park in Minnesota to attend what he believes to be the “livest party” he’s ever been to in his whole career.
Some highlights from the memorable night included seeing a shirtless Prince inside a cage as he’s being lowered onto the stage, and a woman wearing a leash held by the singer.
“It was over-the-top, it was something out of a movie,” Mourning recalls. “Being a 23, 24-year-old kid, man, I was like, eyes like saucers. This is what it’s all about.”
While it’s unclear if Prince had a friendship with Mourning, at least he can look back fondly at seeing the singer in his early 20s, unlike Carlos Boozer. According to The Undefeated, shortly after buying a 10-bedroom mansion in Bel-Air in 2005, Boozer was receiving numerous calls from people who wanted to rent out the residence since he would be in Utah for training camp with the Jazz.
After rejecting one bid after another, a persistent caller managed to get through to Boozer. It probably helped that this mystery person was offering to pay $95,000 per month to lease the place. On an off-day, Boozer flew back to Los Angeles to meet with the unknown buyer in person. It didn’t take long for Boozer to realize that the person coming out of the limo that pulled up to his new crib was Prince.
The two bonded over their mutual love for basketball, and Prince disclosed to Boozer that he and his band wanted to go somewhere that would help inspire them to craft their new album, and he was willing to sign a one-year lease. Boozer agreed to his offer.
A few weeks later, Boozer suffered a hamstring injury, and flew back to L.A. to see his physical therapist. While there, he figured he would swing by his home. When he got there, Boozer noticed that the place had undergone several changes. The gate was adorned with his symbol. The interior aesthetics that were picked out by his wife were also changed. Guest rooms became hair salons and massage parlors, and his weight room was a dance floor.
Boozer furiously contacted Prince to ask about the changes, but the singer went AWOL on him for months. Boozer threatened to sue him over the alterations, and it was then that he received a call back. Prince offered him $500,000 and promised that when he returned, it would look like he was never there.
One year later, Prince lived up to his word, but there’s a living testament to what went down at Boozer’s home on the cover of his 2006 album 3121. "If you look at the CD cover, it’s my house,” Boozer said. “So he put the house all in the CD cover."
