Funk Noir

With The Black Album, Prince made his greatest-and most infamousmusical statement.

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I DON'T KNOW why, but for the past couple of years I didn't listen to Prince.

Then one day The Black Album found its way onto my turntable and it was like hearing an old friend, or maybe a great new undiscovered artist. I had forgotten how cutting-edge, dangerous and deep his music was. It's all there on The Black Album.

I was once a Prince superfan, but my obsessiveness began to wane around the release of 1984's Purple Rain. I preferred the underground funkiness of his early works, although the vibe of 1982's 1999 and, my personal favorite, 1986's Parade kept him as one of my inspirations. And yet, oddly, it's The Black Album that has won out. It's the Prince album I've listened to most, even if Prince himself disowned it.

It's greasy, funky, raw as hell, and feels like a great live show, Prince style.