tell me everything you know about "goldnigga" people

perhaps the only prince release i missed when it was
first released. i've had it for years but only lately
i've started to appreciate it. a lot.

especially the music. damn, there's some good music on
this album. in some parts it's so damn well played you
hardly even notice tony is rapping over, lol.

listening to "deuce & a quarter" right now is making me
yeeeearn for prince to play the cloudguitar again. it's
got such a distinctive sound.

overall i'm just very impressed with the production of
this album. the sound is so transparant and warm. plus
the grooves are elasticbands poppin and swirling. what
a good bunch of rhythm tracks. wow.

ok ok, there aren't that many real songs on there and
there's still tony m all over it. but still, there is
a lot to enjoy on this release.

but back to my initial question: what do you know about
this album?

how did it come about? when did prince start writing it?
or wasn't it his initial idea but tony or some other npg
member's idea?

who released it? was it a limited paisley park release?
or was it an npg release? did npg already exist as a rec
company at that time?

what was the exact official release date?

and who wrote the material? is it all prince penned? and
are the raps prince penned? i doubt it because tony did
write most of his own raps on the prince albums as well
didn't he?

oh, and who is that girl on most of the tracks? some of
the skits, like on "johnny", that's mayte, i think but
who is that girl with the heavy accent on "goldnigga 2"?

did prince ever play anything else from this album live
apart from "black mf" and "johnny"? if anything i think
that "goldnigga" would make for a killer instrumental if
he needs something fresh to space out on jamming during
an aftershow.

why zone out for 14 minutes on the same Sly Stone songs
over and over and over when there's hypnotic grooves as
good as this one in your own catalogue, grooves that can
stretch and bend over backwards, spreading out 'till the
crowd is high.

here i am raving about what i like on this release when
most likely within a few minutes the haters will come
out of the woodworks to yell how vile they think this
release is and how much they hate everything about it..


oh well, i'm sure there's people who feel the same as me tho.

right?

right?

Don't know any of the production details that you're looking for, but at the time of its release you could only get the cd from 1 800 NEW FUNK by phone, which I remember doing the day it became available. Mine arrived with a cracked jewelcase. . I was glad to have gotten it when I did as subsequent pressings had a track removed (Duece & a Quarter?) due to it containing an unlicensed sample or something like that.

Aside from Black MF and Johnny, I believe Call the Law was also performed live a bit (it appeared as the b side to Money Don't Matter 2Night before Goldnigga saw the light of day).

As a side note, this disc is the strongest smelling cd I've ever purchased... And I don't mean from the funkiness of it. To this day the booklet and disk smell from the ink and screenprinting. Why I'm sniffing Goldnigga, I don't know...

Doozer said:

I think it was actually "Guess Who's Knockin'" that was removed from subsequent pressing 4 a Paul McCartney sample.

and yes, the album kicks much @$$!!!

Doozer said:

indeed, i forgot about that!

npgmaverick said:

Yes - you're right. It was "Guess Who's Knocking" that was removed from subsequent pressings of the album. Just consulted Turn It Up 2.0 for more info:


Prince commenced work on Goldnigga, an album with the NPG, on the Diamonds and Pearls tour. They recorded several tracks at Studios 301 in Sydney, continuing at Paisley Park inbetween the Australian and European legs of the tour and after the conclusion of the tour. The majority of the album was completed in late 1992, but more work followed in 1993, when "2gether" was recorded...

...In late June 1993, Prince completed the Goldnigga album by recording a final track, "2gether," which was added to give the album more chart potential. Prince printed up copies and sold the record on the Act II tour in Europe before making it available later in the year at the NPG store in Minneapolis. However, the album was rejected for release by Warner Bros. and never received large-scale distribution; it remains very much of a collector's item for Prince completists.


...like us fools.

I do like the album and listen to it from time to time. It's Prince at his gangsta-rap best.

Doozer said:

did you just take time out to type all of that from the book?

very cool info. thank you!

IstenSzek said:

I did - one-handed while holding a 7-month old, no less. She's a good girl. And it's a good cause.

Plus it was a darn good reason to pull out Turn It Up

I know that it's my least favorite Prince album.

When you look it up on Wikipedia, you will notice the genre Funk! and that's what it is from top to toe.
If there's an album you need on your ipod this is it!...funny there's no mention of a box of chocolates anywhere?

Doozer said:

respect!

