South Mpls. Business Pays Tribute To Prince
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Across the street from where Prince went to high school in south Minneapolis sits a custom T-shirt shop that is busy honoring the man and his music.
"It was basically for a tribute for Prince," said Zach King, who runs Southside Custom Express. "We came up with this design, so once we made it, we were wearing our shirts."
People noticed and wanted to buy them.
"It has the RIP design that we came up with, and it's filled in with purple rain," King said.
King's shop also sells themed hats, socks, dog tags, shirts, and mugs.
"Basically, kind of like whatever people want," King said.
He says he reached out to Prince's camp to make sure he had permission to honor the legend.
"I contacted Prince's DJ, Brother Jules, who was getting me in touch with Prince's lawyer to clear everything, I wanted to go the right way and do everything legal," King said.
According to Minnesota law, King didn't need the family's permission to use Prince's image.
Minnesota does not have a law protecting the image of dead people, meaning anyone can use his image for profit.
States like California and Tennessee have laws to stop that from happening.
King says it's not about the money, he also honors Prince's memory by doing what the Purple One did best -- help others.
"We do shirts for other people in the community, people that pass away," King said. "We donate to the families, we give back to the community."
King says he can put Prince's image on just about anything.
Those interested in Prince shirts and hats can go to www.PRINCESHIRTZ.MYSIMPLESTORE.COM for more information.