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Prince’s new album “Welcome 2 America” was recorded in 2010 – but it certainly sounds like a sign of those times.
Indeed, the latest posthumous version of His Royal Badness – which falls from purple skies on Friday – looks like a socially conscious statement made in response to the Black Lives Matter movement which has escalated in 2020.
“I swear he’s talking about the grave,” said Elisa Fiorillo, who, as a member of Prince’s NPG (New Power Generation) group, sang backing vocals throughout the LP. “Now I listen to it and understand it more than when I was singing it, which is crazy. It is as if he is reading into the future.
And 11 years after making “Welcome 2 America”, a premonitory prince aligned himself with a different kind of revolution on songs such as “Running Game (Son of a Slave Master)”, “One Day We’ll All B Free “and” Standing and B Strong. “
On the latter, Prince captures the spirit of defiance and perseverance of the BLM in the face of injustice: “Your knees are weakening … Your heart is getting cold / You are tired of doing whatever you are told”, sings he said before leading a call to “stand up and be strong”.
“With the album coming out now, that’s almost what everyone needs to hear,” said Tal Wilkenfeld, who played bass during the recording sessions in March and April 2010. “He was very focused on the socio-political climate… He was very keen on having a voice on what was going on in the world in general and making changes. “
Liv Warfield – another NPG background singer who lent her voice to “Welcome 2 America” – said Prince’s inescapable message is to “wake up to all around you”.
“I remember he said, ‘Dude, it’s like being in the 60s again,’” Warfield said. “We are still fighting.”
As to why Prince didn’t release that protest music years ago, Warfield said, “I don’t think people were ready. The world was not ready. But, added Fiorillo, “he knew there would eventually be a time [for the album]. “
While “Welcome 2 America” deals with serious social issues – racial and beyond – making the album was fun and funky. “He never told me what to play. It was like, ‘I want your voice on my record,’ ”Wilkenfeld said. “We were doing one, maybe two takes of everything, and that was it… It was improvised, it was spontaneous, it was raw, it was unheard.”
Fiorillo recalled that the backing vocalists would road test the new music in Prince’s black Mercedes SUV, with the Purple One driving them around Minneapolis. “When we were done with the songs,” she said, “we would always go in the car to listen to the mixes”.
But for Fiorillo, the most special moment came when Prince – whom she calls “her brother from another mother” – played “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on guitar for her then 3-year-old daughter Olivia while the little girl was singing. “He told me very clearly that he didn’t want me to leave my daughter at home all the time, that she would definitely be invited to [Paisley Park Studios], “she said.” It meant a lot to me. “
Warfield, who describes the NPG as a “big family” – he even once included Prince Mayte Garcia’s ex-wife – said his former boss was totally in touch with his inner child. “He was really a kid on the inside,” she said. “He really liked to have fun, liked to joke people, liked to clown, liked to play games. He liked to play ping-pong.
The release of “Welcome 2 America” five years after Prince’s death is bittersweet for Wilkenfeld: “I just wish he was there, you know? It’s so close to home, just all the memories flooding us from doing it… But I’m glad everyone can hear it.
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