| The Hits 2 is the second compilation album by Prince. It was released simultaneously with The Hits 1, The Hits / The B-Sides and The Hits Collection home video in September 1993, and the disc itself was also included as the second disc of The Hits / The B-Sides.
Content
In conjunction with The Hits 1, the album contains most of Prince’s most well-known songs from 13 studio albums, released originally between 1978 and 1993 (Batman being the only album not represented). With the exception of Soft And Wet, the more explicit material was saved for The Hits 2 to avoid a "Parental Advisory" label on The Hits 1.
The album also contained two previously-unreleased songs; Peach and Pope. Compared to the two previously-unreleased tracks included on The Hits 1, these two new tracks were relatively contemporary. Peach was recorded in June 1992, and Pope was recorded in May 1993.
Early project
Warner Bros. had initially considered releasing a larger 4-5 disc box set, but this was quickly rejected as the retail price was considered to be prohibitive.
Prince contributed six previously-unreleased songs to the whole set, and at one point wanted to be more involved in the release, but Warner Bros. were already behind schedule on the set, and in the end paid Prince not to be involved.
Promotion
Peach was released as a single two months after the album’s release (three weeks after the album’s release in the UK), and some territories also received a re-release of Controversy as a single the following month (with an entirely different tracklist and appearance than the 1981 release).
Pope was also available as a promotional-release only in the UK (with no commercial release).
The album reached number 54 on The Billboard 200 Chart, and number 23 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums Chart. The album has sold well since its release, and was certified platinum (1,000,000 copies shipped) in 1995.
Reissue
On 4 November 2022, The Prince Estate re-released the album with Sony’s Legacy Recordings (The Hits 1 was also re-released on the same day).
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1993: The Hits 1 ◄
