Studio Album · No. 32
HitnRun Phase Two Songwriting Credits by Prince
Produced by Prince
Holds writing credit on 12 of 12 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 12 / 12 documented
Scored across the 12 tracks with documented writers, by whether Prince carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 12 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
HitnRun Phase Two is the last studio album Prince released during his lifetime, presented as a continuation of HitnRun Phase One and credited to Prince with the New Power Generation. Drawn from sessions recorded between 2011 and 2015 at Paisley Park, it gathers several tracks Prince had already floated as standalone singles, including 'Rocknroll Loveaffair' and 'Screwdriver.' Its centerpiece is 'Baltimore,' which Prince wrote in memory of Freddie Gray, tying his self-authored funk and soul to a direct social statement near the end of his career.
Initially released exclusively on Tidal on December 12, 2015, followed by a physical CD release on May 6, 2016 (just over two weeks after Prince's death on April 21, 2016), HITNRUN Phase Two was his thirty-ninth and final studio album released during his lifetime. Prince and the New Power Generation produced the album, with Booker T. Jones handling engineering duties, and Prince wrote all tracks himself, including 'Baltimore,' composed in response to the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent civil unrest in that city. The album features a notably more organic sound compared to Art Official Age, built around a substantial brass section (the NPG Hornz) across funk, soul, and pop arrangements, and several tracks had long prior histories: 'Xtraloveable' was originally written for Vanity 6 in 1982, and 'Rock and Roll Love Affair' had debuted publicly in 2012. Rolling Stone praised it as Prince's most consistently engaging album in years while Pitchfork called it underwhelming, with Metacritic averaging 63/100 from thirteen reviews. Commercially it peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 on the Top R&B Albums chart, selling 57,000 copies by November 2016.