I've heard this song and find it too mainstream sounding. Yah, Prince was a dance artist but he was more underground and mysterious. The song "Art Official Cage" sounds too "friendly" and mainstream, haha.

What od you think?

I like it, a great album opener.

breakdown2k14 said:

I like it a lot.I heard it was meant to sound like it was mocking today's music somewhat .kinda like Prince mocked rap in "dead on it".BTW..is that Tony M rapping in "Art official cage"?

who is the woman following his lead vocal on the 'verses'? is it elisa? can't quite make it out.
it's very faint. and without headphones i thought it was just prince's higher range.

This song isn't very "friendly" to my ears. It takes tons of twists and turns and there's so much weird stuff going on.

Worst song on the album IMO. Not sure what he was going for with that one.

herb4 said:

Worst song on the album IMO. Not sure what he was going for with that one.

without this song the album would be worse than it is

TheEnglishGent said:

I like it, a great album opener.

I like it but the way you feel about this song is how I feel about Rock N Roll Love Affair, for example.

Seems like a stab at popular music production trends (with added funk chords), but than label it an artificial age. Then even twist it to hear some "waterboarding".

I think it comes across sarcastic in light of all that.

I woke up in the city in a bit of a rage
Determined 2 free my mind from this art official cage
Thought by thought my teachers taught from an early age
A place in heaven far off in the future.

Ghettos 2 the left of me, malls 2 the right
Why's my kingdom come only in prayers at night?
What should I expect if I'm not willing 2 fight?
A place in heaven somewhere in the future

He's saying that religion is an Artificial Cage.

I actually like the song as well, and likened it to Colonized Mind in terms of his point of view in regards to society and industry.

muleFunk said:

I quite like it and view most of his later lyrics through a lens of faith and social commentary. I tend to think he is speaking of the restraints put upon him from a young age by society. The big divide between the have and the have not's. Malls and ghettos are the symbols for these.. And that we have to fight in this life for our goals. But that everyone has a place in heaven in the future.

The more I listen to AOA, the more I love it.

I like it as well. Sets the album up well. I don't find it particularly mainstream, though I guess compared to some of the other songs on AOA it it. He has way more mainstream songs on many of his other albums.

I love the song and the album as a whole. With repeated listens the record really comes into focus and feels very personal and affecting. I thought Matt Thorne's original 2014 review for the Guardian summarized the song in question very well: "Half-a-dozen modern digital music tropes are chucked about merrily on the first song alone (Art Official Cage), while a vintage Prince good-time track percolates along beneath, as though the veteran studio wizard is offering all comers outside for a funk-off."

Its getting a little better with time, especially the 2nd half of the song.

IstenSzek said:

who is the woman following his lead vocal on the 'verses'? is it elisa? can't quite make it out.
it's very faint. and without headphones i thought it was just prince's higher range.

Marissa Jack aka The Golden Hippie

rainbowchild said:

As much as I like the song, the title doesn't make any sense 2 me. Plenty of other good songs on the album besides the title track imo.

.

Artificial Cage, something you are trapped in.

.

laytonian said:

motherfunka said:

IstenSzek said:

who is the woman following his lead vocal on the 'verses'? is it elisa? can't quite make it out.
it's very faint. and without headphones i thought it was just prince's higher range.

Marissa Jack aka The Golden Hippie

you don't say! no wonder i had "stones" in my head all day for no reason - not even having
listened to it for months

thanks motherfunka

rainbowchild said:

laytonian said:

rainbowchild said:

As much as I like the song, the title doesn't make any sense 2 me. Plenty of other good songs on the album besides the title track imo.

.

Artificial Cage, something you are trapped in.

.

I know what he implies but the play on words, Art Official Cage, doesn't make sense to me. Just keep it simple.

rainbowchild said:

laytonian said:

.

Artificial Cage, something you are trapped in.

.

I know what he implies but the play on words, Art Official Cage, doesn't make sense to me. Just keep it simple.

He got caged in by his official art?


I don't know I'm just making crap up. It usually takes me years to figure out what the heck he meant by somethings.