"My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

and the New Power Generation, released as the second single from the 1992 ''

Love Symbol ''Love Symbol'' is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second of two that featured his backing band the New Power Generation. It was released on October 13, 1992, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Reco ...

'' album. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by NPG member

Tony M. The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

The intro to the song features vocal samples from Prince's earlier songs "

I Wanna Be Your Lover "I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by American recording artist Prince. It was released on August 24, 1979, as the lead single from his second album, ''Prince''. The song was Prince's first major hit single in the United States, reaching number 11 ...

", "Partyup", and "

Controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

". The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s to the single are "Sexy Mutha", a clean remix of "

Sexy MF "Sexy MF" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as a single from their 1992 album '' Love Symbol''. The music and most of the lyrics were composed by Prince, while Seacer came up with the chorus and the song ...

", and "2 Whom It May Concern", a preview of songs from the then-upcoming ''Love Symbol'' album.

Critical reception

Andy Healy from Albumism noted the "ironically" title of the song.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

called it a "dance smash", stating that the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

"has

's best dance tracks since '' The Black Album''."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' wrote, "The prolific Paisley One introduces his new album with a percussive ditty that earns high marks for its appealing live sound and ferocious, scratch-happy

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

beat." He added, "Because the tune is taken out of the conceptualized context of the album, the lyrics seem a bit curious at times." A reviewer from ''

Bray People Below is a list of newspapers published in Ireland. National titles – currently published – English language Daily national newspapers : Sunday national newspapers : Regional titles – currently published – English language Carlow ...

'' described the song as a "self-mocking explosion of throbbing funk." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The p ...

'' said, "Clever as ever and fuuunnky to the max, this track once again displays how versatile, creative and unpredictable Prince truly is, and why he must be considered musical royalty." Randy Clark from '' Cashbox'' commented, "Well, all hail his funky high-ness. Sure, he's got $100,000,000.00 and now he can blow his own horn louder than anyone. This song can be interpreted a few ways. 1) a slammin' funky, but meaningless dance track; 2) his self-obsession is blocking his ability to write anything poignant; 3) the man is a full-blown,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

istic, megalomaniac who has now launched himself into the same self-glorifying world as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. Naturally, he produces himself."

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' stated that "My Name Is Prince" reasserted the musician's authority "in style." He added, "Its intro listed his hits, its lyric switched between proclaiming himself divinely chosen and fretting about

judgment day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

, and its music dealt in heavy breakbeats and noise that suggested he had been listening to

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

Chart performance

"My Name Is Prince" returned Prince and the NPG to radio and the Top 40 in the US after their previous single, the provocative "

" failed to chart on any airplay charts. "My Name Is Prince" received modest airplay on Mainstream Urban and Rhythmic radio stations, earning respectable positions of number 25 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, number 20 on the Rhythmic Top 40, and number 36 on the Hot 100. In the UK, "My Name Is Prince" was another Top 10 hit for Prince and the NPG, peaking at number seven. The remixes single also charted, hitting number 51 in the UK.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the song was directed by Parris Patton. It features American actress

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

as news reporter Vanessa Bartholomew and Lauren Green as a studio anchor. In the video, fans are rioting to see Prince perform onstage. However, instead of performing onstage, he dances with his band in an alleyway while shooting his latest music video, wearing the outfit from the single's artwork (a police uniform and cap with

chainmail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

obscuring his face), singing into a microphone in the shape of a gun, and inciting riots and general chaos.

Track listing

* UK 7-inch # "My Name Is Prince" (Edit) – 4:05 # "2 Whom It May Concern" – 4:02 * US 7-inch # "My Name Is Prince" (Edit) – 4:05 # "Sexy Mutha" – 3:55 * UK 12-inch picture disc # "My Name Is Prince" (LP version) – 6:38 # "Sexy Mutha" – 3:55 # "2 Whom It May Concern" – 4:02 * UK CD1 # "My Name Is Prince" (Edit) – 4:05 # "Sexy Mutha" – 3:55 # "2 Whom It May Concern" – 4:02 # "My Name Is Prince" (LP version) – 6:38 * UK CD2 # "My Name Is Prince" (Original Mix Edit) – 8:06 # "My Name Is Prince" (12-inch Club Mix) – 8:11 # "Sexy M.F." (12-inch Remix) – 7:34 * US CD single # "My Name Is Prince" (Original Mix Edit) – 8:06 # "My Name Is Prince" (12-inch Club Mix) – 8:11 # "My Name Is Prince" (House Mix) – 7:18 # "My Name Is Prince" (Hard Core 12-inch Mix) – 7:55 # "Sexy M.F." (12-inch Remix) – 7:34 * Japan CD maxi-single # "My Name Is Prince" (Original Mix Edit) – 8:06 # "My Name Is Prince" (12-inch Club Mix) – 8:11 # "My Name Is Prince" (House Mix) – 7:18 # "My Name Is Prince" (Hard Core 12-inch Mix) – 7:55 # "Sexy M.F." (12-inch Remix) – 7:34 # "Sexy Mutha" – 3:55 # "Sexy M.F." (Clean version) – 5:24 # "2 Whom It May Concern" – 4:02

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control Prince (musician) songs 1992 singles 1992 songs Paisley Park Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs written by Prince (musician) Warner Records singles