Album: Hitnrun Phase Two
{{Album|
|album name = Hitnrun Phase Two
|album image =
|date = 12 December 2015 (Tidal release)
15 December 2015 (iTunes release)
21 January 2016 (CD first available at Paisley Park Studios show)
|length = 58:00
|label = NPG Records
|studios = Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (assumed)
|previous year = 2015
|previous album = Album: Hitnrun Phase One
|previous album link = Hitnrun Phase One
|previous image = Image:Hitnrun album.jpg
|next image = Image:Prince4ever album.jpg
|next year = 2016
|next album = Album: 4Ever
|next album link = 4Ever
|introduction = Hitnrun Phase Two (stylized as HITnRUN Phase Two) is the 39th full-length studio album by Prince, and the final [[Prince]-related album to be released during his lifetime. It was released digitally in December 2015, just three months after his previous album Hitnrun Phase One, and four months before his death.
The album contains twelve tracks, six of which were previously unreleased in any shape or form. Initially, the album was only available as a bundle with Hitnrun Phase One on Tidal. Three days later it was also available as standalone download via iTunes. A physical CD was first available for purchase at Prince's two-show Piano And A Microphone Gala Event at Paisley Park Studios on 21 January 2016. Shortly after it was available via local stores in Minneapolis and from April onward through amazon.
First Steps
While the use of "Phase One" on the title of its predecessor led many to assume that a follow-up using this title was planned, the album was only confirmed by Prince three months after the release of Hitnrun Phase One in a tweet.
In a response to a fan question by @_dirtydiana97 asking "is there a HitNRun Phase 2 coming out someday?", the response by @Prince3EG was:"Warner Bros. Records WB HAS IT ALREADY. PETITION THEM 2 RELEASE IT."
When the same fan asked for any titles of songs included, the account confirmed that Big City is included, followed later by re-posting a 54-second snippet of the track previously shared in October 2013. @Prince3EG also confirmed the inclusion of Revelation soon after. A few days later, @Prince3EG confirmed Black Muse as another track included on the planned album. The following day, 2 Y. 2 D. was also confirmed.
When asked why the album was given to Warner Bros. Records, @Prince3EG replied using the phrase:"OLIVE BRANCH"The tweet that included the link to the Big City snippet read:
"WARNER BROTHERS "BIG CITY" SHOUT ... C'MON U'ALL, WE CAN WORK THIS OUT!"
This phrasing was interesting, given that the unreleased 1977 track We Can Work It Out included the lyric "Makin' music naturally, me and W.B. / Music for the young and old, music bound to be gold". However, as expected We Can Work It Out was not included on the album.
As speculated before its release other tracks debuted in 2015 were also included on the album. Two studio tracks released in 2015 that were not included, however, are Free Urself and the 2014 re-recording of If Eye Could Get Ur Attention.
Recording process
Much of the album is believed to have been recorded in early-to-mid 2015 at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA.
Some tracks were recorded earlier, however, with 2 Y. 2 D., Groovy Potential and Big City dating back to 2013, Screwdriver and Rocknroll Loveaffair (as 'Rock And Roll Love Affair') to 2012, Xtraloveable and Groovy Potential to 2011 and Black Muse is believed to originate from 2010.
- Black Muse was debuted live during the opening night of the Welcome 2 America Tour on 15 December 2010, Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ, USA, in its only known performance (although the performance included lead vocals by Shelby J., Elisa Dease and Liv Warfield while Prince was offstage. A studio version is thought to have been recorded in 2010 at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA.
- 2 Y. 2 D. was first recorded in early-to-mid 2011, most likely at Paisley Park Studios. While the original version was a horn-driven funk version, Prince and 3rdEyeGirl re-recorded the track in early 2013.
- Big City is believed to have been recorded in Spring 2013 at Paisley Park Studios.
- Revelation is believed to have been recorded in Summer 2014 at Paisley Park Studios.
Promotion
Four singles from the album have been released to date, although none specifically to promote the album, instead between 2011 and early 2015 respectively.
- Xtraloveable was released on 23 November 2011 (as Extraloveable)
- Rock And Roll Love Affair was released on 22 November 2012
- Screwdriver was released on 4 February 2013.
- Baltimore was released on 26 May 2015
|tracklisting = Limited release available at 21 January 2016, Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA shows
- Baltimore (4:33)
- Rocknroll Loveaffair (4:01)
- 2 Y. 2 D. (3:50)
- Look At Me, Look At U (3:27)
- Stare (3:45)
- Xtraloveable (5:00)
- Groovy Potential (6:16)
- When She Comes (3:45)
- Screwdriver (4:15)
- Black Muse (7:21)
- Revelation (5:21)
- Big City (6:26)
|credits = All songs written by Prince (credited to Prince and the New Power Generation)
|* comment =
|other format = Digital
|content =
The digital version is the original issue.
- Baltimore (4:33)
- Rocknroll Loveaffair (4:01)
- 2 Y. 2 D. (3:50)
- Look At Me, Look At U (3:27)
- Stare (3:45)
- Xtraloveable (5:00)
- Groovy Potential (6:16)
- When She Comes (3:45)
- Screwdriver (4:15)
- Black Muse (7:21)
- Revelation (5:21)
- Big City (6:26)
|musicians = Prince - Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (assumed)
- Michael B. Nelson - trombone on Baltimore, Rocknroll Loveaffair, Xtraloveable, Groovy Potential, When She Comes and Black Muse
- Steve Strand - trumpet on Baltimore, Rocknroll Loveaffair, Xtraloveable, Groovy Potential, When She Comes and Black Muse
- Dave Jensen - trumpet on Baltimore, Rocknroll Loveaffair, Xtraloveable, Groovy Potential, When She Comes and Black Muse
- Kenni Holmen - tenor sax on Baltimore, Rocknroll Loveaffair, Xtraloveable, Groovy Potential, When She Comes and Black Muse
- Kathy Jensen - baritone sax on Baltimore, Rocknroll Loveaffair, Xtraloveable, Groovy Potential, When She Comes and Black Muse
- Stringenius - strings on Baltimore
- Ida Nielsen - bass guitar on Rocknroll Loveaffair, Screwdriver and Big City
- John Blackwell - drums on Rocknroll Loveaffair, 2 Y. 2 D., Look At Me, Look At U, Xtraloveable, When She Comes, Screwdriver, Black Muse, Revelation and Big City
- Justin Stanley - keyboards and handclaps on 2 Y. 2 D.
