I have to find a slot for Lovesign off Crystal Ball. Why was this song not a hit? Can anybody offer any info/tidbits on this song. im speaking of the Shock G Silky Remix version.

LouieLaFunk said:

My friend who wasn't really a huge prince fan suprised me by saying that he loved "that song with 'pistol' in it and where they are driving about in a car in the video" which turned out to be "Love Sign". I thought it was a strange track for a non-fan to pick up on.

Personally I much prefer the 1-800-New-Funk album version.

Shock G, aka Humpty Hump, real name Greg Jacobs, did the Love Sign remix. He also created the hip-hop collective Digital Underground, and he discovered Tupac Shakur (yes, THE Tupac). Unfortunately, as of 1998 when I last spoke to him, Greg still hadn't been paid for doing the Love Sign remix. Shock G was "shocked" to find out Prince released the remix on the "Crystal Ball" collection.

Greg said he originally wasn't paid in 1994 because Prince told him "Sorry it didn't work out, we weren't allowed to release the single." So when Greg found out it had been released on "Crystal Ball," he was determined to at least get a flat fee for doing the remix. I wished him luck. I haven't seen Greg since then, so I don't know how it turned out.

Why wasn't Love Sign a hit? Because it never got its chance to shine. To find out why, turn the pages back to 1994: Prince was unhappy with Warner Brothers, so he worked out a deal to release TMBGITW independently through Bellmark/Life records. Warner allowed him to release it as long as his name wasn't used, because Prince was under contract to Warner. Basically they let Prince do it as a dalliance, so he would shut the f*ck up.

But then TMBGITW became a surprise hit, and immediately concocted the "1-800-New Funk" album to follow up the success of TMBGITW. He got around his Warner contract by making the album a mish-mash collection of other artists, with only guesting on one tune. "Prince" wasn't listed anywhere on the album. Bellmark released the "1-800-New Funk" CD and "Love Sign" was going to be the lead single.

But alas...Warner, pissed at the success of TMBGITW, pulled the plug on the whole deal and served Bellmark with a cease-and-desist order. They also threatened to do other unsavory things at radio and retail, through independent promoters on their payroll, to ensure "Love Sign" would never see success as a single. So Bellmark didn't go through with releasing the single.

As for Shock G/Humpty Hump/Greg Jacobs, he still works in the Bay Area/Sacramento (California) music scene. Digital Underground toured clubs this past year. If you like his work on the "Love Sign" remix, pick up the landmark 1990 Digital Underground album "Sex Packets." It still stands as one of the most creative, funny and entertaining hip-hop albums EVER.

One tidbit about his connection to Tupac: Greg gave Tupac his first break by lifting him out of the Marin City (California) projects and taking him on tour as a dancer with Digital Underground. Tupac was so hungry he demanded time on the mic. Greg gave it to him and the rest is history. Tupac rapped on subsequent Digital Underground albums and then landed a solo deal. Tupac repaid Greg by giving him a prime guest spot on the hit "I Get Around" from Tupac's "Strictly 4 My N.I.*.*.A.Z" album.

Greg once told me in 1994, "Tupac may be the most talented person I've ever worked with, but he's also the craziest. Out of all my boys, he will be the first one to get shot."
[This message was edited Thu Apr 8 19:07:39 2004 by Temptation]

bryanpage said:

Me too

Digital Underground was a fav of mine back in the day.

Prince needs to pay my man something for that.

Why wasn't Love Sign a hit? Because it never got its chance to shine. To find out why, turn the pages back to 1994: Prince was unhappy with Warner Brothers, so he worked out a deal to release TMBGITW independently through Bellmark/Life records. Warner allowed him to release it as long as his name wasn't used, because Prince was under contract to Warner. Basically they let Prince do it as a dalliance, so he would shut the f*ck up.

But then TMBGITW became a surprise hit, and immediately concocted the "1-800-New Funk" album to follow up the success of TMBGITW. He got around his Warner contract by making the album a mish-mash collection of other artists, with only guesting on one tune. "Prince" wasn't listed anywhere on the album. Bellmark released the "1-800-New Funk" CD and "Love Sign" was going to be the lead single.

But alas...Warner, pissed at the success of TMBGITW, pulled the plug on the whole deal and served Bellmark with a cease-and-desist order. They also threatened to do other unsavory things at radio and retail, through independent promoters on their payroll, to ensure "Love Sign" would never see success as a single. So Bellmark didn't go through with releasing the single.
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Which leads into the ..."Why was GOLD such a flop?" questions.
To this day the whole thing was crazy.

I understood the fight but the price paid IMO was not worth it.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

i dont understand y u guys say that... the video is nice...