It wouldn't have made one bit of difference to his career.

It would have been far better received than LoveSexy as far as album sales, but not enough to have made much of a difference in his career during that period of time.

We gotta remember--LoveSexy wasn't a commercial disaster in other parts of the world--mainly just the US.

And even if he had released The Black album and Camille and some other great material back then, the music scene was steadily declining and getting ready for the "Kurt Cobain" revolution , so it wouldn't have made enough of a difference. And Prince would have released Graffiti Bridge which would have derailed any mommentum those albums might have had.

But it wasn't going to be the follow-up to SOTT.

It was going to be released in Dec.1987, with no mention of who the artist was behind. It was a side-project, much akin to the Madhouse albums.

The first incarnation of Graffiti Bridge was already well underway by this point, and that was the next record Prince was working on.

Now if you're speaking hypothetically, IF Prince had decided to hold off releasing TBA in Dec.87 and release it under his own name in 1988, with all the usual promotion and such, I think it would've been a critical success, a hit in the clubs, but maybe not so much commercially due to the leftfield nature of a lot of the album. Cindy C. could've been a big single IMO, maybe Le Grind too.

wlcm2thdwn said:

I don't believe that! I know so many non prince fans that loved tracks like Bob George and thought Prince was so surprisingly cool when they heard me play the bootleg... none of them gave a shit about Batman or Lovesexy, and they felt he put out fluffy pop that wasn't to their taste after the Black Album...

Black Album seemed to promote the masculine Prince, and that would have made him have a lot more respect with the general public that shies away from the feminine image that seems to bug so many people.

Youngsters right now think he's a total rated "G" relic who is family safe.

It would have been far better received than LoveSexy as far as album sales, but not enough to have made much of a difference in his career during that period of time.

We gotta remember--LoveSexy wasn't a commercial disaster in other parts of the world--mainly just the US.

And even if he had released The Black album and Camille and some other great material back then, the music scene was steadily declining and getting ready for the "Kurt Cobain" revolution , so it wouldn't have made enough of a difference. And Prince would have released Graffiti Bridge which would have derailed any mommentum those albums might have had.

Imago said:

don't forget that another music genre took off based on those very guys'interests I was describing.... masculine, urban, cussing.... beats....

gangsta rap... it went from public enemy to NWA to ice cube.... to biggie n tupac...

And I think, based on Black Album's success (did you know it was listed in 1988 celebrity polls of favorite albums in rolling stone despite being a bootleg?) in this alternate universe, all Prince albums subsequently would be a bit different.

if the Black Album was released in 1988 as the follow up to Sign O The Times as planned how do you think that album would have affected Prince's career at that time? do you think he would have gained new fans from it? have any hit singles from it? i do know at the time it wasnt easy admitting you were a Prince fan and the lovesexy cover didnt help that one bit but it is interesting to wonder how things would have been had he released The Black Album

As has already been pointed out...
I think people are forgetting a few important points about the Black Album,
and what would have happened if it had been released as originally intended.

1. It would've been released in December 1987 (not 1988)

2. It would've been released quietly, with no real promotion or any official
acknowledgement that it was even a 'Prince' album.

3. Prince would not have toured the album or made any TV appearances or
performances to support the album.

4. There would've been no singles released from the album (though there was
talk of supplying Cindy C. and/or When 2 R In Love to radio)

5. Prince would still have released his 'proper' new album in 1988, which
would most likely have been either Graffiti Bridge or Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic

So in some respects, I doubt it would've had much impact on his career or
subsequent musical output. Though I do agree with ufoclub in that if it had
really taken off as an underground hit, it might have helped Prince's
standing with his original r&b/black fanbase. Who knows, if it had been a
really big hit on the r&b/black charts, it may have even influenced
Prince to bring in slight hip hop influences earlier than the NPG days of
1991-1995. Or as Superspaceboy has pointed out, due to the lyrical content
of Dead On It, there may have even been a bit of a backlash against
Prince from the rap crowd.
[Edited 1/16/07 13:49pm]

You may be right on all accounts, but we really don't know what would happen in "what if" scenarios.

kpowers said:

Well, points 1-5 are as close to facts as you can get for something that in the
end didn't happen. What is up for debate is how the album would've been recieved
and how well it would've done commercially. And if it had been a big success,
whether it would've influenced Prince's subsequent output.

