News

Prince album Welcome 2 America due in July -- five years after death

April 8, 2021 09:19 PM


Twitter Share Facebook Share WhatsApp Share

Five years after his death, treasures continue to emerge from Prince's legendary vault, with a previously unreleased album "Welcome 2 America" set for release on July 30, label Legacy Recordings said Thursday.

The album, which was recorded in 2010, is likely to rank among the artist's most overtly political statements, with a title track that concludes: "Land of the free / home of the slave."

That song is immediately available on streaming platforms, with the full 12-track album following this summer.

A second disc will feature a live performance from the tour of the same name, recorded at The Forum in California in April 2011.

The album covers "Prince's concerns, hopes, and visions for a shifting society, presciently foreshadowing an era of political division, disinformation, and a renewed fight for racial justice," the label and his estate said in a statement.

Prince, who died on April 21, 2016 at the age of 57, famously battled with labels during his career and kept "thousands upon thousands" of tapes sealed away in "The Vault" in his home-studio, Paisley Park near Minneapolis.

"I didn't always give the record companies the best song," Prince told Rolling Stone magazine in 2014. "There are songs in the vault that no one's ever heard... tons of stuff recorded in different periods."

Since his death, some of these have started to emerge, including dozens of unheard tracks attached to reissues of his classic albums, "1999", "Sign o' the Times" and "Purple Rain".

Legacy Recordings included a telling and prophetic quote from Prince dating to the recording of "Welcome 2 America" that gives a sense of his mindset at the time: "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."

But as the live recording makes clear, this doom-laden forecast could not halt the good times at a Prince show.

Prince announced the tour with a statement: "Bring friends, bring Ur children, and bring foot spray, because… it’s gonna B funky."



Most Read

  1. Solar panel rate sinks massively in Lahore Solar panel rate sinks massively in Lahore
  2. LHC orders steel mill demolition over pollution LHC orders steel mill demolition over pollution
  3. Foreigners safe after suicide-bomber targets their van in Karachi Foreigners safe after suicide-bomber targets their van in Karachi
  4. Mehar Bano and Mamya Shajaffar’s bold dance videos invite public's wrath Mehar Bano and Mamya Shajaffar’s bold dance videos invite public's wrath
  5. Finance minister rules out further rupee devaluation Finance minister rules out further rupee devaluation
  6. Must Watch: Ladybug enters Fiza Ali’s mouth in live show Must Watch: Ladybug enters Fiza Ali’s mouth in live show

Opinion

  1. Insights into the Pakistan Stock Exchange's Recent Record High Triumph
    Insights into the Pakistan Stock Exchange's Recent Record High Triumph

    By Zulfiqar Ali Mir

  2. IMEC to sabotage CPEC
    IMEC to sabotage CPEC

    By Dr Asif Channer

  3. 1947 TO FORM 47
    1947 TO FORM 47

    By Dr Asif Channer

  4. Beijing wants to further highlight industrial sector in its country and take scientific innovation to new heights....
    Beijing wants to further highlight industrial sector in its country and take scientific innovation to new heights....

    By Ali Ramay

  5. Global race: China will reduce its unnecessary expenses
    Global race: China will reduce its unnecessary expenses

    By Ali Ramay

  6. Channer Pir: The Great Saint of Cholistan
    Channer Pir: The Great Saint of Cholistan

    By Dr Asif Channer