Dearly Beloved: Prince, Spirituality, & This Thing Called Life opens with a recommended viewing of Sign O’ the Times and a curated list of songs setting the stage for an exploration of Prince Rogers Nelson’s (1958–2016) musical genius and spiritual legacy. Author Pamela Ayo Yetunde argues that this legacy merits his induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

The book frequently reminds us that “before Prince died, he released more than forty albums and hundreds of singles, selling more than one hundred million records.” Yet it goes without saying that this is not a book about Prince; it is a book about his theology. Yetunde offers this definition, framing Prince as a spiritual thinker: “A theologian, simply put, is someone who studies the nature of God and gods and those who think about God and gods.” Understanding this description, I concur.

Prince was a theologian who grew up Seventh-Day Adventist, later embracing Jehovah’s Witness teachings while exploring diverse spiritual influences like the Kama Sutra—elements Yetunde makes a strong case for undergirding his faith and much of his artistry. As she points out in Dearly Beloved, Prince’s lyrics often challenged conventional ideas about love, life, and sexuality. From songs I still remember lyrics to all the way to songs I never knew existed, the author explains how Prince’s backstory paved the way for the religious fluidity that shaped his life and the narratives he wrote and sang about. She highlights how he addressed each listener as “Dearly Beloved,” a phrase intended to emphasize their inherent worth and to encourage self-reflection.

Throughout Dearly Beloved, Yetunde guides readers to engage with Prince’s work on a deeper level, offering playlists and analyses of songs and films like Graffiti Bridge. From “Purple Rain,” “When Doves Cry,” and “I Would Die 4 You” to “Annie Christian,” “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker,” and “Little Red Corvette,” she focuses on Prince’s intentional word choices, showing how he used his music to convey affirmations of love and purpose. One central idea is that being recognized as “Dearly Beloved” can shift one’s consciousness. And after reading her observations and offerings, I understand what she meant by “those who may not initially feel as though Dearly Beloved is meant for them.”

Even if we harbor thoughts about our innate goodness, feel discouraged, and become a victim, we are still beloved, in part, because we can choose to positively orient our hearts and minds.
(“I Want to Be Your Lover,” Dearly Beloved, 24)

Those words speak an affirmation so many need to hear yet few realize The Artist was speaking directly to each of us when penning, singing, and/or performing those lyrics. To Yetunde’s point, there are also constant pauses when addressing readers as such. She is quite intentional about making sure we get it. And, after the third time around, I too felt the weight of that pause and my subconsciousness shifted. I, too, am Dearly Beloved!

Yetunde asks each of us to “Please use your imagination to take that in and visualize yourself as part of a global family…To be Dearly Beloved is like being called by your true essence name—the one you were named before your essence was reduced to a conventional name.” My consciousness did not shift until I read this passage. However, she makes the claim that “being understood as a Dearly Beloved darlin’ can shift one’s consciousness.” When I continued to be open-minded and freely explored Dearly Beloved, the way Yetunde explains, I got that I, too, am Dearly Beloved. And the clarity that came changed my entire perspective. She was right. Her exploration encourages mindfulness and self-awareness, positioning Prince as a guide for navigating “this thing called life.” She supports her arguments with insights from those who knew Prince personally, such as Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin, musicians and members the band Prince and the Revolution, and his first wife, Mayte Garcia. Their accounts reveal a man deeply committed to prayer, signs, and spiritual reflection, even as he grappled with personal tragedies like the death of his son.

Although I grew weary of the constant repetitiveness of dates, song titles, and album sales, the other information held my attention long enough to finish. Without the continual reminders about Prince’s spiritual teacher moving to Minneapolis, or his son’s death, or that he released more than forty albums or over a hundred songs, I might have liked it more. However, I neither enjoyed nor disliked the material; I only saw Dearly Beloved as a very informative book. Being inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame or not takes nothing away from The Artist, neither would it add to his significance as a cultural and musical icon.

Yetunde alludes that “In Prince’s theology, wisdom without devotion is not the kind of love that will get anyone across the bridge into eternal life.” The depth of his songs now speaks volumes to me, as the author includes prayers, affirmations, guided visualizations, practices—found at the end of each chapter—and several challenges, like evaluating our origin story and belief systems. Yetunde poses many questions about “this thing called life” and His Royal Highness’s various attempts to be part of the “everybody wants to cross Graffiti Bridge” experience—a song about mindfulness. And, in doing this thing called life together, she apologizes for not being able to use everybody’s favorite songs, albums, and movies early enough. But, with so many options, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, ThD, understands and shares in the intensity of the body of work called Theology of Prince. She balances her findings out and strategically uses her experience as a pastoral counselor, an educator, and founder of the Theology of Prince project at United Theological Seminary at Twin Cities to shift conversations to consciously choosing to be part of Prince’s Dearly Beloved mantra.

In short, Yetunde has done the work here to inspire us all into action to “improve our own self-awareness, reduce the power of prejudice, and to improve our own ability to experience internal and external harmony.” Just as she tells of a Prince poster bringing her to a cross-cultural relationship, she encourages and celebrates Dearly Beloved bridging gaps and creating opportunities for nontraditional rites of passages into the sacred space of worship—in the purple rain.