Yes....BUT there was a message contained w/in the Black Album, letting the world know that his views on rap (or gangsta rap). There might have been a huge backlash against Prince for that message or moreso, if the music community found the 2 rap songs to be trite. Prince has never been one to be known for good rapping and he could have been ton the receiving end of "for someone who isn't all that at rapping, Prince certainly has a lot to rap about".

1. It would've been released in December 1987 (not 1988)

2. It would've been released quietly, with no real promotion or any official
acknowledgement that it was even a 'Prince' album.

3. Prince would not have toured the album or made any TV appearances or
performances to support the album.

4. There would've been no singles released from the album (though there was
talk of supplying Cindy C. and/or When 2 R In Love to radio)

5. Prince would still have released his 'proper' new album in 1988, which
would most likely have been either Graffiti Bridge or Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic

As has already been pointed out...
I think people are forgetting a few important points about the Black Album,
and what would have happened if it had been released as originally intended.

1. It would've been released in December 1987 (not 1988)

2. It would've been released quietly, with no real promotion or any official
acknowledgement that it was even a 'Prince' album.

3. Prince would not have toured the album or made any TV appearances or
performances to support the album.

4. There would've been no singles released from the album (though there was
talk of supplying Cindy C. and/or When 2 R In Love to radio)

5. Prince would still have released his 'proper' new album in 1988, which
would most likely have been either Graffiti Bridge or Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic

So in some respects, I doubt it would've had much impact on his career or
subsequent musical output. Though I do agree with ufoclub in that if it had
really taken off as an underground hit, it might have helped Prince's
standing with his original r&b/black fanbase. Who knows, if it had been a
really big hit on the r&b/black charts, it may have even influenced
Prince to bring in slight hip hop influences earlier than the NPG days of
1991-1995. Or as Superspaceboy has pointed out, due to the lyrical content
of Dead On It, there may have even been a bit of a backlash against
Prince from the rap crowd.
[Edited 1/16/07 13:49pm]

superspaceboy said:

"Dead On It" says "The only good rapper is one that's dead on it... the ones from minniapolis play it like it outta should...."

this was not an attack on rap! It's completely comical with his "white" nerd voice to boot. It fits within the rap stereotype of bragging and putting down all others.

also I don't think gangsta rap really existed yet as a complete genre...

2. It would've been released quietly, with no real promotion or any official
acknowledgement that it was even a 'Prince' album.

I Remember reading in the paper (Daily Dayton News.OH) that a new prince album was going to be released. There may have not been any "official" stuff but everyone who was a fan of Prince knew it was coming out. And the buzz was very positive.

This was classic Prince promotion it had all the secretive stuff that P was good with at the time.

BorisFishpaw said:

December 1987 is the middle of the school year and the END of 1987, the beginning of 1988. Tracks like Bob George would have been pumping out of white frat boy jeeps by the summer of 1988 (just like Public enemy or 2 live crew was)

I'm sure Warners (they eventually released the album) would have then funded and promoted a single, as soon as they realized the potential market.

He probably would have put out a graffiti bridge musical movie album, but perhaps without the influence/vibe of Ingrid Chavez.

ufoclub said:

I disagree. I think the main reason P did not have rap or anything like it was he felt it to be a non artistic genre anyone could do....hence the lyrics. I though P was quite against rap as an artistic venture when it first came out. I think he was getting pressure by the WB to maybe "go" there as a lot of R&B was going there.

I think Prince was against the Rapper Lifestyle and the "gangstaness" that went along with it. I am not that astute on rap and it's history, but Prince's lyrics suggest in that song, Bob George and Positivity that at least the beginning of Gangsta Rap was going on.