This is the grail of Prince records.
The black album was suppose to come out right after Sign o’the Times in 1987 but Prince freaked out and pulled it only a few weeks before it was suppose to hit stores.
No one really knows why the Purple One decided to shelf the black one but popular roomers include:
1. Prince decided the album was evil.
2. Prince decided he was done singing about sex and violence.
3. Prince took a bunch of MDMA and freaked out.
Any way a few promo copies still made it out and bootleggers went bananas. I got one of these bootleg cassettes of it on the street for a dollar yesterday. STOKED!
Any way this album rullz. It’s totally raw and super funky. It sounds like no Prince record you have head before probably cause you weren’t suppose to hear it. Originally conceived as party music for Sheila E’s birthday celebration, it sounds like Prince rounded up the family to do some fucked up P.Funk covers and faux hip hop tracks with amazingly bad electronic drums.
It rullz!
And if you ever wanted to hear what prince would sound like if he tried to be Ice-T then check out the track “Bob George.” It plays like a funky Body Count song, with Prince taking on an alter ego with a voice that sounds like hes in the witness protection program. In the track he is swearing up a storm, kills a bitch, then calls Prince “That skinny motherfucker with the high voice.” (this is where Dump, fet. members of Yo La Tengo, got the title for their prince covers record!)
Prince hated the Black Album so much and coulden’t stand the fact that people were getting boots of it that in the video for Alphabet St. the first single from his next record Lovesexy, there is a hidden message saying “Don’t buy the Black Album, I’m Sorry.”
Don’t believe me? How bout Kurt Loder?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBTD_jPtftM[/youtube]
No Prince I’m sorry you didn’t have more confidence in your genius. And I’m sorry I’m now giving away a free copy of a record you hate.
Enjoy!
