To celebrate what would have been the 60th birthday of music icon Prince, his estate has announced that they will release a new album.
Titled Piano & A Microphone, the new album will feature nine previously unreleased tracks of Prince's unheard music discovered in his vault following his accidental opioid overdose in April 2016.
Prince's First Post-Mortem Album
The upcoming record includes early versions of hits "Purple Rain," "Strange Relationship," and "17 Days." Time reports that Piano & A Microphone will also feature a Prince cover of Jonie Mitchell's "A Case Of You."
All tracks had been recorded on a cassette tape in 1983, a year before he released his groundbreaking sixth studio album Purple Rain.
The project, named after Prince's 2016 final concert tour in 2016, is a partnership between the singer's estate and Warner Bros. Records. The album will be released on Sept. 21.
"This raw, intimate recording — which took place at the start of Prince's career right before he achieved international stardom — is similar in format to the Piano & A Microphone Tour he ended his career with in 2016," explained Troy Carter, the entertainment adviser of his estate.
Seven of the nine tracks will be presented to fans in the same live format.
As a treat, Prince's estate gave a sample from Piano & A Microphone with the release of a rare recording of "Mary Don't You Weep" this week. The soulful track, accompanied only by a piano, is now available for streaming on Spotify.
How Prince Threw Shade At Justin Timberlake
As part of his birthday celebration, former friends and colleagues of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer spoke to Variety to talk about Prince's antics including making prank calls, inciting food fights, and having tour mates kidnapped onstage.
However, what stood out was a story recounted by Rebekah Alperin, a publishing executive for Universal. In the interview, she recalled an incident during 2004 Grammys where Prince was scheduled to perform.
Alperin said that because the event featured so many A-list performers, many artists had to share space. Prince was appalled when he discovered that he had to share a bathroom with his mortal enemy, Justin Timberlake.
"He suddenly came out of his dressing room and he looked straight at me and said in that low voice, 'I'm sharing... a bathroom... with Justin Timberlake.'" she revealed.
Prince, as loyal fans know, was not too fond of Timberlake. He once dragged the former member of the NSYNC because of the song "SexyBack."
"Sexy never really left," the music icon said.
As a response, Timberlake dissed Prince in the song "Give It To Me" by Timbaland.
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