Emancipation (Prince album)

Emancipation is the 19th studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on November 19, 1996, by NPG Records and EMI Records as a triple album. The title refers to Prince's freedom from his contract with Warner Bros. Records after 18 years, with which he had a contentious relationship. The album was Prince's third to be released that year (along with Chaos and Disorder and the soundtrack album of the Spike Lee movie Girl 6), which made 1996 one of the most prolific years for material released by Prince.

Emancipation
Studio album by Prince
Released	November 19, 1996
Recorded	January 1995–October 1996
Genre	Pop funk dance jazz R&B[1]
Length	179:40
Label	NPG EMI
Producer	Prince
Prince chronology
Chaos and Disorder (1996) Emancipation (1996) Crystal Ball (1998)
Singles from Emancipation
"Betcha by Golly Wow!" Released: November 13, 1996 "The Holy River / Somebody's Somebody" Released: January 13, 1997 "Face Down" Released: April 1997 (promo)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B[3]
The Guardian	[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
NME	5/10[6]
Q	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Spin	7/10[9]
The Village Voice	A−[10]

Overview

Emancipation is something of a concept album, celebrating his release from Warner Bros. as well as his marriage to Mayte Garcia, who became his wife on Valentine's Day earlier that year. With his newfound freedom, Prince experimented more openly with varying genres, including house and blues. He also freely commented on his fame and dealings with Warner Bros. ("White Mansion", "Slave", "Face Down") while also returning slightly to the "computer" theme he explored a decade earlier ("Emale", "My Computer").

"Jam of the Year" is the opening song on the album. It features Prince singing in his falsetto range and Rosie Gaines on backing vocals. It later became the name of the tour for the album and a live version of the song was released as part of a single called "NYC Live" in 1997.

Prince wrote several songs and ballads dedicated to his wife, Mayte Garcia, and his unborn child, most of which appear on the second disc of the album. The child, born in October 1996 (about one month before the album's release), suffered from Pfeiffer syndrome type 2, a rare skull disease, and died shortly after birth. A recording of the child's heartbeat is featured as part of the percussion of "Sex in the Summer".

"My Computer" is a collaboration with British art pop musician Kate Bush, featuring lyrics examining the burgeoning online dating scene and its implications on how romantic relationships can develop in the internet age. Prince previously collaborated with Bush on the song "Why Should I Love You", released on Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes.

Emancipation marked the first album in Prince's career to include cover versions of songs written by other songwriters. He said that he had wanted to cover songs in the past, but was advised against it by Warner Bros. Four such covers appeared on the album: "Betcha by Golly Wow!" (previously a hit for the Stylistics), "I Can't Make You Love Me" (previously a hit for Bonnie Raitt), "La-La (Means I Love You)" (previously a hit for the Delfonics) retitled "La, La, La Means 👁 Love U", and "One of Us" (written by Eric Bazilian, and previously a hit for Joan Osborne). Notably, Prince changed the chorus of "One of Us" from "What if God was one of us / Just a slob like one of us" to "... Just a slave like one of us".[11]

The album is notable for its format: it consists of three discs, each containing 12 songs with exactly 60 minutes per disc. Prince insinuated to the press at the time that the number of songs, discs and length of the album had a connection with the Egyptians and Egyptian pyramids.[12]

Response

In the United States, the album debuted at number 11. Though not a major seller, it did sell over 500,000 copies. Being three discs, it was qualified to being certified double platinum (the RIAA certifies based on amount shipped rather than sold). Emancipation is the fourth-best-selling triple album ever in the United States.

The subsequent Jam of the Year Tour was a major success (though very few songs from Emancipation were included in the concerts and the vast majority of the album's tracks remained unperformed), resulting in a significant comeback for Prince after the commercial and critical disappointment of Chaos and Disorder from earlier that year.

Track listing

All tracks written by Prince except where noted.

