Black Sweat

Song: Black Sweat
Artist: Prince
Album: 3121

Best of 2006

Here is a song that should have been bigger than it was. Prince released yet another album this year entitled “3121” to a basic shrug from the public. Due to a loop hole in the rules of record sales, Prince was able to “sell” over 2 million copies of his previous disc “Musicology” by including it with a ticket to his latest sold-out tour. So basically, despite having no major hits from the album, one was bought with ever ticket to his show making it top the charts. Brilliant! “3121,” in comparison has sold just over 500,000 copies, which still is nothing to scoff at… but then again, he’s Prince.

I have been a Prince fan for some time and while I have not gotten all of his music (there is just too much) I have found much pleasure not only in his hits, but albums as a whole. I haven’t really loved his recent output, but respect it and love that he keeps making music. He is a true artist and amazing entertainer. Despite my semi-fandom, his concert was one of my favorite of all time. He is a man that walks on stage and you immediately lock your eyes to him. He commands attention.

While I didn’t love all of “3121,” I did like it more than “Musicology,” which was billed as a return to form. “Black Sweat” was at the top of the heap though and really should have been bigger here. It mixes classic Prince with a new hip-hop oriented sensibility. The minimalist beats sound like The Neptunes produced it, and I can’t help to think that if this came from a younger “hipper” R & B performer it would have been the hit it deserved to be.

At this point, Prince has carved a very important slice of rock & roll history for himself and while his reign doesn’t seem that far gone, he is an elder statesmen of pop. He continues to push himself forward writing music endlessly and is probably completely comfortable with his group of loyal fans and playing when he wants to. I can not imagine, based on how prolific he seems to be, what is in his archives. He could be releasing records for years to come no doubt.

Enjoy.

The slick video for "Black Sweat":