Listen to Prince’s previously unreleased “Born 2 Die’ from ‘Welcome 2 America’
Welcome 2 America, the latest (and probably not last), unreleased album from Prince‘s archives, will see the light of day on July 30 via Legacy. It was recorded in 2010 and “mysteriously archived,” and is the first complete studio album to see a posthumous release since Prince’s death in 2016. Having released the title track earlier this year, the Prince estate have now shared another song, “Born 2 Die.”
According to Prince’s musical director Morris Hayes, “Born 2 Die” was inspired by and a direct response to Dr. Cornel West. Hayes says Prince “had been watching videos of his friend Dr. Cornel West on YouTube,” and, “During one speech, Dr. West said, ‘I love my brother Prince, but he’s no Curtis Mayfield.’ So Prince said, ‘Oh really? We will see.’”
You can definitely tell Prince was tipping his hat to Mayfield on this one, but it could never be anything but a Prince song. Listen below.