Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

The prince of funk returns

Known by most as the artist formerly known as Prince, the majority of college students today do not know who Prince is beyond that call line and "Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999." Well they may not know him as of right now, but the world is about to be reintroduced to his Highness of Funk and Pop. Prince's newest album "Musicology" has already been deemed a huge success and tremendous come back. In an album that sounds exactly like what one would imagine "funk" to sound like, Prince makes his rank clear within the world of pop. With his two most recent albums flopping, one would think Prince would have resigned and accepted defeat, but this 45 year old was hardly discouraged. "Musicology" is a soulful, at times upbeat, and times more contemplative, album that is simply well done. Even listeners who aren't necessarily funk fans can't help but feel the soul in this album. Prince plays most of the instruments throughout the album himself and in doing so created impressively original material that only he could perform. Prince himself admits that in creating "Musicology," he was not looking to sell records, or gain an audience. He just wrote the funk he loved, returning to his roots and doing a consistently impressive job throughout the album.The title song, "Musicology," is the single that is exploding right now. With a fun, funky beat, quite possibly the quintessential funky beat, "Musicology" is Prince educating the world on what funk is. In his unique voice Prince sings, "Keep the party movin' / Just like I told u / kick the old school joint / 4 the true funk soldiers." Song after song Prince will impress any formerly anti-funk listeners. Although the lyrics and even the titles of the song may seem a bit ridiculous, ranging from "Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance," "Life 'O' the Party," "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?" and "If Eye Was The Man in Ur Life" (just to name a few), Prince does not seem to care. That is the beauty of "Musicology": Prince does not care whether listeners like it or not, and because of that, you can't help but enjoy, or at least respect the album. Other high points on the album include "A Million Days," "On the Couch," "Life 'O' The Party" and "Cinnamon Girl." The lyrics will continually surprise listeners, as will the content, and that is what makes "Musicology" such a good album. Even if you are not a Prince fan and don't think that you ever will be, it would be difficult for listeners to not find at least one song on the album that even they can "groove" to. Give funk a chance and embrace the artist currently revered as Prince.