My Name Is Prince

"My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and his backing band the New Power Generation, released in September 1992 by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. as the second single from their 1992 ''Love Symbol'' album. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by NPG member Tony M. The intro to the song features vocal samples from Prince's earlier songs " I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Partyup", and "Controversy". Its music video was directed by Parris Patton and featured Kirstie Alley and Lauren Green.

The B-sides to the single are "Sexy Mutha", a clean remix of " Sexy MF", and "2 Whom It May Concern", a preview of songs from the then-upcoming ''Love Symbol'' album.

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 " Sexy MF" 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.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from ''Billboard'' 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 beat. 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'' described "My Name Is Prince" as a "self-mocking explosion of throbbing funk." 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, Napoleonistic, megalomaniac who has now launched himself into the same self-glorifying world as Michael Jackson and Madonna. Naturally, he produces himself."

Dave Sholin from the ''Gavin Report'' 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." Dave Bennun from ''Melody Maker'' wrote, "Here we find Prince in hard and funky work-out mode, no great shakes compared to the likes of " Erotic City", " Gett Off" and " Sexy Muthaf***a", but a moderate-to-acceptable taster for his new concept album". Parry Gettelman from ''Orlando Sentinel'' felt it's "one of the weaker numbers" of the album, adding, "It's a killer parody of Hammer-style hip-hop. The beat is funkier than anything Hammer ever came up with, and the braggadocio is hilarious. However, the repetitive chorus and Prince's uncharacteristically harsh vocals don't wear well."

Retrospective response

In a 2020 retrospective review, Andy Healy from Albumism remarked that the song is "ironically titled”. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called it a "dance smash", stating that the album "has Prince's best dance tracks since '' The Black Album''." In 2019, Alexis Petridis from ''The Guardian'' ranked "My Name Is Prince" number 27 in his list of "Prince's 50 Greatest Singles", stating that it 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, and its music dealt in heavy breakbeats and noise that suggested he had been listening to Public Enemy."

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was filmed in August and September 1992 and directed by Parris Patton. It features American actress Kirstie Alley 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 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

Personnel

Credits from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud

*Prince – lead and backing vocals, synthesizers, electric guitar, bass guitar, programming
*Tony M. – rap

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

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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