Disc 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Jam of the Year"	6:09
2.	"Right Back Here in My Arms"	4:43
3.	"Somebody's Somebody" (Prince, Brenda Lee Eager, Hilliard Wilson)	4:43
4.	"Get Yo Groove On"	6:31
5.	"Courtin' Time"	2:46
6.	"Betcha by Golly Wow!" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed)	3:31
7.	"We Gets Up"	4:18
8.	"White Mansion"	4:47
9.	"Damned If 👁 Do"	5:21
10.	"👁 Can't Make U Love Me" (Mike Reid, Allen Shamblin)	6:37
11.	"Mr. Happy"	4:46
12.	"In This Bed 👁 Scream"	5:40

Disc 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sex in the Summer"	5:57
2.	"One Kiss at a Time"	4:41
3.	"Soul Sanctuary" (Prince, Sandra St. Victor, Thomas Hammer, Jonathan Kemp)	4:41
4.	"Emale"	3:38
5.	"Curious Child"	2:57
6.	"Dreamin' About U"	3:52
7.	"Joint 2 Joint"	7:52
8.	"The Holy River"	6:55
9.	"Let's Have a Baby"	4:07
10.	"Saviour"	5:48
11.	"The Plan"	1:47
12.	"Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife"	7:37

Disc 3

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Slave"	4:51
2.	"New World"	3:43
3.	"The Human Body"	5:42
4.	"Face Down"	3:17
5.	"La, La, La Means 👁 Love U" (Thom Bell, William Hart)	3:59
6.	"Style"	6:40
7.	"Sleep Around"	7:42
8.	"Da, Da, Da"	5:15
9.	"My Computer"	4:37
10.	"One of Us" (Eric Bazilian)	5:19
11.	"The Love We Make[13]"	4:39
12.	"Emancipation"	4:12

Notes:

• Every use of the pronoun "I" throughout the song titles and liner notes is actually represented by a stylized "👁" symbol. This symbol is commonly transliterated as "eye" amongst Prince fans, as "👁 No" and "I Wish U Heaven" both appeared on Lovesexy.
• "Mr. Happy" contains a sample of "What Can I Do?" (1994) by Ice Cube.
• "Style" contains a sample of "Atomic Dog" (1982) by George Clinton.
• "Sleep Around" contains a sample of "Squib Cakes" (1974) by Tower of Power.

Alternate configurations

July 1995 configuration

1. "Right Back Here in My Arms" (Different version than released)
2. "Slave 2 the System" (Officially unreleased)
3. "Slave" (Different version than released)
4. "New World"
5. "2020" (Officially unreleased)
6. "Feel Good" (Officially unreleased)
7. "Journey 2 the Center of Your Heart" (Different version than released)
8. "I'm a DJ" (Officially unreleased)
9. "Emancipation" (Different version than released)

Mid-1995 configuration

1. "Emancipation" (Different version than released) – 4:30
2. "Right Back Here in My Arms" (Different version than released) – 4:32
3. "Slave 2 the System" (Officially unreleased) – 3:05
4. "Slave" (Different version than released) – 5:09
5. "2020" (Officially unreleased) – 2:09
6. "New World" – 3:41
7. "Feel Good" (Officially unreleased) – 4:05
8. "Journey 2 the Center of Your Heart" (Different version than released) – 4:14
9. "I'm a DJ" (Officially unreleased) – 4:47
10. "(Excuse Me Is This) Goodbye" (Later released as "Goodbye" on Crystal Ball) – 4:30

August 1996 configuration

Full track list and sequencing unknown, but triple album, includes:

• "She Gave Her Angels" (Later released on Crystal Ball) – 3:52
• "Let's Have a Baby" – 4:07
• "Sex in the Summer" – 5:56
• "Betcha by Golly, Wow!" – 3:30
• "Damned If I Do" – 5:20
• "I Can't Make U Love Me" – 6:37
• "Somebody's Somebody" – 4:43
• "Get Yo Groove On" – 6:31
• "La, La, La Means I Love U" – 3:58

