Video of Prince Interviewed as a Child Discovered in Unearthed Footage

Late musician Prince has been shown as an 11-year-old boy weighing in on the 1970 Minneapolis teachers' strike in recently unearthed video footage.

In a clip aired by Minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO, the young budding star is seen speaking with a reporter in April 1970, following the closure of his school due to a Minneapolis Public Schools educators' strike.

When asked if most of the children were in favor of the picketing, a young Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, answered in the affirmative, explaining: "I think they should get some more money, 'cause they be working extra hours for us, and all that stuff."

The 52-year-old footage was found and restored by WCCO in an effort to offer context to March's educators' strike that happened in the same district.

Matt Liddy, WCCO production manager, said that Prince was discovered in the 13 minutes of archived footage when he sat down to watch it.

He told the network: "I grew up in Minneapolis, so all I cared about was looking at cool old buildings from the place I grew up. Did I recognize my old school? Did I recognize any landmarks?"

After one young boy stood out to him, he said of his reaction: "I immediately just went out to the newsroom and started showing people and saying, 'I'm not gonna tell you who I think this is, but who do you think this is?' And every single person [said] 'Prince.'"

After getting the audio extracted and watching the video, Liddy said that one important factor was missing from identifying the child: "We did not get him saying 'I'm Prince Nelson.'"

As such, the network's team launched an investigation after hearing that one of the children in the clip had identified himself as Ronnie Kitchen.

They also leaned on the expertise of local historian and archeologist Kristen Zschomler, who is also described as a dedicated fan of Minneapolis native Prince, who passed away in April 2016 at the age of 57.

"They called him Skipper," Zschomler said of Prince. "I've written a big document sort of outlining his historic journey from Minneapolis' northside to Paisley Park and the world."

Noting the resemblance and mannerisms of the young boy to Prince the superstar, Zschomler said: "This definitely looks like Lincoln Junior High School where he would have been attending school in April of 1970."

Next in the investigation was Prince's old friend and former neighbor Terrance Jackson, who told WCCO: "We go far back as kindergarten at John Hay Elementary in north Minneapolis."

Jackson, who was also in Prince's first band, Grand Central, when they were teenagers, immediately recognized his friends in the footage, as he exclaimed: "Oh my God, that's Kitchen. That is Prince! Standing right there with the hat on, right? That's Skipper! Oh my God!"

"I am like blown away. I'm totally blown away," Jackson went on as he wiped tears from his eyes after hearing Prince speak. "He was already playing guitar and keys by then, phenomenally. Music became our sport. Because he was athletic, I was athletic, but we wanted to compete musically."

Prince continued to live in Minnesota throughout the years of his success, building his mammoth Paisley Park home and studios in the North Star State. He was found dead in an elevator at his complex in April 2016. A coroner report stated that Prince died as the result of an accidental overdose of fentanyl.

As Prince's legacy lives on, Zschomler told WCCO that the star's ties to his hometown are further strengthened by the unveiling of the footage.

"I think just seeing Prince as a young child in his neighborhood school, you know, it helps really ground him to that Minneapolis connection," Zschomler said.

"Even if they're momentary glimpses into what Minneapolis meant to him, what he stood up for when he lived in Minneapolis, just helps understand that symbiotic connection he had to his hometown."