PRINCE'S JOURNEY TO THE NEW POWER GENERATION IN 18 MINUTES

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Prince‘s 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls introduced his band the New Power Generation & is by some counts his second best-selling album period, after Purple Rain. It went double-platinum. It contained his fifth, and final (to date), #1 single. Yet the album does not seem to have stood the test of time with some critics.

NOT AN ALBUM from a cutting-edge upstart but a pop music masterclass offering from an established star. So its version of the “new” might not feel as new, might feel like revisions to past formulas. At the same time, Diamonds and Pearls does have a distinct style and approach within Prince’s catalog, and amidst the music of the day. If Prince was trying to jump on a hip-hop bandwagon, he was intentionally not going for the newest-latest style or the purest form of the genre, but taking a pop/R&B version of it (new jack swing, essentially) and wedding it to a more old-school form of entertainment, with elements of Las Vegas, of James Brown, of Cab Calloway.

Glitter and glamor are the settings, in a mansion and jewelry, old Hollywood way, but the songs also cut against that image, cut against the materialism inherent in it even. It has more swagger than Price had had for a while — it does draw from hip-hop’s swagger, but not exclusively. It’s a strange mix of the elaborate and the down-and-dirty; elegance and grit.

"We slowly watched it come into shape: lyrically and the influence of modern black soul, sort of hip hop," newly installed drummer Michael Bland told Rolling Stone. "He was really trying to still be him and navigate through that whole early-'90s phenomenon."

In keeping, this album hasn't necessarily aged as well as his other best-known records. Diamonds and Pearls can sometimes seem hopelessly trapped in its own era. Still, there's no denying the album's best moments – among them "Cream," his fifth No. 1 single; "Gett Off"; the title track; and "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" – despite the occasionally dated approach.

Prince, of course, quite famously dissed hip hop, only to change his mind. He had already referenced the nascent New Jack Swing movement on Graffiti Bridge's "Round and Round," with Tevin Campbell. But Diamonds and Pearls capitulated entirely, as Prince began to prominently feature rapper Tony Mosley in his latest band, the New Power Generation. Deep cuts like "Jughead" and "Push" were so contemporary as to become instantly fossilized.

He was leaving nothing to chance. Prince became a relentless public presence even before this studio project arrived, playing industry-type gigs, one-off talk shows and – most famously – the MTV Video Music Awards, where he offered "Get Off" while wearing ass-less pants. He even did a video EP, a label-pushed promotional tool that Prince was often reluctant to use.

By some, it was seen as a reactionary move in response to the growing dominance of hip-hop. The man who defensively spoofed rap on The Black Album had now given an MC a prominent place in his new band.

The album sort of began a new era for Prince, leading to him rebuking his name, the symbol era, etc. The whole period is worth rediscovering, as there are gems and intriguing turns throughout, but this album stands as distinct from it, and above it in some ways. It is Prince’s most collaborative-sounding album of the time, but he’s clearly the bandleader. It also has its own style beyond that of Prince the established artist fronting a band. The liner notes call that style “GangsterGlam. Godfather III meets Barbarella.” The idea of the silliest of the Godfather movies meeting a campy sci-fi film is a bit ridiculous. But it suits an album that boasts its own sort of ridiculousness. Remember: this album had a hologram as its cover, a photo of Prince and two women, the non twins named Diamond and Pearl.