Prince

Released: November 19, 1996

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro]
(Dead like Elvis)
Check, check, 1-2, check
You know what he's saying?

[Refrain]
Face down!
Face down!

[Verse 1]
Somebody once told him that he wouldn't take Prince through the ringer
Let him go down as a washed up singer
Ain't that a bitch?
Thinkin' all along that he wanted to be rich
Never respected the root of all evil and he still don't to this day, huh
Bury him face down, let the motherfuckers kiss a ass, OK?

[Refrain]
Face down!
Face down!

[Verse 2]
Told them he wanted to sing a song about a black child going buck wild
And they just laughed in his face
Talk to your lawyer but you got no case
What you need to do is keep your place
Next time you pull a card, it better be an ace motherfucker
Or you can lay face down (Face down!)

[Refrain]
Face down!
Face down!

[Ad lib]
Horn
Horn
Bass
Bass

[Verse 3]
Him and her meaning who I'm singing about
And his psychoanalyst kinda saw the catalyst
As the devil with the blue jeans on, huh
Ain't it kinda funny when you see the dawn?
Sign the name they gave you
But when them motherfuckers turn around ass up, you're what?

[Refrain]
Face down! 1-2
Face down! New Power Generation in the house, bury them all
Face down! Yes, oh Lord
Face down!

[Outro]
Orchestra
Orchestra
Orchestra
Face down!
Orchestra
Face down!
It's in his will, I read it
He shot to kill, he said it
For those who know the number and don't call
Huh, fuck all yall
Face down!
Face down!
Face down!

An American singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and actor that produced 22 RIAA-platinum albums during his 40-year career, Prince may be known for one of many different things – his turn as “The Kid” in the iconic film/album/8 ½ minute ballad “Purple Rain”, being the writer behind the acclaimed anthem “Kiss,” rivaling Michael Jackson at the pinnacle of his career, being the inspiration behind censorship laws, or being the artist addressed as an unpronounceable symbol throughout the 1990s—but while many know of Prince, most don’t fully understand the impact his legacy left on this world.

Going by many aliases throughout his life, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 7, 1958 with his father’s (John L. Nelson) stage name as his own given one. Growing up, Prince suffered from serious epileptic seizures at a very young age, but he had wrote his first composition of many by age seven, and outside of his love for basketball, he wanted music to be his purpose in life. His tumultuous childhood, witnessing alcoholism and abuse, caused him to find refuge in neighbor André Cymone’s home in his teens, where the two competed in local band competitions, leading to Prince’s introduction to Morris Day alongside music with his cousin’s band 94 East, leading him to be courted by record labels and ultimately signed to Warner Bros. Records with complete creative control; at 19, his debut album, For You (1978) was released – Prince played all 19 instruments on the record.

Influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Rick James, and James Brown, Prince desired to form a music dynasty and after the success of his next albums – the platinum-selling Prince (1979), the sexually-charged Dirty Mind (1980), and politically-motivated Controversy (1981) – he negotiated for the ability to form his own label and manage artists of his own. Prince’s trademark sexual/religious rhetoric within pop-and-dance, funk-rock sound gained him a following, but his opening slates for Rick James and The Rolling Stones were both negatively received and facing bankruptcy, the young artist began to reach for mainstream popularity. Cashing on the drug-influenced doomsday mania of the times, 1982’s 1999 easily achieved that mainstream appeal, landing him on MTV, music charts, and radio stations across the world.

more tracks from the album

Emancipation

From the album

Emancipation (1996)

Prince popular songs

Face DownPrince

Prince

Emancipation