goodolmike (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
goodolmike) wrote2011-08-06 09:05 am
goodolmike) wrote2011-08-06 09:05 am
0(+>
I'm a huge Prince fan, but I'm a little burned out on all of his major albums. However, I tend to pick up an oldie every once in a while and rediscover it.
One of my favorite Prince albums is 0(+>, aka "The Love Symbol Album", aka "Prince and the New Power Generation". The jewel box for the disc has the symbol painted on it. From over use, my original disc's case was scratched badly. When I found a new looking disc and case at Amoeba for $4, I was quick to pick it up. And the rediscovery began.
The biggest songs off this one are 7, Sexy MF and My Name is Prince. In my opinion, the album works. It's kind of a concept album about Prince's elusiveness and his new love for an under-aged belly dancer named Mayte.
Musically, this album is sort of a bridge between his more musical styles of the past (Lovesexy / Sign O the Times) and the straight up hip-hop sound he was transitioning to (Emancipation / Musicology). There are some real gems mixed throughout, like Love 2 the 9's and The Morning Papers.
Whatever happened to Tony M?!
Tony M was Prince's rapper at the time. He appears on most of the songs in 0(+> He was discovered on the set of Purple Rain, almost a decade before, as part of a dance troop called "The Gameboyz". To add a street edge to his live shows, Prince hired the Gameboyz as his dancers. Later, Tony M began rapping during Prince's live shows and later was invited to rap on a few albums.
Years after he was let go, Tony M, along with Prince's guitar player, reportedly sued Prince for songwriting credit. Ultimately they received a small settlement that didn't even cover their court costs. Lesson learned: Don't **** with Prince.
One of my favorite Prince albums is 0(+>, aka "The Love Symbol Album", aka "Prince and the New Power Generation". The jewel box for the disc has the symbol painted on it. From over use, my original disc's case was scratched badly. When I found a new looking disc and case at Amoeba for $4, I was quick to pick it up. And the rediscovery began.
The biggest songs off this one are 7, Sexy MF and My Name is Prince. In my opinion, the album works. It's kind of a concept album about Prince's elusiveness and his new love for an under-aged belly dancer named Mayte.
Musically, this album is sort of a bridge between his more musical styles of the past (Lovesexy / Sign O the Times) and the straight up hip-hop sound he was transitioning to (Emancipation / Musicology). There are some real gems mixed throughout, like Love 2 the 9's and The Morning Papers.
Whatever happened to Tony M?!
Tony M was Prince's rapper at the time. He appears on most of the songs in 0(+> He was discovered on the set of Purple Rain, almost a decade before, as part of a dance troop called "The Gameboyz". To add a street edge to his live shows, Prince hired the Gameboyz as his dancers. Later, Tony M began rapping during Prince's live shows and later was invited to rap on a few albums.
Years after he was let go, Tony M, along with Prince's guitar player, reportedly sued Prince for songwriting credit. Ultimately they received a small settlement that didn't even cover their court costs. Lesson learned: Don't **** with Prince.