Black Sweat is the fourth track on Prince’s 31st studio album 3121, and, a month prior to the album’s release, Black Sweat was released (as a download) as the album’s second single (a CD single release followed in Europe a week after the album’s release).
Specific recording dates are unknown, but the track was likely written in mid-late June 2004, as Prince added it to the acoustic section of the Musicology Live 2004ever tour on 25 June 2004 and played it fairly regularly after that (Prince spent a few days at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, around this time, and it is likely that the track was recorded there). Since the released track is a dance track rather than an acoustic track, it is possible the initial recording was re-worked later on, but information has not been verified. The track was included as the sixth track on a late 2005 configuration of 3121, following on from Incense And Candles before switching places with it while Streets Of Panama was removed from the album before its release.
The live recording of Black Sweat from Prince’s final full show (14 April 2016, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, USA) was made available from Tidal on 18 April 2016 as the Purple Pick of the Week, and became the final official release of music by Prince before his death on 21 April 2016.
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