What We Know About Prince's First Album Since His Death
Prince is undoubtedly one of pop culture's most influential and iconic stars. According to Britannica, the "Purple Rain" hitmaker kickstarted his career in the 1970s and soon cemented himself as one of the biggest musicians of the 1980s.
On April 21, 2016, the multitalented entertainer died at age 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minn., per NBC News. Up until his death, Prince was still actively making music. In December 2015, he released his 29th and final studio album, HITnRUN Phase Two, which peaked at No. 40 the U.S. Billboard 200. Prince's legacy still lives on and continues to make a huge impact on the young stars of today.
Since his death, music from Prince's vault has been released. According to Rolling Stone, a demo album, Piano and a Microphone, dropped in September 2018. The following year, another posthumous demo record, Originals, came out, per Stereogum. Now, in April 2021, one of Prince's shelved studio albums will be the next to grace our eardrums. Keep reading to find out more.
Prince's next album was recorded more than 10 years ago
Good news for Prince fans! His unreleased studio album, Welcome 2 America, will finally get released this summer. According to Rolling Stone, the LP is scheduled to drop on July 30, 2021.
Ahead of the record's release, the Prince Estate has already dropped the album title track for listeners to enjoy. Sonically, the song is a "spoken word soliloquy" that lyrically "criticized social media, celebrity culture, music industry monopolies," per Rolling Stone. The smooth track is true to Prince's brand and will no doubt impress his fan base. The Estate shared the late singer's words from a 2010 statement: "The world is fraught with misin4mation. George Orwell's vision of the future is here. We need 2 remain steadfast in faith in the trying times ahead."
Welcome 2 America was initially supposed to be released more than a decade ago. The album consists of 10 original tracks and a cover of Soul Asylum's "Stand Up and B Strong." Even though none of the songs have ever been released, Prince has performed a handful of the songs live and even embarked on a tour named after the album in 2011.
The deluxe edition will include a never-before-released concert video from his historic 21 Nite Stand at Inglewood, California's residency at the Forum. At the show, he performed some of his signature singles — "1999," "Little Red Corvette," and "Purple Rain" — as well as some iconic covers, which included Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately" and India.Arie's "Brown Skin."