(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NCLR)

As the tributes to Prince continue rolling in, President Barack Obama added his own.

“Today, the world lost a creative icon,” Obama said in a statement offering condolences to his family and band. “Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent. As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer.”

Prince was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. after being found in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Last year, Prince played a private show (with a cameo by Stevie Wonder) at the White House that was paid for by the Obamas and kept remarkably quiet.

Obama reminds us that Prince once said “a strong spirit transcends rule,” and the president added: “nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative.”