Free Urself

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Free Urself

single art for Free Urself Song details Performer: Prince First Released: 28 September 2015 - Tidal stream 30 September 2015 - Free Urself single download Album(s): None Writer(s): Prince (assumed) Producer(s): Prince (assumed) Live Appearances First and last live appearance: 21 January 2016 (Show 2): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (solo piano version) 25 March 2016 (Show 1): Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, Toronto, ON, Canada Performed regularly on tour: Prince: Piano & A Microphone 2016 tour Performed occasionally in shows: 2016 (solo piano)

Free Urself (stylized as FREE URSELF) is the title track of the stand-alone single Free Urself, made available on iTunes on a track made available on 30 September 2015 (which became Prince’s final single to be released during his lifetime). Two days before the single’s release the song was made available on the streaming music service Tidal as part of its Purple Pick of the Week series of "new tracks, exclusives, rarities and more from the vault, curated personally by Prince". The track was the fourth offering in the series, and the first previously-unreleased track with Prince as the credited artist. The artwork used with the track had been previously shown (with the words "Free Urself") in three teaser videos for the track Stare four months earlier. All three teaser videos consisted of an excerpt of Stare, over text and images stating "new funk" by Prince would be coming in Summer 2015. During an exchange on Twitter with @Prince3EG exchange, a fan asked if Ruff Enuff was the first track to be recorded in 2016, to which @Prince3EG replied: "YES, IT'S ALREADY GOT A SISTER: ON THE SAME ALBUM AS "FREE URSELF"...THEY SOUND GREAT 2GETHER!" This information caused confusion as Free Urself was released using the artist credit Prince, while Ruff Enuff was credited to Mono Neon. It has been speculated that Free Urself is the title of an album Prince was working on, but this has not been confirmed. Ruff Enuff has since been confirmed by band members MonoNeon and Adrian Crutchfield by being a song from MonoNeon’s Black Is The New Black album, so it is safe to assume that Free Urself was also planned (possibly with overdubs or a re-recording) for the same album. While specific recording dates are not known, it is assumed to have been recorded in early 2015 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota. On 21 May 2016, a month after Prince’s passing, singer Natalya posted a cover of Free Urself (spelled FREEURSELF) on her Youtube account with the following message: "In November, Prince asked me to cover his song and create a visual for it. I am sharing the video that I made for him in honor of the inspiration that so many of us have found in him and through his music. My dear friend, here it is...May you remain eternally free. (: ". It is not known for sure if this recording took place before of after Prince’s passing. This version is not listed below as it is considered as a cover with no known direct involvment from Prince. Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info Early 2015 Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA Tracking Recording Personnel Prince - all vocals and instruments (assumed) Judith Hill - background vocals (assumed), possibly Natalya Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Free Urself 3:47 Free Urself single Studio

Additional Information See also Trivia Free Urself single Black Is The New Black unreleased album Artwork posted by @Prince3EG on Twitter minutes before release on Tidal: References Tidal: "Free Urself" Interview with bassist MonoNeon, one of the last people to play with Prince by Trent Moorman (KEXP.org: 6 May 2016). Prince’s Last Bassist… MonoNeon by Kilian Duarte (Bassmusician The Face Of Bass: 1 June 2016). Podcast: Adrian Crutchfield interview by Dr Funkenberry (Soundcloud: 17 November 2016).

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