Prince has died at the age of 57, according to TMZ. A rep for the singer said the he had been battling a nasty bout of flu for several weeks, and had cancelled two shows. Prince did manage to perform on Thursday night in Atlanta, but by the time he boarded his place he felt much worse. The plane then made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, where he was treated at the hospital for three hours. After being released, he got back onto his place and went home, where he was reportedly "fine."

Prior to the incident, in 2009, the international superstar revealed he struggled with epilepsy, and that he developed his flashy persona to compensate for the illness. That persona helped his meteoric rise to fame in the 80s, when he released hits such as "1999" and "Little Red Corvette."

“I’ve never spoken about this before but I was born epileptic,” he told PBS’s Tavis Smiley. “I used to have seizures when I was young. My mother and father didn’t know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what little they had.”

People with epilepsy are not necessarily considered a “high-risk” group by the Department of Health, meaning that they are not automatically called to get a flu vaccine just because they have epilepsy.

The pop star also struggled with hip problems, first reported in 2005. As a Jehovah's Witness, however, he had refused to have a blood transfusion, making a hip replacement operation a no-go. Prince was kown for carrying canes since the 1990s.

It is unknown whether his bout with flu had anything to do with his health history. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.