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Local Reaction Pouring In Following Death Of Prince

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Many people from our area are sharing their thoughts with KYW Newsradio following the death of the legendary singer Prince.

"It's a huge, huge loss," says KYW sports personality Ricky Ricardo.

Ricardo has worked in radio for decades. He was the second command at legendary music station WBLS in New York and knew "Prince - who's legal name is Prince Rogers Nelson" very well.

Ricardo was the first to play many of Prince's new songs.

"He had no stereotype," he says. "He's a man that wasn't a black artist, wasn't a white artist -- he was simply brilliant and was just Prince."

READ: Celebrities React To Prince's Death

He says Prince lived a clean life -- no drinking or smoking -- but eccentric and powerful:

"You got a feeling that you were around royalty when you were near Prince."

Ricardo says Prince revolutionized the music world and will be missed:

"To put it in capsule-- Prince nothing compares to you."

PHOTOS: Remembering The Iconic Life Of Prince

Philadelphia Radio Personality Patty Jackson began playing Prince albums over the airways immediately after hearing of his death.

"He was the catalyst for so much of that good 80's music."

She says he "changed the game" in music in the 1980s:

"When he came out with Purple Rain, it was so breaking because you had the movie, you had the video-- it was when videos first started taking form."

Jackson recalls seeing Prince perform in Philadelphia:

"One of the best concerts I ever saw because I was so in love with Prince was when he would come to the Spectrum, and it would be an experience because you were watching a true musician."

Prince performed at the Spectrum during his Purple Rain tour...in 1984.

READ: President Obama Mourns 'Creative Icon' Prince

Sound of Philadelphia creator Kenny Gamble spoke to reporters about what Prince's music meant to the industry.

"Prince was a musician first," he says.

Gamble reflected on past meetings with the legendary Prince. He called him "unique" and a once in a lifetime talent who created his own sound, but was socially conscious.

"He was a deep thinker and he used his music and his artistry to send messages out about Freddie Gray and all of the turmoil going on in this country."
That song -- titled Baltimore -- was released last year. Prince even performed a concert in the city at an event he called "Rally for Peace."

Gamble says that was his greatest accomplishment:

"He was still conscious of the real world and not the illusion that a lot of people live in."

He calls Prince a true artist...far ahead of his time.

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