Prince's archives still contain a lot of secrets.
Amid audio and video recordings, archival films and other sound wreckage pieces, a treasure lurked:
Welcome 2 America
, a 12-song album completed in 2010. It has been kept for reasons unknown in the The singer's famous vault in Paisley Park, near Minneapolis.
Read also: Prince, the album of his demos for others
Prince's heirs are preparing to release this posthumous new album from the late 20th century singer and musician.
This first unreleased record since his death proves prophetic on the tensions of the United States today sweeping the themes of racism, political divisions, technology and disinformation.
Combining lyricism and languid funk, Prince describes his land as the “
land of freedom
” as well as that of “
slaves
”.
The artist, who died at 57 on April 21, 2016 after an accidental fentanyl overdose, was unaware that four years later his town would be rocked by the anger and protests after the death of George Floyd.
But he was nonetheless an activist, campaigning for the emancipation of black people in the recording industry and beyond.
Read also: Death of George Floyd: police officer Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison
In this album, which will be released on July 30, Prince "
directly attacks America's condition
," explains Morris Hayes, who has long been his keyboardist and musical director.
"
Freedom and justice
"
“
What's going on with social media, injustices and social conscience ... It's a concerted effort to really talk about these issues,
” adds Hayes, who co-produced the album.
“
I really liked the raw side of the album and as far as my production goes, I just wanted to keep it raw, I didn't want to clutter up what he's trying to say.
"
Hayes compares the artist, "
far ahead of his time
", to a "
sage sitting somewhere in the Himalayas
". "
He wanted, I believe, a country that really defends what he says he defends: freedom and justice for all
," he told AFP.
And we are painfully aware that this is not the case.
"
For Prince, to be free was first of all to have the right to dispose of one's property.
He was known for his criticism against the music industry, which he had scribbled the word "
slave
" ( "
slave
") on his cheek and had changed his name to a "
symbol of love
" ( "
love symbol
") unpronounceable in the 1990s, to protest Warner's attempt to curb his prolific music production.
Also: Prince's Unfinished Memoirs to be Released This Fall
But the musician, who did not have a cell phone, also spoke of freedom from a technological point of view, comparing electronic devices, more and more widespread, to "
handcuffs
", also confides Morris Hayes.
If the album deals with resolutely serious subjects, such as racism in
Running Game (Son of a Slave Master)
or religious conflicts in
Same Page, Different Book
, it also includes lighter and dancing songs, such as
Hot summer
or
Dirty Mind.
.
"
From floor to ceiling
"
Countless numbers of songs - over 8,000, according to legend - would sleep in the Paisley Park vault, even though some of the content was moved to a better air-conditioned storage facility in Los Angeles.
“
It was crazy, all this music, floor to ceiling,
” says his keyboardist
.
In the 1990s, Prince told him that he had just taken a break for the first time: “
He told me: 'Never in my career has there been a week when I haven't. wrote a song or took my guitar ”.
"
The fate of the immense amount of music left by Prince is a sensitive subject, so much he controlled his work, his image and his enigmatic personality.
So far, his estate - run by his sister and five half-siblings - has reissued enriched versions of these landmark albums, as well as song demos.
To read also: Inheritance of Prince: his brothers and sisters designated as heirs
Prince had never been clear on his intentions regarding his unpublished works but he had taken steps to preserve his archives and his Paisley Park estate, which his heirs interpreted as a willingness to share them. In 2014, he had been cryptic, when
Rolling Stone
magazine
asked him what he wanted his work to become, once it was gone. "
I don't think I will disappear,
" he replied, true to his reputation as a Prince.