Prince, Welcome 2 America | Track Review 🎵

More posthumous music arrives from iconic musician Prince via the intriguing, socially conscious single, “Welcome 2 America.”

With a vault filled with unreleased material, new music by the late, iconic, musician extraordinaire 🎙 Prince likely won’t cease anytime in the near future.  2021 sees the release of a new posthumous release, 💿 Welcome 2 America.  Leading the charge, fittingly is 🎵 “Welcome 2 America”, penned and produced by The Purple One. This five-and-a-half-minute funky, ear-catching R&B cut definitely finds the legend being true to self. 

How is Prince true to self, you ask? Well, he’s socially conscious, something that has long incorporated into his music.  He’s also critical, opinionated, and clearly skeptical regarding the state of America. For instance, he seems to ‘cry foul’ regarding modern technology, asserting on the first verse, “Welcome to America / Distracted by the features of the iPhone / (Got an application for each of situation) / In other words, taken by a pretty face.” On the second, he’s critical of lying politicians, highlighting their contradictory ways.   It doesn’t stop there of course.  He questions the staying power of contemporary music (verse three), speaks about faith (verse four), and fame + sex tapes (verse five).  There are both minimalist musical ideas as well as fuller, lusher moments.  Vocally, The Purple One opts for more spoken word, which is interesting.  Even so, he enlists backing vocals that amplify the soul factor.

Final Thoughts 💭

Question: Is “Welcome 2 America” the new Prince single anyone expected? No, probably not, but listen a couple of times and the record endears itself more with each successive listen.  Interestingly, this record bears some similarities to the classic 🎵“Sign O’ The Times”.  It doesn’t reach the same heights mind you, but it’s certainly worth listening to.

🎙Prince • 💿 Welcome 2 America • 🏷 NPG / Legacy Recordings • 🗓 7.30.21

[📷: NPG / Legacy Recordings]