📰 Prince Is Back - The Sunday Times: Jul. 2021

A Sunday Times Culture cover feature and two‑page spread unveiling the story behind Welcome 2 America — the prophetic Prince album recorded in 2010 but withheld during his lifetime.

The article traces the origins of Welcome 2 America, exploring Prince’s political urgency, his mistrust of technology, and the reasons he may have chosen to shelve the album — all illuminated through interviews with Morris Hayes, Tom Jones, and those who witnessed the record’s creation.

📰 Overview

Published in July 2021, five years after Prince’s death, this Sunday Times feature positions Welcome 2 America as more than a posthumous curiosity. It frames the album as a prescient, socially charged work — one that anticipated misinformation, technological overreach, and deepening racial divides. Through first‑hand accounts, the piece reconstructs the moment Prince played the album for Morris Hayes in a Paisley Park car park, the political climate that shaped its lyrics, and the mystery of why he chose not to release it.

📰 Source Details

Publication: The Sunday Times (Culture section)

Date: July 18, 2021

Format: Culture cover + two‑page feature

Provenance Notes: UK print edition; part of the paper’s ongoing coverage of major archival releases and legacy artists.

📰 The Story

In 2010, Prince summoned longtime musical director Morris Hayes to Paisley Park — not to the studio, but to the car park. Sitting together in Prince’s car, they listened to Welcome 2 America, a sharp, politically charged album critiquing misinformation, surveillance, and the creeping dominance of tech giants. Prince asked Hayes to produce the record, and he did. Then the album disappeared into the vault.

The feature situates the album within Prince’s broader activism. It recalls his 2015 Grammy appearance, his benefit performance for Freddie Gray, and the pointed lyrics that echo through the title track: “Land of the free / Home of the slave.” Hayes describes the record as Prince’s most sustained political statement — a warning delivered before the fractures of the mid‑2010s widened into chasms.

The article also explores theories about why Prince withheld the album. Some believe he simply moved on; others suggest he didn’t want to overshadow Barack Obama’s presidency with a critique of America’s racial and political landscape. Hayes entertains the idea, noting Prince’s instinctive sense of timing and his belief that “a strong spirit transcends rules.”

A second thread follows Tom Jones, who speaks warmly and humorously about his encounters with Prince — from the aloof young star he thanked for “Kiss” to later meetings in Europe. Jones recalls recognizing Prince’s charisma instantly: “This guy has more sex appeal!” Their stories add texture to the portrait of an artist who could be both distant and deeply engaged, depending on the moment.

📰 Key Highlights

• Behind‑the‑scenes account of Welcome 2 America’s creation

• Morris Hayes describes the album’s political urgency and prophetic themes

• Exploration of why Prince may have withheld the record

• Reflections on Prince’s activism in the mid‑2010s

• Tom Jones shares personal memories and insights into Prince’s charisma

• Contextualization of the album’s release five years after Prince’s death

Culture cover and two‑page feature from The Sunday Times, July 18, 2021.

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📰 Closing Notes

This feature captures Prince at a pivotal moment — politically alert, creatively restless, and attuned to the fractures forming in American life. Welcome 2 America emerges not as a vault oddity but as a deliberate, timely statement from an artist who saw the future coming and chose, for reasons still mysterious, to wait.

📰 Sources & Copyright

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This post is presented for historical, educational, and archival purposes only.