The Rainbow Children

The Rainbow Children is the twenty-fourth studio album by Prince, released in 2001. It was also released through Prince's website earlier in the year. It is the first album released outside of the NPG Music Club to be released under the name of Prince again, as he had reverted back to his previous stage name from his symbolic moniker a year earlier.
This concept album illustrates common Prince themes of spirituality and human sexuality, as well as love and racism, through the fictitious story of a social movement toward a Martin Luther King, Jr.-inspired utopian society. The album seems to allude to his recent conversion to the Jehovah's Witnesses religion, but Egyptian monotheism and New Age concepts such as the Akashic records are used as metaphors as well. Jazzier than any of his previous efforts, fan reaction was divided when this album was released. Some fans saw the album as a musical and spiritual evolution for Prince.
Musically, The Rainbow Children marked a shift back towards a more "organic" sound for Prince. Unlike its predecessors, the album featured live drums, and made ample use of horns. Many songs were performed live during Prince's 2002 One Nite Alone... Tour, which became an instant success with fans and critics alike.
The Rainbow Children was released through the independent distributor, Redline Entertainment, and has sold 158,000 copies in U.S. stores as of summer 2007.
The album also had a dedicated promotional website that offered the tracks "She Loves Me 4 Me" and "Mellow" as free MP3 downloads.