Prince Prepares 3 Albums for 2009

Gossip rags may have been feeding off of Prince’s alleged anti-gay, anti-abortion comments printed in the New Yorker lately, but with the funk royalty’s latest revelation, it’s all about the music.

Gossip rags may have been feeding off of Prince’s alleged anti-gay, anti-abortion comments printed in the New Yorker lately, but with the funk royalty’s latest revelation, it’s all about the music. Rather than just one new album, as was hinted at when Prince premiered four new songs on Los Angeles’ radio station Indie 103 last month, the Los Angeles Times reports his latest oeuvre will come in the form of a trilogy of albums, all set for release in 2009.

While those four tracks will appear on Lotus Flowe3r – considered to be the guitar album of the trio – MPLSOUND will explore Prince’s classic funk while Elixir will showcase a collaboration with Bria Valente. Perhaps more intriguing about this ambitious undertaking is it’s been reported that Prince has said he will self-release all three albums. For all his out-of-the-box methods, this move should come as no surprise as Prince has been more than vocal over his distaste for the music industry. At this point, though, the Purple One has gone full-blown rogue by setting up a new site, Lotusflow3r.com – still under construction though three new tracks from each upcoming album have been posted for streaming – where fans can purchase music, concert tickets and such.

This newfound DIY aesthetic was hinted at by Indie 103, who, following a private listening of Lotus Flow3r stated that Prince “wants nothing to do with record labels, so he’s meeting with people to figure out how to operate at his level without a record label.”

Though Prince’s business plan to do it single-handedly may represent a strong push away from an already changing industry, early fan comments range from ecstatic to frustrated. Given his shaky track record of late with cut-rate albums such as 3121 and Planet Earth, one wonders whether Prince’s reputation would best be served with but one solid release, lean and void of what has become signature excess.