The 1980s saw Prince capitalize on the limited space offered on many singles by way of the B-side. By the top of the new decade, no longer having to limit his excess promotional material to a standard variation of the album edit, extended/dance mix, and unrelated B-side, maxi-singles on compact discs gave Prince wider ground to curate experiences around a single; varying from derivations of the original (“Do Your Dance” from Cream) to a non-B-side composition, altogether independent and recorded outside of the thematic structure of its lead (“Loveleft, Loveright” from New Power Generation.) The more common industry practice of the time, content-wise, was to include mixes of the original studio track, occasionally with unused vocal and instrumental components, that endorsed particularity. “Perhaps U Recall” will highlight Prince’s re-establishing dominance as a pop culture producer with “Gett Off”, the most supported maxi-single of his recording career.

Harold Pride is an independent Black music scholar, community-based lecturer, and arts enthusiast. In addition to various podcast appearances, he’s presented at Spelman College as part of the Posing Beauty exhibit and the Black Albums Matter series at Cal State University among others. An ardent Prince scholar, he’s presented at numerous conferences and symposia on Prince.