Released: September 14, 1993

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro: Bernie Mac and Prince]
(You don't understand)
(I ain't scared of you muthafuckas - kick it!)

(Stir it like coffee)
The Pope
(Stir it like (mo'fuckin') coffee)
The Pope, uh
(What the hell?)
This is the Pope

[Verse 1: Prince]
Oh, your car got mags that be dippy dippy dope
But the whole damn nation got the same (oh!)
Honey only flock to the bee - that's the Pope
Not the President with government lame
Put me on a slow movin' parliamentary hackin' bandwagon
You could put me little ass in the grave
Every time you want it, I'll be live - bring a date
I mean computer - when it's over, press save

[Chorus: Prince & Mayte and Bernie Mac ]
So you can be the President (Kick it)
I'd rather be the Pope (I'd rather be, so help me)
Yeah, you can be the side effect (Baby)
I'd rather be the dope (Rather be the dope)
(I ain't scared of you muthafuckas - kick it!)

[Verse 2: Prince and Bernie Mac]
Call your girl named Sally and you figure you were chill (Chill)
Then you find out I'm the reason Sally's on the pill (Pill)
What am I supposed ro do when the President can't get nothin' passed?
Find an alley, find an alley - undress Sally right in front of your ass!
(Well, she helped me once again)

[Chorus: Prince & Mayte]
I say: you can be the President (Kick it)
I'd rather be the Pope (I'd rather be, so help me)
Yeah, you can be the side effect (Baby)
I'd rather be the dope (Fuck that)

[Bridge]
The Pope
(Oh no motherfucker, not today) Pope
You can be the Presidenté (Rather be the Pope)
So help me

[Verse 3]
Who's the funky drummer with the crooked little sticks? (Sticks)
He might have better luck if he was drummin' with his dick (Dick?)
If you don't play the piccolo, why you wanna lick?
Now check the drum solo and tell me not to kick it

[Solo]
(Seek and destroy)
(It'll fuck you up)

I love the taste of unpredictable licks
A loop is a loop is a loop, uh!
A loop is a loop is a loop, uh! (Fuck that)
A loop is a loop is a loop is a loop is a loop is a loop is a loop

[Verse 4]
Your car got mags that be dippy dippy dope
But the whole damn nation got the same (oh!)
Honey only flock to the bee - that's the Pope
Not the President with government lame
Put me on a slow movin' parliamentary hackin' bandwagon
You will put me little ass in the grave
Every time you want it, I'll be live - bring a date
I mean computer - when it's over, press save

[Chorus: Prince & Mayte]
So you can be the President (Kick it)
I'd rather be the Pope (I rather be, so help me)
You can be the side effect (Baby)
I'd rather be the dope (U, U, U)
The Pope

[Outro (Mayte)]
Yoy can be the President (Fuck that)
Rather be the Pope
Baby, so help me please, Oh

Press save
I love you
Peace

(You don't understand)

Prince

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.

From the albums