I love Prince. I have always loved Prince. He is, in my opinion, one of the best songwriters and musicians of my generation. There is nothing funkier than “Kiss,” nothing sassier than “Little Red Corvette,” nothing sexier than “The Beautiful Ones,” nothing nastier than “Darling Nikki,” and nothing more heartfelt than “Nothing Compares 2 U”. For those of you that do not know, Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” although it was a hit for Sinead O’Connor. I remember being a sophomore in college and going to see Purple Rain. The movie was a bit hokey, but the soundtrack – oh, the soundtrack was incredible! I loved it so when I could not find anyone to go to a second showing, I went by myself, which was quite a daring move for a shy, 19 year old.
Who Prince really is has always been a bit of a mystery. We labeled him as a sex symbol then he got religion. We labeled him as a pop superstar, and then he disappeared from the charts. We called him Prince then he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol – we never knew what to expect next. He had problems with his label, Warner Brothers, and even called himself a “slave” during the highly publicized battles. It seemed as if he had become more interested in battling Warner Brothers than making the music that had made him so great. I figured Prince, like the rest of us, had grown old and would never return to his true form.
But much to my joy, he has returned to his roots with his newly released CD, 3121. Hurray, Prince is funky and sexy again. If you are wondering where the title, 3121 came from, that mystery is easy enough to solve. It is the address of Prince’s Hollywood Hills home where he regularly holds all-night jam sessions. The first single, “Te Amo Corazon” was released on December 13, 2005 (that is right – 12/13, which is 3121 backwards). My personal favorite track off 3121 is the funky “Black Sweat.” As the lyrics say, he has me “screamin’ like a white lady” to know that the real Prince is finally back!
If you are interested in purchasing 3121 (and I highly recommend you do so), it can be purchased online at Amazon.com .