Prince’s Unreleased Album ‘Welcome 2 America’ Arriving In Summer, More Than a Decade After it Was Recorded
By Zach Seemayer 6:34 PM PDT, April 8, 2021
Entertainment Tonight
Five years after Prince’s untimely death, fans will soon be getting never-before-heard music from the late icon. The singer’s estate is set to drop his previously unreleased album, Welcome 2 America.
The album, due out on July 30, was recorded at Prince’s Paisley Park studio in 2010, but shelved and placed in the vault shortly after being completed.
In the wake of his death on April 21, 2016, the singer’s estate has delved into re-releasing some of the singer’s biggest hits, and new versions and iterations of his past collaborations and covers. This new album will be the biggest release of previously unheard songs to come out of the singer’s famous vault of unreleased tunes.
“Prince’s enigmatic and prescient statement album #Welcome2America will be released July 30, 2021, by The Prince Estate and @SonyLegacyRecs. The Deluxe Edition includes the previously unreleased studio album and a full 2011 Prince concert at @TheForum on Blu-ray,” the artist’s estate announced on Twitter Thursday morning.
The estate also teased and described the content of Prince’s album, Tweeting, “Recorded in 2010 before the Welcome 2 America Tour, the studio album #Welcome2America documents Prince’s concerns, hopes, and visions for a shifting society, presciently foreshadowing an era of political division, disinformation, and a renewed fight for racial justice.”
The estate also posted a quote from Prince, also shared in 2010, that explained his thoughts and concerns that are echoed in the new album.
“The world is fraught with misin4mation. George Orwell’s vision of the future is here,” Prince said in the statement. “We need 2 remain steadfast in faith in the trying times ahead.”
The estate also released the title track at the time of the announcement, on YouTube and streaming services.
