Prince

Released: September 22, 2020

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Chorus]
Expert lover, my baby
You ever had a Crystal Ball?
Expert lover, my baby
You ever had a Crystal Ball?
Ooh, expert lover, my baby
Ever had a Crystal Ball?
Expert lover, my baby
You ever had a Crystal Ball?

[Verse 1]
As bombs explode around us and hate advances on the right
The only thing that matters, baby, is the love that we make tonight
As little babies in make-up terrorize the western world
The only thing that matters, baby, is love between a boy and girl

[Chorus]
Oh, expert lover, my baby
You ever had a Crystal Ball?
Undercover, no maybe
All for fun and fun for all

[Verse 2]
I can't remember my baby's voice
Because she ain't talking no more
Only the sound of love and prayer echo from the yellow floor
Yellow floor
Huh, she's saying:
"Dear Jesus, save us from temptation
Dear Jesus, save us from hell
Save us from the madness that threatens us all
Can you hear us? It's hard to tell
In your name we pray"

[Chorus]
Expert lover, my baby
You ever had a Crystal Ball?
Undercover, no maybe
All for fun and fun for all

[Verse 3]
As soldiers draw swords of sorrow
My baby draws pictures of sex
(Yes, she does)
All over the walls in graphic detail: sex!

[Chorus]
Everybody say it now
Expert lover, huh, my baby
Ever had a Crystal Ball?
Under, undercover, ha, no maybe
All for fun and fun for all

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.

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