Prince

Released: September 2, 1981

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Verse 1]
I just can't believe all the things people say (Controversy)
Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? (Controversy)
Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me? (Controversy)
Controversy (Controversy)
I can't understand human curiosity (Controversy)
Was it good for you? Was I what you wanted me to be? (Controversy)
Do you get high? Does your daddy cry? (Controversy)
Controversy (Controversy)

[Chorus]
Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me?
Some people wanna die so they can be free
(I said) life is just a game, we're all just the same...(Do you wanna play?)
Controversy, controversy, controversy
Controversy, controversy, controversy

[Bridge]
Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever

[Refrain]
Controversy, controversy, controversy
Love him, love him baby
Controversy, controversy, controversy
Controversy, controversy, controversy

[Verse 2]
Listen
People call me rude, I wish we all were nude
I wish there was no black and white, I wish there were no rules
People call me rude, I wish we all were nude
I wish there was no black and white, I wish there were no rules
People call me rude, I wish we all were nude
I wish there was no black and white, I wish there were no rules (Yeah!)
Controversy (Oh yeah...)
Controversy

[Chorus]
Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me? Let me tell ya...
Some people wanna die so they can be free
(I said) life is just a game, were all just the same...(Don't ya wanna play?)
Controversy, controversy, controversy, controversy

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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