A previously unreleased track by Prince has been made available ahead of the release of Welcome 2 America, an album that the late music icon recorded but shelved in 2010.
Born 2 Die is the second song from the album, described as "the most socially and politically engaged of his career", which will be released from his legendary vault on July 30.
The song, the second from the new album following the release of the title track last April, was written as a rebuke to political activist Dr. Cornel West, who claimed that Prince was "no Curtis Mayfield", according to Prince's musical director Morris Hayes.
According to the Prince Estate, Born 2 Die was recorded during a flurry of studio activity in the spring of 2010, when President Obama was just a year into his first term and Prince was reflecting deeply on the issues affecting the Black community and the role he hoped to play in the social justice movement.
Prince is joined by bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, drummer Chris Coleman, and vocalists Shelby J., Liv Warfield, and Elisa Fiorillo on the track.
"We got to Born 2 Die. I’ll tell you how that came about," Hayes said. "He had been watching videos of his friend Dr. Cornel West on YouTube, and during one speech Dr. West said, 'I love my brother Prince, but he’s no Curtis Mayfield.’ So, Prince said, ‘Oh really? We will see.’"
Prince’s 1998 album The Truth will be issued for the first time as a stand-alone release on June 12 as part of Record Store Day’s first RSD Drop. The Truth was originally released as an accompaniment to the triple-album Crystal Ball.
