Slave 2 The System

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Slave 2 The Funk   < < < Non-Prince Songs All Prince Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Sleazin’
Slave 2 The System

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Song details
Performer: New Power Generation; SymbolSmallerBlue.png
Writer(s): Prince (as SymbolSmallerBlue.png)
Producer(s): Prince (as SymbolSmallerBlue.png) (assumed)
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:
Performed regularly on tour:
  • none
Performed occasionally in shows:
  • none

Slave 2 The System, previously titled Slave (not to be confused with Slave which is a different track), is an unreleased song recorded on 15 May 1994 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, during the first day of sessions for the New Power Generation’s second album Exodus (on the same day as Get Wild, New Power Soul, The Exodus Has Begun, Hallucination Rain, Count The Days and It Takes 3). It was the first song recorded during that session.

The track includes lead vocals by Sonny T..

The song, as Slave, was included merged with Acknowledge Me as the third track (second song) on the 2 December 1994 configuration of Exodus, but was removed from later configurations.

The reason for the tracks being combined and tracked as only one track is not known.

In early-to-mid 1995, Prince (as SymbolSmallerBlue.png) re-recorded the track at Paisley Park Studios using entirely different music, including gentle strings, probably provided by Clare Fischer’s orchestra. Oddly, Prince/SymbolSmallerBlue.png kept the reference to Sonny T.’s family name in the new version ("Thompson’s my last name, but my daddy’s name is Lloyd").

A marching drum pattern from the track was sampled from Ain’t No Place Like U, and was also used on the released version of Slave, which contains some lyrical and musical similarities to Slave 2 The System, but is otherwise a different song.

This version was included as the second track on a July 1995, configuration of the Emancipation album, and the third track on another 1995 configuration, but was removed as work on the album continued.

The track remains unreleased.


Recording Information
Recording Sessions
Date Studio Additional info
15 May 1994 Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Tracking (New Power Generation version)
Early-to-mid 1995 Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Tracking (SymbolSmallerBlue.png version)
Recording Personnel

New Power Generation version


Symbol.png version

  • Prince (as SymbolSmallerBlue.png) - all vocals and instruments, except where noted
  • Clare Fischer - string orchestration (assumed)

Versions
Unreleased Versions
Title Version Additional Info
Slave Studio Recorded 15 May 1994; New Power Generation version
Slave 2 The System Studio Recorded early-to-mid 1995, SymbolSmallerBlue.png version


 
Additional Information

See also Trivia

  • During the posthumous 2022 edition of the Prince Celebration at Paisley Park Studios, lyric sheets for Funky 4 No Reason, a note titled Spy (with lyrics from Baby I’m A Star) and Free The Slave. Free The Slave is possibly an alternative title for either Slave or Slave 2 The System and is therefore not considered as a different song (until further information, if any, becomes available).

References
Slave 2 The Funk   < < < All Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Sleazin’