The Work, pt. 1
Encyclopedia
"The Work, pt. 1" is a song written by Prince
in 2001 and the debut single
for his album The Rainbow Children
. The song is an homage to James Brown
in both the delivery and title (Brown was known to release songs in multiple parts). The track features Prince performing in falsetto
and backing vocals by Kip Blackshire and girl group
Milenia.
The lyrics of "The Work, pt. 1" speak of inequality and battles racism, which is the overall theme of The Rainbow Children. Some have also theorized the song is about spreading the news of the Jehovah's Witnesses, due to a spoken passage that directly precedes the song on the album. This would also explain the "pt. 1", implying that this is only the first part of the endless "work" to be done.
"The Work, pt. 1" was originally released as a downloadable single via Napster
, during the height of its legal troubles. This was one of many innovative distribution methods Prince has used for his music. The song was also released on CD
as a single, and later on The Rainbow Children. The downloadable single contains a section with some different lyrics and instrumentation than the later CD single and album versions. There has been no "part 2" released to date, although the title track to the 2004 album Musicology
bears a strong resemblance and some fans have dubbed it "The Work, pt 2". The B-side
on the CD single was the previously released "U Make My Sun Shine
".
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
in 2001 and the debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for his album The Rainbow Children
The Rainbow Children
The Rainbow Children is the twenty-fourth studio album by Prince, released in 2001. It was also released through Prince's website earlier in the year...
. The song is an homage to James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
in both the delivery and title (Brown was known to release songs in multiple parts). The track features Prince performing in falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
and backing vocals by Kip Blackshire and girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
Milenia.
The lyrics of "The Work, pt. 1" speak of inequality and battles racism, which is the overall theme of The Rainbow Children. Some have also theorized the song is about spreading the news of the Jehovah's Witnesses, due to a spoken passage that directly precedes the song on the album. This would also explain the "pt. 1", implying that this is only the first part of the endless "work" to be done.
"The Work, pt. 1" was originally released as a downloadable single via Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, during the height of its legal troubles. This was one of many innovative distribution methods Prince has used for his music. The song was also released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
as a single, and later on The Rainbow Children. The downloadable single contains a section with some different lyrics and instrumentation than the later CD single and album versions. There has been no "part 2" released to date, although the title track to the 2004 album Musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
bears a strong resemblance and some fans have dubbed it "The Work, pt 2". The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
on the CD single was the previously released "U Make My Sun Shine
U Make My Sun Shine
"U Make My Sun Shine" is a song by Prince, released on April 10, 2001. The ballad is a duet with guest vocalist Angie Stone, and was reportedly one of the tracks from Prince's canceled High album....
".