|:. DISCLAIMER: J7 and the folx behind the 777 Update are not affiliated with TDC.Org. Rather, J7 and RolThaDice@AOL.com are part of the Prince online community, and we offered them space on the net to keep us informed of all things Paisley. It has not been edited by the TDC.Org staff in any way, well, except for coding and other small stuff, you know, to make it look nice and pretty for our Motor Babies out there. DISCLAIMER .:|. And now, the latest 777 Update, dated Friday, April 06, 2001. "The news, not the bull ...." Special NPG MUSIC CLUB Edition Welcome 2 a special edition of the 777 Update, a Prince Fan Newz Update not affiliated with Paisley Park, NPG Records, Warner Brothers Records, the NPG Music Club or NPGonline in any way, shape or form. This is a special Update that will delve into the Club and tell u about the pros and cons and the trouble overseas fans and others have had with this new venture. Of course, there is a slight bit of newz to report since the last time. Unfortunately, I was not able to send it out when I first got the news item on Monday. The lyrics for this song are at the end of the Update. For all L.A. Fans!!!!!, please read the end of the Update for I will need a response from you. Unfortunately due to length, I had to cut out several fans and non fans opinions of the NPGMC songs plus a detailed report of the NPGMC agreement. O.K. U ready? Let's go! Newz item #1-PRINCE & THE NPG MUSIC CLUB TO DEBUT AND PROMOTE NEW SONG ON NAPSTER This was the headline sent 2 the Press by Napster on Monday, April 3rd. Many wondered if it was an April Fool's Day joke sent out a day late. Even I am not totally sure about this. But from what Napster and every news source in the world has reported before me, Prince debuted a brand new song today, Friday, April 6th, for download entitled "The Work Pt. 1," and will be from his forthcoming CD entitled "The Rainbow Children." (For the LYRICS to "The Work Pt.1," they are posted at the end of the Update). This is the first time that this title has even been mentioned. Since the end of last year, there was speculation that an N.P.G. CD entitled "High" would be released. No word yet on if the CD title has just been changed or if their will be entirely different songs making up "The Rainbow Children." A portion of those songs that were to be included have ended up on the NPG Music Club site 4 download and 2 songs (U Make My Sun Shine & When Will We Be Paid) were given away on NPGOnline last December. (The video for UMMSS is being played on BET and has been rumored for months to be coming out as a single. As of yet, it is only available thru Bro Jules Record Emporium in Minneapolis.) Prince is proving yet once again he is a true Gemini. Last year, it seemed like he was pro-Napster and since the beginning of this year, and the NPG MUSIC CLUB, he has been anti-Napster, even asking on NPGOnline if he should sue Napster for copyright infringement. So this truly comes as a shock to the Prince community who knew bout his stance. For the entire press release from Napster, visit here .:| PRINCE & THE NPG MUSIC CLUB TO DEBUT AND PROMOTE NEW SONG ON NAPSTER |:. . Again, for the lyrics to this song please go to the end of the Update. As for the title, "The Rainbow Children", there has been much speculation what it stands for and symbolizes. At first, most people have thought it had some sort of Gay sentiment behind it and stood for Gay Pride. It, in actuality is this - In several Christian churches, the Rainbow Children is a reference given to all members of the congregation to show that all kids are united by religion, God & Love. The Rainbow is used as a way of showing that all colors blend together no matter what race or color they are. There are several hundred churches around the country with a "Rainbow Children" day camp title. This is what it is more then likely what it is supposed to mean. Keep in mind what it means to Prince can be entirely different. On a sidenote, I just hope someone in Prince's camp took pics of the last day of the celebration with the rainbow directly over Paisley Park to use for the CD cover or the inside booklet. Most likely not, Since Steve Parke was not there that day. Newz item #2-NPG Music Club The NPG Music Club (which we will call from here on out the NPGMC) was supposed 2 debut on Valentine's Day, February 14, but due to problems with the beta software that Tekadence overlooked, it actually debuted 4 days later. Depending on the speed of your computer, you either had an easy