Prince dead: Alicia Keys remembers Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony

'His music left me changed forever,' she writes

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Photo: Michael Caulfield/WireImage

Alicia Keys penned an emotional tribute on her website to the late Prince, who died at 57 on Thursday morning, calling him “a gift, a genius, and a reminder that we have no limits.”

“Perhaps the most tremendous thing Prince showed us is how music can be the closest expression of freedom. His songs defied all the rules and taught us to let go of boundaries placed on us by the world and by each other,” Keys wrote. “The only person who can keep chains around us and box us up is ourselves. He never gave in. I’m grateful for his example. I’m that much more free because of Prince.”

At Prince’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony 12 years ago, Keys gave the induction speech, with Outkast joining her on stage. She explained the Purple Rain musician influenced her career and life: “Because of him, I’ve never wanted to be like anyone else but myself, and because of his music, my music has wings to be different.”

Read Keys’ full remarks on her site, and see her Keys’ induction speech above.

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