Music Review: Prince, Art Official Age

By Tyler Hodg

The ever-enigmatic Prince returns with not one, but two new albums with help from his friends in 3RDEYEGIRL. With the first of the two—Art Official Age—Prince’s ambitions were to incorporate creativity and artistic value back into music. He is able to achieve this, also revealing that there are no guidelines in music, despite what mainstream pop artists often deliver.

As opposed to the other album Plectrumelectrum, Art Official Age is a melting pot of genres. Prince includes his signature funk-pop in a song like “The Gold Standard,” then turns around and has a dance/hip-hop heavy song with “Art Official Cage.” Despite being all over the map genre-wise, Art Official Age sounds like a cohesive album. Without a single filler track, Prince manages to make music that can only be classified as “Prince.”

Art Official Age’s standout track is “Breakdown.” It starts out calm, but Prince takes the song in directions you wouldn’t expect it to go. Its R&B influence is apparent, yet at the same time it sounds like nothing you have heard before. The song takes a few listens to grow on you, but once it does, its raw power and emotion shine through.

Music aside, Art Official Age has an interesting backstory. It comes as the first collaboration from Prince and Warner Brothers Records since the infamous lawsuit over the usage of the name “Prince.” A nasty legal battle ensued, resulting in WBR claiming rights to the moniker and Prince ultimately changing his stage name to a symbol. Eventually, Prince was granted the right to use his birth name again and continued making music with it—swearing to never return to WBR. Fast forward 18 years later, and Prince has agreed to work with WBR once more, re-signing with the label in a deal that saw all previous master recordings granted to Prince. Although the story is gripping, the music is what truly does the talking.

Prince has always been an unconventional songwriter. Even in his mainstream heyday, his songs were layered and more than just catchy pop tunes. It’s clear that in the case of Art Official Age, Prince decided to throw any sort of rule book out of the window and make music art again. The result is something fresh and exciting, which warrants respect regardless of any musical preferences. Funky and unique, Art Official Age is anything but “artificial.” Prince has dared to take his music in directions others typically wouldn’t, which makes this album a must-hear.

Art Official Age was released on September 30 via NPG Records/Warner Bros. Records.