time setting up the NPGMC or a rather difficult time. The slower your computer, the longer the screen would stay black while transferring from screen to screen. After you have successfully set it up, and Log In with your NPG Fam name, you are given two membership choices : : Membership choice 1- The NPGMC for a month for $7.77 (nice price) =-); Basic Membership Benefits- at least 3 new songs a month, the corresponding videos to the songs if the songs are the basic fee, Make your own mix, and NPG Ahdio 1 hour radio show hosted by members of the NPG. Membership Choice 2- The NPGMC for a year for $100.00 Premium Membership Benefits- 4 or more songs a month, more videos a month, make your own mix, NPG Ahdio 1 hour radio show hosted by members of the NPG, preferred tickets to Prince's concerts, VIP passes to aftershows/parties, a copy of the Remix Version of Rave called "Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic" (%), and special NPGMC merchandise. (%) -- The premium membership is the only way to get the remixed Rave * * * February NPGMC * * * After getting the login completed and before paying the fee, you read the guidelines before you pay which seems to be pages long content fit in a little box to read. It states several things that if you are caught sharing NPGMC files, that they will share yours and many other things that you must "agree" to. It is not a contract, but an agreement. After, going through and reading the pages and pressing " I agree", you are taken to the download page where you first should download all the songs and videos, then after completion of that, you should press the button on the screen that looks like train tracks and this will take you to the page where you can play the songs and videos. Now depending on how much traffic is on the site and how well your computer plays videos will determine how your music and video experience goes. The NPGMC site kept updating their software up until March to give you better sound quality and video experiences. The music portion included this and was graded; 1. NPGMC commercial/advertisement - It is basically a cool 'n' funky plug 4 the music club that you may listen to once or twice by a slowed-down female voice which includes snippets of "Love Sign" remix, "Days of Wild" live version, the new songs "When I Lay My Hands On U", "High" and ends with a funny skit with Morris Hayes and Kirky J and Kirk getting slapped around 4 not joining the club. Kirk says, "who let the dogs out?," as u hear dogs growl. Prince states that he knows it will not be joined by all his "fams" at one time cuz of skepticism and those who want to wait it out. 2. Peace - & the N.P.G. out of 5 stars (has its moments) Funky lil peace begins with Johnny Blackshire ribbing the former Prince, (don't call him Arty) it features Larry G. on vocals as well as . It is not a perfect track but it is a step in the right direction again. 3. Splash - Prince & the Revolution out of 5 (worth your while) In all honesty, the main reason this gets 3 stars is that this is the first unreleased Revolution track since 1986. It kicks with the sound of waves and a slowed down reggae beat. You can hear Wendy sing with him on vocals during the chorus and breakdown points. By the end of the song it is just a kickdrum and a little play on keyboards and piano which fits right in with the wave sounds. 4. When I Lay My Hands on U - Prince out of 5 (Classic Prince!) From beginning to end, this song just absolutely rocks! This is the Prince we know & hoped would pop out again. "Get ready 4 the touch that makes u go insane." This song is everything we know Prince is capable of but has not been delivering to us. During the closing of the song he states, "I will touch thee in the softest matter, like Europa in the hands of Santana," and rips into the guitar so hard and sounds so much like Santana, you will think it actually is Santana playing. This is the best Prince song in a long time. That is no disrespect to Prince but you will understand after hearing this song. The more you listen to it, the more you will dig it! Off the chain!!!!!!! (%)5. Funky Design - & the N.P.G. out of 5 (worth your while) This is an outtake from 1994-95 most likely to be included in the import-only release of "Exodus" by the N.P.G. The beat is funky and the lyrics are simple but go well with the beat. Shouting out to the rookie and letting them know what they need to do. Shows off on his one eyed bass and the hook on keyboard will have you. "I'm the muthafucker now and if u please u need ta need ta need ta find somebody who'll hip u 2 the Funky Design." The reason it was given 3 stars was that this song has been on a lot of people's wish list even tho it sounds outdated. (%)6. Mad - & the N.P.G. out of 5 (worth your while) Again, very out dated and also recorded around the same time as "Funky Design" and could have fit in very well with "NewPower Soul." "Is that my guitar? Then hit the dirty switch n back up far." Apparently Prince is going mad over that body and that booty. Would have sounded even better if it would have used the Notorious B.I.G.'s sample beat that is used on top of it in D.J. brother Jules Remix Experience. * * * Video Experiences * * * One video is just the start up of the NPG Music Club. It shows the spinning round and round at first and has a countdown and just kicks straight in to footage of Prince from different era's and some Princely hits in the background. It is a little over 3 minutes in length and as well is a commercial for the NPGMC. Very cool. The audio portion of this video was played as an intro to the Hit n Run 2000 tour last fall. 1. U Make My Sun Shine (edit) - Prince, Angie Stone, Milena, & Kip Blackshire out of 5 (worth your while) This is the same video, but shorter, that is on once every seven days rotation on BET and is in regular rotation on MTV2. The video is very simple and on your computer, comes in darker then it actually is. You can tell Prince filmed this in front of a green screen but the song is a simple r&b track and really needs no more then to show off all the wonderful voices. It sounds so much like D'Angelo's "Untitled" at the beginning beat as well as Prince's vocals that you might mistake at first. Like I said, it is a simple and wonderful song but nothing groundbreaking. It is a beautiful ballad that will fit in nicely on a Prince Love Ballad CD you would make to make love to. Put it right in between "Insatiable" & "I Love U in Me." For those of you not knowing what he is wearing, Prince is dressed in a red jumpsuit (the same one he wore on the Hit n Run tour) and at times just a regular red dress shirt with a gold medallion hanging around his neck. The only problem people have with this song is it is another ballad! Non-Prince fans have commented what is up with him? Is he a balladeer? What happened to his songs that made you move? 2. When I Lay My Hands On U (edit) - out of 5 (has its moments) This song is so good, I am just simply not impressed with the video. It looks like it could be shot on the same day as "UMMSS." Prince has his hair up in the same fashion but with a different outfit on and his blue guitar with girls dancing around him. Granted, the song is so good, he could release the video as is and still might have a huge hit on there. (In other words, yo Prince, get this song out!) (%) - the percentages indicate extra features for Premium members. * * * NPG Ahdio Show * * * The NPG Ahdio Show WNPG Radio station 77.7 (nice) featured - "Love Sign" Remix - and Non Gaye out of 5 | Much better than the Crystal Ball version and the rap by Shock G. is rather cool. "High"(edit) - Prince out of 5 | "Prince is gonna get u high again." The bass on this is explosive on the right system. I will admit, the first few listens of it, I was like o.k. but the lyrics are rather impressive. He is boasting but not in the way of "My Name Is Prince." The beat is rather simple and Prince singing in a high falsetto and fast ... looking very much forward to the full version of this song. "My Medallion"(edit) - Prince out of 5 | Not a super big fan of this song as others are. Another laidback song with killer bass on the right system. Prince must be singing about the medallion he is wearing recently around his neck. "Don't know why I like that girl." The positive thang is the lyrics are not simple (except 4 the rhyme, "what u're name or game is?" After a few listens of this, u will be singing along with it not knowing why. Other tracks include "Golden Parachute," which is the bridge instrumental of the song, and "I Like It There," from "Chaos & Disorder," plus Rhonda Smith "Intellipop" joints. All in all, the February Music Club kicked some major booty and it was a very impressive way to start off the club. It is rather unfortunate that overseas fans and Macintosh users cannot access the Music Club due to PayPal's acceptance of different cards that are not as accessible there and for Mac usuers, the program not being compatible with the computer. The March Edition looked more