Personnel

• Prince – lead vocals and various instruments
• Mr. Hayes – keyboards (1–6, 2–10, 3–10), backing vocals (1–4)
• Tommy Barbarella – keyboards (1–6, 2–10, 3–10)
• Tom Burrell – additional keyboards (1–10)
• Joe Galdo – music programming
• Ricky Peterson – piano (2–1), additional keyboards (2–10)
• Kathleen Dyson – guitar (2–1, 2–4, 2–6, 3–11), backing vocals (1–4)
• Mike Scott – guitar (3–5)
• Rhonda Smith – bass (1–4, 1–7, 1–10, 2–1, 2–6), backing vocals (1–4)
• Sonny T. – bass (1–6, 2–10, 3–10)
• Michael B. – drums (1–6, 2–10, 3–10)
• Kirk Johnson – drums (unspecified tracks)
• Eric Leeds – saxophone and flute (1–1), saxophone (1–4,1–7, 1–10, 2–4, 2–6, 3–6)
• Walter Chancellor Jr. – saxophone (1–1, 3–6)
• Brian Gallagher – tenor saxophone (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
• Kathy Jensen – baritone saxophone (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
• Brian Lynch – trumpet (1–7, 2–4, 3–6)
• Steve Strand – trumpet (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
• Dave Jensen – trumpet (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
• Michael B. Nelson – trombone (1–5, 1–9, 2–10, 3–7)
• Rosie Gaines – backing vocals (1–1)
• Kathleen Bradford – backing vocals (2–12)
• Rhonda Johnson – backing vocals (2–12)
• Chanté Moore – backing vocals (3–5)
• Kate Bush – backing vocals (3–9)
• Mayte – Spanish spoken word (1–9), backing vocals (3–10)
• Ninety-9 – vocal sample (1–2, 3–4), spoken word (2–7)
• Scrap D. – rap (1–11, 3–8)
• Michael Mac – scratches (2–7)
• Savion Glover – tap performance (2–7)

Singles and Hot 100 positions

• "Betcha by Golly Wow!" (#31 US Airplay, #10 US R&B Airplay, #11 UK, #20 Australia)
  1. "Betcha by Golly Wow!"
  2. "Right Back Here in My Arms"
• "The Holy River" (UK CD 1) (#58 US Airplay, #19 UK)
  1. "The Holy River" (radio edit)
  2. "Somebody's Somebody" (edit)
  3. "Somebody's Somebody" (live studio mix)
  4. "Somebody's Somebody" (Ultrafantasy edit)
• "Somebody's Somebody" (promo CD) (#15 US R&B Airplay, #19 UK)
  1. "Somebody's Somebody" (radio edit)
  2. "Somebody's Somebody" (album version)

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15]	13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]	22
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[18]	15
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19]	13
French Albums (SNEP)[20]	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21]	21
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22]	22
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23]	27
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[24]	42
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25]	22
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	1
UK Albums (OCC)[27]	18
US Billboard 200[28]	11

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29]	Platinum	100,000^^
Japan (RIAJ)[30]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[31]	2× Platinum	666,666^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Emancipation – Prince". AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
2. Harris, Keith (June–July 2001). "Prince — Every Original CD Reviewed: Emancipation". Blender. No. 1. New York. Archived from the original on August 20, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
3. Sinclair, Tom (December 13, 1996). "Emancipation". Entertainment Weekly. No. 357. New York. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
4. Glaister, Dan (November 22, 1996). "Sign of the times". The Guardian. London.
5. Gardner, Elysa (November 20, 1996). "A Work of Self-Liberation and Devotion Fit for a Prince". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
6. Beaumont, Mark (1996). "TAFKAP: Emancipation". NME. London.
7. Maconie, Stuart (January 1997). "Prince: Emancipation". Q. No. 124. London.
8. Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Prince". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 654–57. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
9. Powers, Ann (February 1997). "Prince: Emancipation". Spin. Vol. 12 no. 11. New York. p. 85. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
10. Christgau, Robert (January 28, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
11. Farley, Christopher John (November 25, 1996). "The Artist Formerly Known as Hot". Time (Vol. 148 No. 24). ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
12. DeCurtis, Anthony (October 17, 1996). "Records 3 hours of "Emancipation"". Rolling Stone: 36 – via Music & Performing Arts Collection, ProQuest.
13. Inspired by the death through heroin overdose of musician Jonathan Melvoin. Used as the finale of 2020 tv series We Are Who We Are.
14. "Australiancharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
15. "Austriancharts.at – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
16. "Ultratop.be – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
17. "Ultratop.be – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
18. "Listen – Danmarks Officielle Hitliste – Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark – Uge 47". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. November 24, 1996.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
20. "Lescharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
21. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
22. "Charts.nz – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
23. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
24. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
25. "Swedishcharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
26. "Swisscharts.com – The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – Emancipation". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
28. "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
29. "Canadian album certifications – Prince – Emancipation". Music Canada.
30. "Japanese album certifications – Prince – Emancipation" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved September 11, 2019. Select 1997年4月 on the drop-down menu
31. "American album certifications – Prince – Emancipation". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.