The Prince Estate Drops Another ‘Welcome 2 America’ Track “Hot Summer” and New Podcast

On July 22, The Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, unveiled another track,  “Hot Summer,” from Welcome 2 America—an album that Prince recorded in 2010. Tucked away for a decade in the artist’s legendary Paisley Park vault, Welcome 2 America will be available to the public on July 30.

“Hot Summer” arrives the same day that The Prince Estate has launched a new season of its Webby awarded official podcast. “The Story of Welcome 2 America” takes listeners on a journey into the studios of Paisley Park and out onto the road with Prince in 2010-2011, when he recorded his political and poignant album Welcome 2 America and then archived it, choosing to focus instead on creating unparalleled live concert residencies in cities around the U.S.

In the first episode, the Minneapolis music journalist Andrea Swensson and Prince’s long-time vocalist and collaborator Shelby J. share the backstory of how the Welcome 2 America sessions began when Prince enlisted the young bass phenom Tal Wilkenfeld to help him form a live trio and record a series of improvisational compositions with the drummer Chris Coleman. Once the instrumental tracks were recorded, Shelby and her fellow NPG vocalists Liv Warfield and Elisa Fiorillo were brought into Studio A to record their harmonies, melody lines, improvised jokes, and even rap with Prince.

Accentuated by exclusive previews of many of the Welcome 2 America tracks, the singers recount on the podcast how close they became with Prince during the Welcome 2 America sessions—and how they would all get into his black Mercedes SUV after their recording sessions to listen to the new creations together.

After recording the joyful “Hot Summer,” Prince even took them for a drive past the beach while cranking the new tune. “All those people were outside and I’m thinking it’s broad daylight, they’re gonna see him. But we didn’t care,” Elisa Fiorillo shares on the podcast. “We had the windows rolled down and we were playing ‘Hot Summer.’ There’s nothing like driving in a car and listening to music and I think he agreed.”

“It makes me think we’re all at the beach doing the twist, like Annette Funicello,” Shelby J. added. “That’s just what I feel when I hear that song. So I say it’s going be a Hot Purple Summer!”

The Deluxe Edition of Welcome 2 America includes the complete studio vault album on both CD and black vinyl (accompanied with a hi-res digital download) plus a never-before-released full concert video of Prince’s April 28, 2011 show at The Forum, presented in 1080p HD with stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos audio.

Pre-order digital, vinyl, CD, and Deluxe editions of Welcome 2 America here and shop exclusive Welcome 2 America merchandise at the Official Prince Store. View the official unboxing of the Deluxe edition here.

Listen to “Hot Summer,” below.