- Michael B. - drums on Groovy Potential
- Andrew Gouché - bass guitar on When She Comes and Revelation
- Xavier Taplin - keyboard on Look At Me, Look At U and Revelation
- Justin Stanley - keyboards and handclaps on 2 Y. 2 D.
- Shelby J. - background vocals on Big City and Black Muse (assumed)
- Elisa Dease - background vocals on Big City and Black Muse (assumed)
- Liv Warfield - background vocals on Big City and Black Muse (assumed)
- Andy Allo - background vocals on Rocknroll Loveaffair and Black Muse (assumed)
- Eryn Allen Kane - vocals on Baltimore
- Ledisi - background vocals on Big City
- Cassandra O'Neal - keyboards on Big City
- Marcus Anderson - flute on Look At Me, Look At U, tenor saxophone on Stare and Big City, soprano saxophone on Revelation (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Keith Anderson - tenor saxophone on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Lynn Grissett - trumpet on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Joey Rayfield - trombone on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Adrian Crutchfield – flute on Groovy Potential, alto saxophone on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- BK Jackson - baritone saxophone on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Sylvester Onyejiaka - baritone saxophone on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Steve Reid - trumpet on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
- Phil Lassiter - trumpet on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (credited as Philip Lassiter, as part of NPG Hornz)
- Nick Marchione - trumpet on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (credited as Nicholas Marchione, as part of NPG Hornz)
- Roy Agee - trombone on Look At Me, Look At U, Stare, Revelation and Big City (as part of NPG Hornz)
|production = Prince - producer, arranger, engineer
- Dylan Dreslow - engineer
- Chris James - engineer
- Justin Stanley - engineer
- Booker T. - engineer
- Michael B. Nelson - horn and string arrangements and string production on Baltimore, 2 Y. 2 D., Xtraloveable, Groovy Potential, When She Comes and Black Muse
- Adrian Crutchfield - horn arrangement on Rocknroll Loveaffair
- Marcus Anderson - horn arrangement on Look At Me, Look At U and Stare
- Joey Rayfield - horn arrangement on Stare
- Lynn Grissett - horn arrangement on Stare
- Phil Lassiter - horn arrangement on Big City (credited as Philip Lassiter)
- Karrah Kobus - photography
- Martin Homent - cover illustration
|thanks = None |singles =
Extraloveable b/w None |
|
Rock And Roll Love Affair b/w None |
|
Screwdriver b/w None |
|
Baltimore b/w None |
|see also = ! colspan="2" align="left" style="font-size:100%;color:#AB3E00"| See also
|- |colspan="2" |
Tidal | Hitnrun Phase One |
|charts =
Charts | |||
---|---|---|---|
iTunes | |||
Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart |
USA: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 16 | 16 (days) |
Canada: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 16 | 12 (days) |
Australia: | 22 Apr. 2016 | 29 | 6 (days) |
Brazil: | 16 Dec. 2015 | 66 | 5 (days) |
UK: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 16 | 18 (days) |
Germany: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 8 | 19 (days) |
France: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 11 | 26 (days) |
Spain: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 8 | 25 (days) |
Italy: | 12 Dec. 2015 | 15 | 16 (days) |
America | |||
Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart |
USA: Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 2 Jan. 2016 | 43 | 1 |
USA: Billboard R&B Albums | 2 Jan. 2016 | 23 | 1 |
Europe | |||
Country: Chart | Entry Date | Peak Position | Weeks in Chart |
Belgium: Ultratop Flanders | 2 Jan. 2016 | 104 | 1 |
Portugal: AFP Portugal Albums Top 30 | Week 18/2016 | 26 | 1 |
Certifications | |||
This album has not received any certifications in the USA | |||
Awards | |||
This album has not received any awards in the USA |
|releases =
Country | Format | Cat. Number | Comments | Front | Back | Label 1 | Label 2 |
| |||||||
USA | Digital | None | HITNRUN Phase One & Two Tidal bundle (.mp3 & .flac) | ||||
USA | CD | 7 98576 86832 1 | Released in February 2016 | ||||
Canada / Europe | CD | 7 98576 86832 1 | Released 29 April 2016 | ||||
Japan | CD | UICU 1276 | released 27 May 2016 | ||||
Variants, Special Editions and Reissues
| |||||||
Country | Format | Cat. Number | Comments | Front | Back | Label 1 | Label 2 |
| |||||||
None | |||||||
| |||||||
|trivia = The bundle is available on Tidal streaming services as well as on Tidal store on mp3 (14,99 €) and flac (26,99 €) digital formats. |alternative = |album promotion = |references = @Prince account (Twitter)
- Hitnrun Phase One / Phase Two bundle (Tidal stream)
- Hitnrun Phase One / Phase Two bundle (Tidal store)
- Prince Releases 'HITNRUN Phase Two' Album on Tidal by Mitchell Peters (Billboard: 12 December 2015)
|categories = }}