Prince

Released: June 20, 1989

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro: Sampled Dialogue]
"I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor
I want you to tell all your friends about me."
"What are you?"
"I'm Batman!"

[Chorus]
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So I can't go like a jerk

[Verse 1]
Systematic overthrow of the underclass
Hollywood conjures images of the past
New world needs spirituality
That will last
I've seen the future and it will be

[Chorus]
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So I can't go like a jerk

[Verse 2]
Yellow Smiley offers me X
Like he's drinking seven up
I would rather drink six razor blades
Razor blades from a paper cup
He can't understand, I say too tough
It's just that I've seen the future
And boy it's rough

[Chorus]
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So I can't go like a jerk

[Verse 3]
I've seen the future and it will be
Wait a minute
Pretty pony standing on the avenue
Flashing a loaded pistol, too dumb to be true
Somebody told him playing cops and robbers was cool
Would our rap have been different if we only knew?

[Chorus]
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it works
And if there's life after, we will see
So I can't go like a jerk

[Verse 4]
Systematic overthrow of the underclass
Hollywood conjures images of the past
New world needs spirituality
That will last
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be
I've seen the future and it will be

[Outro]
"Think about the future"

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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