Prince - The Black Album (1994)

The Black Album is the sixteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on November 22, 1994 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was originally planned for release on December 7, 1987 as the follow-up to Sign o' the Times and was to appear in an entirely black sleeve with no title or even a credit to Prince; hence it was referred to as The Black Album. Dubbed The Funk Bible by preceding press releases, and in a hidden message within the album itself, the work seemed to be a reaction to criticism that Prince had become too pop-oriented. It was his attempt to regain his African-American audience.
Urban legends spread like wildfire: Prince believed it was too bleak to release; Warner Bros. balked at its explicit lyrics; no CDs were ever pressed, and all the LPs were destroyed. That final rumor was certainly untrue, since bootlegs immediately appeared, and when it finally received official release in the fall of 1994, nearly every die-hard fan already had the record. That limited-edition release of The Black Album turned out to be a bit anti-climatic, since the album itself isn't a lost masterwork it's fun, but not much more.
If anything, it's a little labored, as Prince works hard to win back the black audience he willfully abandoned after Purple Rain. So, he serves up "When 2 R in Love," an urban ballad every bit as nondescript as the genre, and offers "Dead on It," trying to one-up rappers with a mocking attack that winds up as one of the lamest things he ever waxed. The rest of the eight-song album is brilliant, pure funk, ranging from the unrelenting "Le Grind," a deliriously lustful plea to supermodel Cindy Crawford; the hyper-tense James Brown workout "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton"; to "Bob George," a perverse tale of a macho lunkhead (Prince, electronically affecting a deep, idiotic drawl) who discovers his lady just slept with Prince or "that skinny motherf*cker with a high voice," as Bob calls him. All this may not add up to a lost classic, but it is a terrific little record that still delights, even after its mystique has faded.

Track listing

01.  "Le Grind"  - 6:44
02.  "Cindy C."  - 6:15
03.  "Dead on It"  - 4:37
04.  "When 2 R in Love"  - 3:59
05.  "Bob George"  - 5:36
06.  "Superfunkycalifragisexy"  - 5:55
07.  "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton"  - 7:01
08.  "Rockhard in a Funky Place"  (Prince and Eric Leeds) - 4:31

All songs written by Prince, except when notice

Credits
Prince - all other vocals and instruments, producer
Sheila E. - backing vocals, drums
Eric Leeds - saxophone
Atlanta Bliss - trumpet
Cat Glover - backing vocals, backing vocals and rap, spoken vocals
Boni Boyer - backing vocals
Susannah Melvoin - backing vocals
Joe Blaney - mixing

Notes
Released:  November 22, 1994
Genre:  Funk, Soul
Length:  44:43
© 1994

Label - Warner Bros. Records