When 3121 came out, much was made of what folks perceived as Prince resurrecting his old alter ego, Camille, to sing co-lead vocals with him on the title track.
We got all and about it, but did we miss another, equally badass, old friend who also came along for the ride?


Jamie Starr was the one who created The Time and the Morris Day persona. Jamie Starr (aka The Starr Company, aka the dirty old man who lived/lives inside Prince’s head) produced The Time albums, created “Chocolate” and “Cloreen Baconskin,” and I’m pretty sure that’s him on “Poom Poom.” Jamie Starr is a badass old man, sexy, grizzly, I want to call him Rufus for some reason.

When I listen to Lolita, I hear him all over the place! Maybe not Jamie per se, but Prince is definitely paying tribute, throwing shout-outs, etc. The throwback drum sounds and synths. The call-and-response at the end ("Fellas!" "Yeah?" "How bad is this girl?" "Bad!"), which recalls “Wild and Loose” and other classics by The Time ("Fellas!" "Yeah?" "Where the party at?" "Right here under your shoes!").

My favorite, though, is “you know, one a them ’56 pink Caddies, baby! Old! Look out!” Jamie Starr, as you may recall, was very fond of telling us he was “too old,” to “look out,” and especially that we couldn’t “fuck with him.”

He loved the young ladies, even though he was past his prime and unaware of how ridiculous he might look and sound to them. “What’sa matter, don’t you like me? Am I too old? You don’t need a young man, you need somebody who’s experienced!” On Lolita, though, the tables have been turned. The Lolita, the young temptress, is trying to get into Prince’s pants, but now that Prince is actually the older man in real life (when he created Jamie Starr, he was a hot young thing himself), he’s resisting. Now that he’s actually experienced the life lessons that it takes to get to “middle age,” he has a different understanding. But he still has love for Jamie’s dirty old ass, so this track is his tribute.



Bow down, bitches. You can't fuck with him



And lemme see your papers. You know what I’m talkin’ about.

the jamie starr persona is so dirty-old-uncle-that-you-see-every-once-in-a-while... and "lolita" is like the only track on 3121 that i constantly listen to. it's the cheese, man! i remember when i first heard it back when it got leaked...popped it on, listened to it and it was just like "THE PRINCELY CHEESE BECKONS YOU."



real minnesota cheese edit
[Edited 5/23/06 11:30am]

great analysis

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Riiiight? And to those who don't get it: You can't hang wit dis, girl!

this is why I love you Preach it girl, preach it!

FunkMistress said:

look out!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

well...that theroy makes me like the song a bit more...

Hell yeah! Jamie was always a bad boy.

That's "old Prince".

I never thought of comparing Jamie Starr to the "old man" Prince has become. Makes perfect sense now that you've explained it to us.

When was it decided Jamie Starr was supposed to be an old man? Never heard that before.

I think your theory, while novel is a stretch, and a long one. I agree he's reusing old ideas and it shows in how formulaic the song sounds. If Jamie Starr has become old and 'safe' then it's time to put him in a home and not in a studio. Crap is crap, but whatever you need to tell yourself to enjoy it.

I don't think the old pimp persona is supposed 2 be Jamie Starr, but U R dead on in the rest.

"Lolita" is not only my 4 year old's fav track (She says, "See ya, mama mia..."), but it's a hell of a grower (ooops).

Nothing beats "Love" though...

G.

dont you find prince to serious???
jamie star persona he was just having fun using alter ego's.
and that lolita reference is lifted directly from the time's cool
not wild and loose.

Prince...i wanna Pink Caddy's baby

Love that damn song.

Giovanni777 said:

Prince himself said that the "old pimp" persona he adopted in "Chocolate" and "Cloreen Baconskin" was the voice of the Jamie Starr alter ego.

Wall said:

FunkMistress said:

dag, i didn't know that... don't tell anyone.

jamie starr's a pimp.

funk mistress is my ruler.

Peace.

G.

Giovanni777 said:

The Mistress is a very nice Mistress. You'll like being ruled by me.

Wall said:

That track is far from crap. In fact, it's a good track. I like it as much as I did the first time I heard it. It's not my favorite but it's far from the least . This one would have made a good video if it were done with a bit of whimsy. Whimsical but not silly.

It cracks me up, though, that Lolita sounds like a sister from uptown("Yaeah!" ) instead of a latina.

anon said:

Does he refer to her as Latina in the song?

FunkMistress said:

No but she speaks first in Spanish and then she's the sister. Anyway, that's kinda what is implied with Lolita these days...on the streets. A young latina....but that could be a NY/urban thing.
[Edited 5/24/06 9:20am]

anon said:

Never heard that one before. To my knowledge, it refers to a younger, sexually tempting woman or girl. From a novel by a Russian dude.

FunkMistress said:

Yes. I guess I made the street connection because she's, first, speaking in spanish.

anon said:

How did I forget about that part?

...wait, "street"?

FunkMistress said:

Yes. though I've never read the novel, I've seen the movie (one) and for some reason I didn't make that connection. I think it's because the girl speaks in spanish...and because I didn't really give it much thought...I just made the modern day Urban/NY connection.

If only Prince put as much thought into the conception of his songs these days as his fans do, they might actually be worth more than the initial spin.

Wall said:

You need a hug.

FunkMistress said:

U can be tough though. I deserve it, because of my funk infraction of ignorance. I am Funk. I should be punished.