Cornel West Inspired New Prince Track, ‘Born 2 Die

Cornel West inspired a track by Prince on the artist’s latest release by his estate.

The track, Born 2 Die, is a single that the legendary artist produced after watching a video featuring the scholar in 2010, according to OkayPlayer. Morris Hayes, Prince’s music director, recalls the moment in a description on the track’s YouTube page. 

“He had been watching videos of his friend Dr. Cornel West on YouTube, and during one speech Dr. West said, ‘I love my brother Prince, but he’s no Curtis Mayfield,’” Hayes said, referring to the famed singer-songwriter known for his politically aware music. “So, Prince said, “Oh really? We will see.”

RELATED: New Prince Album ‘Welcome 2 America’ Will Debut On 60 Minutes

The track is included on Welcome 2 America, an album that was recorded in 2010. “The album is the first complete studio LP to emerge from Prince’s vault since he died in 2016,” according to Pitchfork. 

“The song was recorded during a flurry of studio activity in the spring of 2010 when President Obama was just a year into his first term and Prince was reflecting deeply on the issues affecting the Black community and the role he hoped to play,” according to liner notes for Born 2 Die on YouTube. “As happened countless times throughout his career, Prince ended up shelving the song and the rest of Welcome 2 America in his legendary vault.”

Welcome 2 America is set to drop on July 30th. All of the tracks from the album are scheduled to be pulled exclusively from Prince’s legendary music vault.

Listen to the track below: