Black Beat Magazine just gave TRC a rave review in their latest issue (April 2002 with Usher on the cover):

Prince 'The Rainbow Children' NPG Records---Just as unpredictable and ahead of his time as ever,the man we haven't officially called Prince in some years (having recorded under The Artist moniker for the better part of the last decade),returns with his strongest musical statement since masterful,groundbreaking works like 'Sign O' The Times' and 'The Gold Experience'.Never one to follow current trends,the recent Jehovah's Witness convert shares his newfound spiritual awakening over a striking,and mostly soulful,hybrid of funk,jazz,rock and R&B styles.And,as we well know,no one masterfully blends those disparate styles as seamlessly as the Minneapolis genuis.
Sounding much like one of his notorious after-show gigs,'The Rainbow Children' bears all of Prince's trademark experimentation,offering loads of spiritual commentary over brilliant,mostly self-contained musicianship.Consequently,
outside of spiritual brother Larry Graham's guest bass licks and a solo or two,this marks a return to his one-man band style of recording.
With his overtly sexual preoccupations now behind him,Prince spends the majority of 'The Rainbow Children' lacing his most dynamic funk n' soul grooves in years with messages of peace and humanity,while plunging into issues of racism and sexism as well.If you can tolerate the electronically distorted voice of his narration (sounding suspiciously like the intro voice heard on "1999"),this welcome return to form packs in several engaging moments that once again prove why the singer/songwriter/musician/producer is virtually peerless in the upper echelon of pop royalty.
Never a bore,Prince's latest musical statement offers so many of his well-known musical styles,offering much to groove to--and even more to think about.Right out of the red-hot funk tradition of "Kiss" and "Housequake".are blazin',JB-inspired workouts like "The Work Pt.1" and "1+1+1=3".While his well-known falsetto soars above the brassy arrangement of the former,the chant-like call-n-response style of the latter plays like a funk-steeped page right out of his notorious 'Black Album'.You can't help but think that these are the masterful grooves that someday will make for a phat hip-hop sample.Elsewhere,Prince does much to appease fans of his smoother R&B numbers,like on the blissed-out,romantic "She Loves Me 4 Me";the warm,old school-flavored soul of "Muse 2 The Pharaoh";and the moody,sultry glide of "Mellow".The live-sounding "Last December" eases along with its sweet melody,making its way into a full-blown,climatic pop/soul rhythm that features guitar solos reminiscent of his Purple Rain heyday.
No matter how provocative the messages may have been in the past--like his blurring the lines between gender,sex and religion---his music has always been the focal point.Consequently,the occasional Biblical references within 'The Raibow Children' never distracts listeners from the virtuoso musicianship,tight production and eclectic genre-mixing of this slammin' return to form.Prince is obviously still light years ahead of even his closest peer."


In another section of the magazine,the editor Rudi Meyer spoke about the pre-release party...."Speaking of 80s pop icons,the folks at Susan Blond,Inc. invited a choice few folks down to the oh-so-private lounge under that hip hotel,The Mercer,for an early preview of 'The Rainbow Children',the latest NPG Records release from Prince (his first release under that name in some years).Though most people spent most of their time trying to find out if Prince was coming (or there in disguise),the funk and jazz-hued sounds of 'The Rainbow Children' had folks in a "very social" mood.Tracks like "Muse 2 The Pharaoh","She Loves Me 4 Me" and the steamy funk of "The Work Pt.1" have been playing regularly in our office.We think it's his best in years".