Prince

About

Prince made his debut with <i>For You</i>, which dropped from the purple heavens in 1978, marking the arrival of a 19-year-old dynamo capable of writing, arranging, producing, and performing an entire album by himself. But <i>For You</i> spawned just one minor hit, the playful “Soft and Wet.” It wasn’t until the next year, when Prince released his self-titled sophomore album—and unleashed the breakthrough smash “I Wanna Be Your Lover”—that listeners got their first taste of an artist who’d rule the radio for the next decade (and beyond). As with its predecessor, <i>Prince</i> was a self-contained creation from a genius in the raw. Not only did Prince Rogers Nelson once again serve as his own producer, he played every single instrument on the album, from guitar to drums to a myriad of keyboards. Other than some uncredited background vocals by his touring bassist, André Cymone, on “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”, this is all Prince, all the time. The album opens with Prince declaring “I Wanna Be Your Lover”—a falsetto-kissed mix of funk, disco, and synth-pop song that made it clear the singer was on a mission to seduce the masses. It proved to be irresistible, topping Billboard’s R&B charts, and giving Prince his first Top 40 hit. The rest of <i>Prince</i> finds the singer showing off the musical moves that would come to define his iconic career, from the guitar-charged pop of “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” to the proto-Minneapolis funk of “Sexy Dancer” to the old-school R&B romance of slow jams like “Still Waiting.” Yet the album’s most enduring track is “I Feel for You,” which would get a hip-hop makeover in 1984 and become a massive hit from another music royal: the Queen of Funk herself, Chaka Khan.

via Apple Music

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