Prince's 1991 MTV Video Awards Performance Is Maybe The Sexiest Thing Ever Aired On TV

The 1991 MTV Video Music Awards marked a major turning point for the direction of music. Not only did a so-called “alternative” group (R.E.M.) sweep most of the awards, but the other nominees—ranging from Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” to Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”—helped stage the music promotions business for almost a decade. But the most memorable part of that Arsenio Hall-hosted program wasn’t any of the Moonmen handed out; it was Prince & The New Power Generation’s performance of “Gett Off.”

That came from P&tNPG’s not-yet-released Diamonds and Pearls, a record that opened the door for what would become the singer’s “symbol” phase. The performance—complete with Prince in an assless outfit, one parodied a year later by Howard Stern—is so damn sexy, we feel it a duty to present rare video of it in its entirety:

[MTV]