Prince and the Revolution

Released: February 2, 1999

Featuring: Rosario Dawson

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

Dear Diary, Wednesday, 1999
Night before Thanksgiving:

Wondering what the Holy Day…
I got a lot to be thankful for
While my people’s catchin’ hell in the worst way
There’s as many black males and Latinos in jail as there are in the streets, OK?
Is it my imagination or is there some deviation from the part that God wanted us to play?

First of all, there’s the name “Christmas”:
Which means, get this, “Send Christ away”
"Mass" from the Latin word "missa" as spoken by the priests of old
We’re saying if the face of the true King was shown today
To its foundations would shake the earth
And so the reason for the ganda and propa:
To distort the king’s color and the date of his birth
Open your mind, there’s not much time
This is Rosario, 1999

“The Revolution” was originally the live backing band for Prince in the early years of his career. They first appeared in a studio capacity on 1999, but it wasn’t until 1984’s Purple Rain when they were officially credited. The band is noted for its diverse range of musicians, which wasn’t very common in the 1980s and inspired by what Sly Stone did with The Family Stone.

The most famous line-up consisted of Prince on lead vocals, guitar, and piano, Wendy Melvoin on guitar and vocals, Brown Mark on bass guitar and vocals, Lisa Coleman on keyboards, piano, and vocals, Matt “Doctor” Fink on keyboards and vocals, and Bobby Z on drums and percussion. The last albums where the Revolution was credited was 1985’s Around the World In A Day & 1986’s Parade.

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1999: The New Master

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1999: The New Master (1999)

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Rosario (1999)Prince and the Revolution

Prince and the Revolution

1999: The New Master