than promising as fans who were trying it on the basic service and premium members were looking forward to it. As for the skeptics, if March kicked ass as well, they would join. * * * March NPGMC * * * After February's very well received material and the two non-performance NPGMC Launch parties in NYC and Miami and 1 Paisley Park Performance, expectations for the March Edition were extremely high. It was less than well received when it finally came time to access it. This month, it featured live trax most likely recorded in front of a crowd at Paisley Park. 1. "The Return Of The Bump Squad" - & the N.P.G. out of 5 Live version from 1995. Rarely heard song & live version. Sounds much funkier then the studio version due to the live instrumentation instead of cold keyboards and other stuff. Sounds Like and others were having fun on this track. It was just not a song that many people wanted to hear. In fact, it might have a lower star rating if the song did not mean something personal to me and other L.A. Purpleheadz/Fams shortly. DON'T FORGET -- L.A. FAMS TO READ THE END OF THE UPDATE!!!!!!! 2. "Letitgo" - & the N.P.G. out of 5 Live version from 1995. Prince sounds very good on this track. I enjoyed it since it is a song I will most likely never hear live in concert at a concert. It is sung in Prince's medley fashion; 1st verse chorus break 3rd verse chorus end song. Again, it is another good rare live song but people were expecting more unreleased outtakes and songs. Once they get over the initial shock of it not being what they wanted, they may grow to like it more. 3. "Vicki Waiting" - out of 5 One of the best and least liked songs from the "Batman" soundtrack (1989). Again, the live version from 1995. Very cool live and makes me wonder as I listen to it why it was never released as a single instead of "Arms Of Orion?" The sound quality is definitely a plus even if you did not want to hear these songs live. Love his voice on this song and in my mind, is the best live track out of all of the March tracks. Does the Dream Factory agree? (%)4. "We March" - & the N.P.G. out of 5 Again from the 1995 Gold Experience tour. This is one of the most rare cases where the version on the CD sounds better than the live version. Maybe if Prince spent a longer time on this song live, it might have changed it. If you are singing a song that has politics and has a message behind it, you should spend more time on it or just cut it out. He has performed better versions of this song at Paisley Park. * * * Video Experiences * * * 1. "Daisy Chain" - Prince; song out of 5; video out of 5. Starts off with a loud ass scream so turn down that stereo. " ... (s)ay my name, I ain't ever going down to the Daisy Chain." Musically, this is another step in the right direction with great use of the bass guitar by Larry G. The keyboard part is funky. Still no live drums due to this being recorded before John Blackwell joined the N.P.G. A few nasal screams are heard by Prince before DVS kicks his rap which is so much better then the other stuff I have heard from this cat. Not as lyrically gifted as Eminem nor does he strike with his bite but this is just a kickback jam. Will be interesting to see if this guy improves more then his "so-called" lackluster Paisley performances last year. The funky bass takes us out of this track with a first speeded up laugh by Prince then super slowed down. Video shows Prince playing basketball. ... not in heels peeps .... duh ... not an award-winning video. It's just a fun video ... definitely not an MTV-like video. (%)2. "Controversy/Mutiny" - out of 5. Great footage from the Hit n Run show, most likely from the San Jose show (San Jose State University), December 8th, 2000. Several different professional camera angles make it look very good even on a computer screen. So why the heck is there no scheduled release for a DVD home video release of the Hit n Run tour? Who cares if Rave was released in October 2000? Well if it was up to me, Prince would release an entire DVD video collection and the Hit n Run show with the upcoming (?) Warner CD "Celebration." Then release "The Rainbow Children." And then .... =-) * * * NPG Ahdio Show * * * The NPG Ahdio Show featured almost all of the tracks that were available for download on the March edition, which upset a lot of "fams." * * * Compared to the February NPGMC club, the March edition was a bust. People did not get what they expected to pay for. The live trax have great sound quality but were not really in dire