Back in 2015, Prince revealed a new single titled “Baltimore,” which was created in response to the death of Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, an initiative that continues to fight racism and oppression today:
“Nobody got in nobody’s way, so I guess you could say it was a good day, at least a little better than the day in Baltimore/
Does anybody hear us pray for Michael Brown or Freddie Gray? Peace is more than the absence of war…/”
Yesterday (June 7), would have been Prince’s 62nd birthday, and — in celebration of the occasion — his estate released a lyric visual for “Baltimore,” which contains footage during the Freddie Gray protests, as well as the many big names who attended his “Rally 4 Peace” in the Maryland city.
Prince’s estate also posted a handwritten note from his archives, which gives a needed message during this time of uncertainty:
“Nothing more ugly in the whole wide world than intolerance [between] black, white, red, yellow, boy or girl. Intolerance.”
“Baltimore” also features singer Eryn Allen Kane and is taken from HITnRUN Phase Two, which ended up becoming Prince’s last album before his untimely death in April of 2016. Being a Minneapolis icon, the latest release also comes at a time when the United States seems even more divided following the death of George Floyd following his arrest in the northern city. Since then, protests and riots have spawned in Minneapolis and several other cities within the country, eventually leading to both the arrests of the officers present during Floyd’s arrest as well as increased exposure on the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Ahmaud Arbery in Glynn County, Georgia.
You can press play on Prince’s “Baltimore” visual below.