After streaming his “Rally 4 Peace” concert on Tidal to support Baltimore following the riots, Prince is teaming up with the service again. The artist just announced that his third album with the group 3rdEyeGirl, called HITNRUN, will be released exclusively through Tidal on September 7. It features the previously released track “HARDROCKLOVER.” And we have some new album art to go with the announcement — a cartoonish Prince wearing his three-eyed sunglasses, as seen on his album cover Art Official Age. Prince also had this to say regarding his collaboration with Tidal and the conception of the album:
After one meeting, it was obvious that Jay Z and the team he has assembled at Tidal recognize and applaud the effort that real musicians put in2 their craft 2 achieve the very best they can at this pivotal time in the music industry. Secondly, Tidal have honored Us with a non-restrictive arrangement that once again allows Us to continue making art in the fashion We’ve grown accustomed 2 and We’re Extremely grateful 4 their generous support. And lastly, in the tech-savvy, real-time world We all live in 2day, everything is faster. From its conception and that one & only meeting, HITNRUN took about 90 days 2 prepare its release. If that’s what freedom feels like, HITNRUN is what it sounds like.
Previously, 3rdEyeGirl spoke to the BBC about the new album. “Super hardcore Prince fans that know every song he’s ever recorded — we refer to them as ‘The Purple Collective’ or ‘The Purple Army’ — this album is absolutely for them, because it’s super funky,” the group said. “It’s weird, there’s a lot of experimental sound. It’s just hit after hit and definitely caters to those fans who just love to hear what Prince has to say, rather than wanting to always hear that classic Purple Rain Prince sound.”