need by "fams." The only thing is, these are all live songs which are rare to find and might have been seen to Prince as an opportunity for many "fams" to hear those songs live for the first time. I do not think it is such a coincidence that a new song is debuting on Napster today as it is that "fams" have been complaining about the March edition and that he also feels he needs to get this song out now. The only plus for this month was for Chicago fans who attended the NPGMC Launch Party at Central Park West, said he performed his ass off! L.A. R U READY? DON'T FORGET L.A. FAMS TO READ THE END OF THE UPDATE!!!!!!! OVERALL February -- March -- (% [premium] compared to Feb. ) In review, it seems like a good deal for concert tickets and the V.I.P. passes to his shows. The Rave remix CD is thrown in, which in stores, new would be purchased for about $14.99 - $18.99 US. Not knowing what you are getting each month musically has some fans wondering. So far, you have 5 new songs and 4 live songs for a total of 9 songs and a price of $15.54 cents and the as yet unreleased videos, "When I Lay My Hands On U," "Daisy Chain," and the live stream of "Controversy / Mutiny." So far, it seems more than fair. You can only decide for yourself. If you have a fast computer hooked up thru DSL or cable wire, and of course, a burner, it will help you very much. If you do not have any of the items mentioned, or are a MAC user and reside overseas, this is going to be a difficult time for you if you consider yourself a die-hard fan. Prince has done interviews for the NPGMC and only one so far has been printed. Inside Magazine did not give a very positive review of the Music Club but even Prince said in the interview, the NPGMC is designed for the hardcore. There is no word yet on how "The Rainbow Children" will be released. Lyrics sent in by TruthAngel.Co.UKangel.co.UK "The Work, Pt.1" Every time eye watch the North East West and South ... in other words, the news Eye c a false picture of myself, eye c a false picture of U If eye was 2 believe this is the way it was and 4ever how it's gonna b Eye'd never get 2 know the real meaning of truth Eye'd never get 2 know the real me But U c, eye'm willing, eye'm willing to to do the work Willing 2 do what eye gotta do Eye'm willing 2 do the work Tell me now, what about U? Look around and tell me ur Sun is risen When ur brothers and sisters r in the fall ... What is left 2 give when r work is done? What do U own besides the right to crawl? Born in2 a system that the devil designed And suffering from the devil's most heinous crime... 2 try 2 keep us from the reason we were born That is 2 b the living truth in human form The work we have 2 do is not an easy task But the work we must do b4 Revelation comes 2 pass ... This is the work that takes down the ruling class By putting them in their place just like the past Standing behind the truth this is their everlast B4 I go I got one more ? 2 ask How many are willing 2 do THE WORK? Thanx again to TruthAngel.Co.Uk * * * L.A. Fams/BumpSquad * * * The next NPGMC Launch Party is slated to be in L.A. No date or site has been set as of yet. The main thing is, wether he performs or not, we would like the people from around Los Angeles to be there. We are starting up an L.A. Prince "Fam" and want you to join. Whether or not you can attend the NPGMC Launch Party, if you would like to be a part of the BumpSquad please email us at LABumpSquad@AOL.com. A list was taken last year and you may be on it but just to be safe, please email us and you will be sent a questionnaire shortly. Thank u. If you do wish to post this on any websites, please ask us for permission first. You may forward this to other fans via email only. If you wish to be added or deleted to the Update's mailing list, or have any questions, please feel free to email us at RolThaDice@AOL.com. Let us know what you would like to see in the Update. Remember, this is your, the fans, Update. Thank you for all your support. J7 "Love is God, God is Love, Girls & Boys Love God Above" "Anna Stesia" - Prince 1988 DatelineDetroit | Dance On | Glam Slam | Mission Statement Play In The Sunshine | 777 Update | Contact | Links | Webmaster Last Update: 06 April 2001 TheDetroitCrawl.Org is an independent unofficial fan/enthusiast club. TheDetroitCrawl.Org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, sponsored by, or connected with Prince, NPG Records, Paisley Park Enterprises, Warner Brothers Records, or anewpowerdetroit/PrinceMusicGroupDet fan club.