One month from today, Prince will release his latest studio album HitNRun available for streaming on September 7. The announcement comes in partnership with Jay Z's Tidal, which will debut the album exclusively via high-quality streaming.
Co-produced by Joshua Welton of Art Official Age, the album will feature the previously released single "Hardrocklover," which includes backing band 3rdEyeGirl. HitNRun was previously detailed in July during a BBC interview in which the band members explained: "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."
Prince formerly joined forced with Tidal to release his Freddie Gray protest track, titled "Baltimore," as well as to livestream a benefit show he played in the Maryland city. Prince revelead in a statement that the album with penned, crafted and recorded in less than three months total.
"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," Prince said in a statement. "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."
In a separate statement, Jay Z added, "Prince has always been a visionary, a free-thinker. We're honored to offer his breadth of work, 1999, Purple Rain, etc., music that has inspired so many, on Tidal. We're also excited to be the home for his new upcoming album, HitNRun. Both Prince and Tidal share the belief that all creatives should have the opportunity to speak directly to those that love and support them. This partnership with Prince represents Tidal's philosophy in its truest form, a 1 to 1 connection and direct delivery of artistry to the world."
HitNRun is titled after Prince's most recent string of gigs where he and 3rdEyeGirl would performed pop-up concerts in exclusive cities—mostly the hometowns of the band's members including Louisville, KY and Toronto. If there's plans for one at all, a HitNRun physical release has yet to be mentioned.
