The White House released the following statement from President Barack Obama following the sudden, unexpected death of 57-year-old musical legend Prince on Thursday:

President Obama's statement on the passing of Prince pic.twitter.com/Ecc43yL6L7 — NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) April 21, 2016

The "A strong spirit transcends rules" quote apparently comes from a 1999 interview with Barney Hoskyns. Prince continued: "As RZA of Wu-Tang said: 'I ain't commercial; it's y'all who tell me whether I'm commercial or not.'"

For 11 more notable Prince quotes, see German Lopez's article here. And to remember what a musical talent Prince was, check out 14 of his most iconic songs here.