Diamonds and Pearls is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the first with his backing band The New Power Generation. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album produced several hit singles, including "Gett Off", "Cream", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night", "Insatiable", and the title track. Dancers Lori Werner and Robia LaMorte, known as "Diamond" and "Pearl" respectively, appeared on the holographic cover. Diamond and Pearl also appeared in the music videos for "Cream", "Strollin'", "Gett Off", and the title track, and also participated in Prince's Diamonds and Pearls Tour.
Love Symbol is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second of two that featured his backing band the New Power Generation. It was released on October 13, 1992, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. It was originally conceived as a "fantasy rock soap opera" with various spoken segues throughout, and contains elements of R&B, funk, pop, rock, and soul.
"1999" is a song by American musician Prince, the title track from his 1982 album of the same name. Originally peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, a mid-1983 re-release later reached number 12 in the US, while a January 1985 rerelease, a double A-side with "Little Red Corvette", later peaked at number 2 in the UK.
"Cream" is a song by American singer-songwriter Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1991 by Paisley Park and Warner as the second single from Prince's 13th studio album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). In a 2004 MTV special, Prince joked that he wrote the song while looking at himself in the mirror. "Cream" became Prince's fifth and last number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying at the top for two weeks. The song entered the top 10 in 15 other countries worldwide, peaking within the top three in Australia, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland. Its music video was directed by Rebecca Blake.
Rosie Gaines is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Pittsburg, California. Gaines is a former band member of Prince's group the New Power Generation. She duetted with singer Prince on the hit song "Diamonds and Pearls". She released a number of dance hits, the most notable being "Closer Than Close", which made the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart in 1997.
"Gett Off" is a song written and produced by American musician Prince, released in June 1991 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. as the lead single from his thirteenth album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). The album was his first with his backing band the New Power Generation. "Gett Off" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number four in the United Kingdom; the maxi-single was too long and pricey to appear on the UK Singles Chart, so this release was classified as an album, peaking at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart in August 1991.
"Thieves in the Temple" is a song by American musician Prince from the 1990 soundtrack album Graffiti Bridge. Added at the last minute, it was the final song recorded for the album. "Thieves in the Temple" topped the US R&B chart and became a number six hit in the US, and a number seven hit in the UK. The single also peaked at number nine on the dance chart.
"Scandalous" is the eighth track on Prince's soundtrack album Batman and was released as the album's fourth single, five months after the album was released. The music is attributed to Prince and his father, John L. Nelson. A maxi single was released after the single titled The Scandalous Sex Suite, which contained a three-part 19-minute suite of the song "Scandalous", with the three parts named The Crime, The Passion, and The Rapture. Kim Basinger, who was dating Prince at the time and who also played the character Vicki Vale in Batman, also appeared on the maxi single.
"New Power Generation", or "N.P.G.", is a song by American musician Prince from the 1990 album and film Graffiti Bridge. It is an anthem for his backing band, The New Power Generation, who were officially co-credited on his album covers for a time, and continued to back him up until 2013, albeit with a changing lineup. The song saw minimal chart attention, and was not as successful as its predecessor, "Thieves in the Temple".
"Money Don't Matter 2 Night" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation from their 1991 album, Diamonds and Pearls. The song was released in March 1992 by Paisley Park and Warner. Co-written with Rosie Gaines, the lyrics deal directly with money, poverty, and greed, and overall, the song is a smooth delivery with layered vocals by Prince. It peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Spike Lee.
"Let's Pretend We're Married" is a song by American musician Prince from his 1982 album 1999. It was the final US single from the album and peaked at number 52 in the US.
"Insatiable" is a song by American musician Prince and The New Power Generation, from their 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls. It is a slow, simmering ballad that often draws comparisons to 1989's "Scandalous!". The B-side was "I Love U in Me", which was originally the B-side to "The Arms of Orion". "Insatiable" was only released in the US as a 7" single, a 12" promo was sent only to Urban radio stations, and the track was not released to Pop radio stations. It performed well on the R&B chart, reaching number 3, but did not break the top 40 on the US Pop chart. Its single sales were moderate, and it received heavy airplay on Urban and UAC radio stations, but it did not make the Hot 100 Airplay.
"Thunder" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, from their 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls. It was issued as a limited, individually numbered 12-inch single picture disc in the UK and Ireland only, and the edited version was available only on the promotional single.
"Sexy MF" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as a single from their 1992 album Love Symbol. The music and most of the lyrics were composed by Prince, while Levi Seacer Jr. came up with the chorus and the song's title. Tony M. also delivers a rap, which he wrote. The song and its refrain "You sexy motherfucker" caused some controversy, and edited versions were produced for radio, the music video and the US version of the album. The song was recorded in Paisley Park's Studio A in December 1991.
"My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1992 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. as the second single from their 1992 Love Symbol album. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by NPG member Tony M. The intro to the song features vocal samples from Prince's earlier songs "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Partyup", and "Controversy". Its music video was directed by Parris Patton and featured Kirstie Alley and Lauren Green.
"7" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, from their 1992 Love Symbol Album. It was released in late 1992 as the third single from the album, and became the most successful in the United States. It features a sample of the 1967 Lowell Fulsom song "Tramp" and is composed of heavy drums and bass in an acoustic style. It has a distinct Middle Eastern style of music, and a Hindu reincarnation theme, and an opera-like chorus which features Prince's multi-tracked vocals. The lyrics have religious and apocalyptic themes. The song is ambiguous and can be interpreted in many ways, as the "7" mentioned in the chorus could be the song referring to the Seven Deadly Sins or the seven Archon of Gnosticism or the seven names of God in the Old Testament. The song received positive reviews and peaked within the top forty of many of its major markets.
"The Morning Papers" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation from their 1992 album Love Symbol. It was released as the fourth worldwide single from the album in March 1993 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros.; the B-side is "Live 4 Love", a track from Prince's previous album, Diamonds and Pearls (1991). The UK CD single included "Love 2 the 9's" as well, also from Love Symbol. "The Morning Papers" peaked at numbers 44 and 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100.
"Damn U" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released in November 1992 as the fourth single from his fourteenth studio album, Love Symbol (1992). It is a slow-grooving romantic R&B ballad, featuring strings and violin. Prince sings of a woman who affects him greatly emotionally, and uses the term "damn u" as an expression of surprise at the woman's power over him. His vocal range shifts throughout the song from very high falsetto to his deeper lower baritone. The B-side was "2 Whom It May Concern", which was also available on the maxi single for "7". Its music video was directed by Randee St. Nicholas.
"All Woman" is a song recorded by British singer, songwriter and actress Lisa Stansfield for her second album, Real Love (1991). The song was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. It was released by Arista as the second single on 9 December 1991 in the United Kingdom and in early 1992 in the rest of the world. The song reached number twenty in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it peaked at number fifty-six on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number twenty-one on the Adult Contemporary Singles chart. The music video was directed by Nick Brandt. The single's B-side included previously unreleased track, "Everything Will Get Better." The latter was remixed by Danny Tenaglia and reached number thirty-six on the Hot Dance Club Songs.
Prince released several hundred songs both under his own name and under pseudonyms and/or pen names, as well as writing songs which have been recorded by other artists. Estimates of the actual number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. He has released 117 singles, 41 promotional singles, 24 internet singles, and eight internet downloads.
