HitnRun: Phase One (2015)
1. Million $ Show
2. Shut This Down
3. Ain't About 2 Stop
4. Like a Mack
5. This Could Be Us
6. Fallinlove2nite
7. X's Face
8. Hardrocklover
9. Mr. Nelson
10.1000 X's and O's
11.June
If Prince had any interest in subtlety during the latter stages of his career, Hit n Run: Phase One is not where you’d find it. From the very first seconds of the record—where he overtly samples his own classics 1999 and Let’s Go Crazy—the listener is immediately reminded of the high watermark he once set. Unfortunately, what follows is less a nostalgic homecoming and more a cluttered attempt at futuristic theater. The opening track, Million $ Show, is drenched in studio sheen, vocal effects, and dramatic flourishes, but it lands with the thud of a musical number in a production too self-aware to be taken seriously. The ghosts of brilliance are present, but this is no resurrection.
Prince, ever the prolific chameleon, had long since entered the “comeback” phase of his career by the time this album arrived. Some critics embraced it as a return to form; others, less easily convinced, recognized many of the same pitfalls that had marred his output during his "symbol" years—only now repackaged in more contemporary wrapping.
As with many of his latter-day releases, Hit n Run: Phase One contains flashes of quality. There are grooves here, hooks, and the occasional flash of compositional finesse. But the album as a whole suffers from an overactive production hand. The sonic landscape is flooded with samples, processed vocals, and layers of effects that obscure rather than enhance. Rarely do the songs get a moment to breathe. The arrangements feel suffocated under the weight of their own ambition.
A case in point: This Could B Us. A slightly reimagined version of the same track featured just a year prior on Art Official Age, the new take adds little and subtracts much. The updated version is bogged down by superfluous gloss—where the original had a certain warmth and simplicity, this version feels synthetic and unnecessary. That the song was revisited so soon speaks to a certain aimlessness in direction, as if Prince was more interested in the process than the product.
Not all is lost. Shut This Down and FallinLove2Nite stand among the record’s most successful tracks—playful, rhythmically infectious, and comparatively lean in arrangement. X’s Face, though riddled with the same studio tics as the rest of the album, holds its ground through sheer compositional strength. These moments hint at what the album could have been: sharp, modern funk with a knowing wink.
Instead, much of Hit n Run: Phase One plays like an exercise in maximalism. Prince, clearly still enjoying his time in the studio, seems more interested in layering than editing. The joy of creation is evident, but it’s not always contagious. Too many tracks are weighed down by excess, and too few leave a lasting impression.
As a document, the album captures an artist unwilling to settle, still chasing new sounds and structures. As a listening experience, though, it too often feels like a patchwork of ideas in search of a unifying pulse.
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