See Unearthed Video Footage of an 11-Year-Old Prince

Rare footage of an 11-year-old Prince has surfaced thanks to the diligent work of some Minneapolis journalists. Reporters at WCCO, a local CBS affiliate, were working on an unrelated news story involving recent educator strikes.

As they culled their archive of footage, they honed in on a clip from April 1970, when a similar teacher's strike occurred. The footage included several young kids being interviewed by news crews, one of whom stood out as he jumped around.

"I immediately went out to the newsroom and started showing people and saying, 'I'm not going to tell you who I think this is, but who do you think this is?'" said Matt Liddy, production manager for WCCO. Every single person instantly recognized the young face as Prince's.

You can watch the clip below.

WCCO brought in specialists to help extract the audio from the film, and the voice of 11-year-old Prince could be heard as he's asked about local kids supporting the strike. "I think they should get a better education, too, because, um, and I think they should get some more money because they [are] working extra hours for us and all that stuff," he said.

The reporters at WCCO officially confirmed the young boy's identity by connecting with an old schoolmate of Prince's, Terrance Jackson, who also played drums in Prince's high school band, Grand Central. The footage brought him to tears.

"That's Skipper! Oh, my God!" Jackson said, using Prince's boyhood nickname. "Mark my words, you guys have found a real gem."