Draft:P. Control

• “Behind the use of this vulgar word, there lurks a feminist song that deserves attention. Our artist, once criticized for the apparently misogynistic aspects of the movie Purple Rain, tells the story of a young girl who, in the first verse, is beaten up by her schoolmates, on whom she swears to take revenge when she grows up. As a woman, she goes for the more gratifying option of forgiving them their misdeeds, arguing that as boys they had not enjoyed such a stable upbringing as her and that their mothers had never taught them self-control.”^[1]
• big ballsy number filled with Bootsy-esque rapping^[3]
• “Never has the maxim “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” been more apt than in the case of this insipid remix.”^[1]
• “P. Control” follows the life of the uniquely named title character, starting with her beatdown at the hands of several school friends over a hoodie. The maturing character tells her bullies off, brushes the dirt off of her shoulder, and keeps moving towards a master’s degree and a successful career.^[2]

https://www.whosampled.com/sample/632497/Prince-Pussy-Control-Traditional-Folk-A-Tisket,-A-Tasket/

• perform it on VH-1’s Fashion & Music Awards in 1995. Joined by the New Power Generation and Mayte Garcia (who would become Prince’s wife less than a year after the show aired), the energetic performance features crowd surfing, a mock-fight between Prince and keyboardist Tommy Barbarella, and a cast of dancers acting out the song’s lyrics.^[2]
• The song was renamed P. Control when it was added to the album due to concerns that retailers would not carry the album with a first track containing the word "Pussy" in its title^[4]
• Prince's own copy of the cassette sold in 2018 for US$711.^[5]

https://www.whosampled.com/cover/449237/Richard-Cheese-Pussy-Control-Prince-Pussy-Control/

Adapted from Benoît Clerc^[1]