“Does anybody hear us pray for Michael Brown or Freddie Gray?”, sings Prince on his new song “Baltimore,” a soulful tribute to those killed by people, and the ongoing protests in Charm City. “Peace is more than the absence of a war.”
The song arrives as the nation continues to watch what is unfolding in Baltimore, and a day before Prince’s planned concert at the city’s Royal Farms Arena, which will be streamed live on Tidal tomorrow night.
The new Prince song suddenly appeared on the musician’s Soundcloud page this morning.
“Please know that all involved in this project never take for granted the privileges we have in this country,” reads part of the song’s description on Soundcloud. “Let’s all continue to fight the good fight and confront inhumanity on every level until the day it is no longer.”
Here’s more on “Baltimore”:
The original recording subsequently became a demo when Prince, that very same night – all alone in Studio A, played all the instruments on an entire new version of the song. The next morning Joshua Welton and Kirk Johnson transferred Prince’s tracks in2 Studio B. and mixing began. As the song neared completion at Prince’s behest Eryn Allen Kane graciously flew in on a moment’s notice and graced the track with her angelic presence.
Speaking of presence, Prince was not during Eryn’s vocal sessions. After being given the green light by Prince, via the studio intercom, Ms. Kane basically listened down 2 the track a few times and instinctively knew what was needed.
Listen to “Baltimore” below…
