“Born 2 Die,” the second single from Prince’s unreleased 2010 album Welcome 2 America is out now. The song debuted on BBC 6 Music’s Breakfast Show this morning, with Prince’s long-time musical director Morris Hayes joining host Gemma Cairney to introduce it.
Hayes shared a look behind Prince’s inspiration for the song. “We got to ‘Born 2 Die,’ and Prince said, ‘I’ll tell you how that came about,’” he said. “He 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.’”
The song was recorded during a period of prolific studio activity in the spring of 2010 and you can definitely hear the Mayfield influences on the ’70s infused track.
Listen to “Born 2 Die” below.
The “Born 2 Die” release follows the title track which came accompanying the posthumous album announcement in April.
Welcome 2 America is set to arrive July 30 but pre-order for digital, vinyl, CD, and deluxe editions are available here.