Prince may be the most reclusive musical genius of a generation, but he's certainly kept his ear to the ground for those making meaningful, impactful new music over the years. His fondness of Kendrick Lamar has been stated and observed, even realized with an impromptu visit to his purple fortress, where the two apparently jammed, but failed to put anything to wax due to P's schedule. But a new piece published by Medium and helmed by Smokey D. Fontaine proves insanely insightful in pinpointing where his ear has been and where he's pulling inspiration from in 2015, 37 years after his debut For You (not to mention, even dishing a little knowledge on the new record, HITNRUN.)
The piece chronicles Fontaine's fairytale-like Paisley Park sojourn, where he's brought into the sacred studios that The Purple One dwells in and speaks at length with the album's co-producer Joshua Welton, as well as P himself once he surfaces. But while much of the conversation centers on Welton's unlikely induction into Prince's inner-circle, what you may be most captivated by is the adoration he shows Lamar, Jill Scott and even Kanye West for his interpolation of a timeless Ray Charles classic on "Gold Digger," taking something iconic and bringing it to the world with a whole new force and sound. Below you'll find some of the more compelling tidbits from the piece, but we encourage you to hit the link for the full script. Prince's 38th (!) studio album HITNRUN arrives this coming Monday, September 7th exclusively on TIDAL, but CDs can preordered via Fnac today.
>>>Read the full story (via Medium)
Prince on Kendrick's To Pimp A Butterfly:
“He just has something he has to say. It’s pure. And with Thundercat on the album? Come on. You’re not taking ‘Alright’ off my playlist!”
On how he gauges a musician's ability to keep up with his process:
“Writers often use the word ‘prolific’ with me, but I don’t think that’s right. When you’re committed to something like we are, when you spend the amount of time on something that we do, then you’re bound to create a lot. This is what we do. And that’s why who you let into your space is so important. I watched an interview with Hannah on YouTube before I even wanted to watch her play. I can get any great drummer. But one with the right energy? That could fit in here with everybody?
