Legendary musician and cultural icon Prince has reportedly died at the age of 57. TMZ broke the news, which has since been confirmed by multiple sources, including the Associated Press. The body of the singer and multi-instrumentalist was discovered at his Paisley Park studio in Minnesota this morning. He had reportedly had a medical emergency just days ago, but appeared at a concert shortly after.

Prince Rogers Nelson 1958-2016:

Since his 1978 debut, For You, Prince has challenged all music business conventions while also creating defiantly original music, largely devoid of genre restrictions. He was widely known for his exacting control over all aspects of his career, to the occasional dismay of his various backing musicians and proteges, and a prolific recorded output. He released more than 40 albums in the last 38 years, scored five Billboard number one single, four number one albums and appeared in the top 40 every year from 1979 to 1999.

His 1984 soundtrack album Purple Rain is widely recognized as one of the greatest albums in recorded history, and launched a musical empire via his related work with The Time and Apollonia, who also appeared in the film with him. His various backing bands, The Revolution, New Power Generation, and 3RDEYEGIRL have also been fertile ground for rising talents, most notably drummer Sheila E. He’s also done extensive production and session work for such artists as Madonna, Chaka Khan, and Larry Graham, in addition to writing hits for artists as far afield as Sinead O’Connor.

Prince is also known for his long-documented battles with Warner Bros., the company that had him under recording contract until 1996, and publishing until 2000. From 1993 until the expiration of his publishing contract, Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, and frequently appeared in the press with the word “slave” written on his face, all in efforts to circumvent and force the cancellation of his agreements with Warner. In recent years it had been reported that Prince and Warner had mended their relationship and had plans to remaster and re-release much of his Warner catalog, but those plans had not yet come to fruition by the time of his passing.

Prince was also a man of great myth. He allegedly altered his speaking voice to a lower pitch based on aesthetic preference, was known to keep musicians on-call at all hours to record at his studio, and as portrayed in the classic Chappelle’s Show episode, he was very particular about making sure his guests always ate breakfast. He’s also taken a very hard stance against the internet, and was notorious for issuing YouTube takedown notifications and pursuing legal action against people and organizations who shared his music for free.

He leaves behind an unprecedented legacy of creativity and exacting precision, and a catalog of music that still sounds exactly the way he wanted it to sound.