Black Muse is the tenth track on Prince’s 39th studio album Hitnrun Phase Two. The last 3:05 minutes of the track as released on Hitnrun Phase Two are in fact an unlisted other song called 1000 Light Years From Here.
According to a tape photographed in Paisley Park Studios, the song was recorded in January 2010, presumably at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota (on the same day as Go-Getter). Another tape box has the date of 19 March 2010, listing it as Black Muse instr. (with Stand Up And B Strong also appearing on that tape), alluding the song was worked on more at that date. The song was worked further on 10 October 2010 (possibly merged with 1000 Light Years From Here which is also listed on the same tape, along with a song called seemingly called Wud).
Black Muse was first performed live on 15 December 2010 during the first night of the Welcome 2 America Tour. Vocals for the song were performed by Shelby J., Liv Warfield and Elisa Dease. If the song was at any point slated for inclusion on the Welcome 2 America album, it was not longer part of its track list when the album was released posthumously in 2021.
There has been statements that Prince had told model/dancer Damaris Lewis that he wrote the Black Muse about her (although they first met months after the initial recording of the song, while on the Welcome 2 America Tour).
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