I bought my copy in the London NPG-Store at the time (including Guess Whos Knocking). I don´t want to sell it, but is it worth anything?
Love the album. How funky is Oilcan?

Nightcrawler said:

The initial pressing you have is certainly worth more than the later pressing that omits said track, but both are out of print and can fetch a decent price.


Gold Nigga gets a from me too. Fair enough Tony M was never the most likeable or interesting rapper, but the production and band/horns sound of the LP slots right into the D&P/ era - The instrumentals are great, Deuce & 1/4.

I remember at the time, Uptown referring to it as an updated 'The Time', in terms of having a central character and building a project around them. I would go along with that in as much Prince always feels enamoured in some way with an associate and creates a fantasy version of them for a musical project that also projects a side of himself (musically) that he wants to convey.

I still have no idea why Morris Hayes is in a wheelchair on the inside cover though, can someone enlighten me?!

NouveauDance said:

Hold up a sec -- it's a wheelchair with extended exhaust pipes.

NouveauDance said:

What an interesting and insightful statement. I love reading stuff like this here. I think albums like Gold Nigga and even the unrealesed Tamar album will become more interesting and etertaining the further we move from them.

I saw the original CD in his Camden NPG Store when it first came out but at the time wasn't familiar with it so I never payed the 8 or 9 quid for it.. How big a mistake was that?? I have the second edition now (and may have aquired the missing track ) but I still so regret not buying the album when I first saw it.

I wasn't big on 1-800 New Funk and when it finally hit stores it missed Guess Who's Knocking, which I think is still a very kewl song. Too bad it had to be ommitted. I loved the overall feel to it and sure, when listening to it the first time, the skits in between the songs are fun, but after listening to the album more than twice they became bothersome to me.

IstenSzek said:

Gold Nigga was also performed on Act I (very short version) and at Act I aftershows. 2gether was performed at an Act II show in Birmingham. Oilcan was played at a few ACT II aftershows, as was Deuce & A Quarter.

I know for me it's pretty much unlistenable :\

I prefer New Power Soul. I actually love that album.

bleutuna said:

Nobody's perfect.

HamsterHuey said:

I'd rather hear Prince singing about Mad Sex than Tony M. rapping about 'Gold Niggas' changing the world :p

Just throwing this out there for anyone looking to track down this CD...

There are lots of folks selling pirate/fake copies of Goldnigga, so do some homework if you want the real thing.

There were two* pressings of Goldnigga, a 16 track and a 15 track, and one pressing of the 2gether Maxi Single. Neither Goldnigga pressing had the extra 2gether Maxi tracks.

*Housequake has a pic of a possible second 16 track pressing ("Disque Americ 01S02") GOLDNIGGA, but I'm not sold on that being legit. My Minneapolis NPG Store copy has "MFG BY CINRAM ... USA ... NPG-GN ... 1019-12". I also purchased the 2gether Maxi at the same time at the MPLS Uptown location.

http://www.housequake.com...adid=50755


First version - MFG BY CINRAM ... USA ... NPG-GN ... 1019-12

01. Goldnigga pt.1 (3:11)
02. Guess Who's Knockin' (3:24)
03. Oilcan (0:42)
04. Segue (0:15)
05. Deuce & A Quarter (3:18)
06. Segue (0:21)
07. Black M.F. In The House (5:08)
08. Goldnigga pt.2 (2:51)
09. Goldie's Parade (2:22)
10. Segue (0:35)
11. 2gether (5:31)
12. Segue (0:45)
13. Call The Law (4:16)
14. Johnny (10:19)
15. Segue (1:13)
16. Goldnigga pt.3 (2:37)


Second version - ZOMAX OPTICAL-PLYMOUTH MN-Z10054 05651

01. Goldnigga pt.1 (3:11)
02. Oilcan (0:42)
03. Segue (0:15)
04. Deuce & A Quarter (3:18)
05. Segue (0:21)
06. Black M.F. In The House (5:08)
07. Goldnigga pt.2 (2:51)
08. Goldie's Parade (2:22)
09. Segue (0:35)
10. 2gether (5:31)
11. Segue (0:45)
12. Call The Law (4:16)
13. Johnny (10:19)
14. Segue (1:13)
15. Goldnigga pt.3 (2:37)


2gether Maxi CD

01. Album Mix
02. 12inch Mix
03. Interview
04. Enlightenment
05. Jeep Mix
06. Instrumental

squirrelgrease said:

your signature