A rare promo tape of Prince‘s ‘The Black Album’ is up for sale.
Originally intended for release in 1987, the late ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker requested the LP be pulled days before its release because he thought it was “evil”, and it was subsequently replaced with the pop record, ‘Lovesexy’.
However, ‘The Black Album’ would eventually be released in 1994, by Warner Bros. Records, despite 500,000 copies being destroyed at the request of the music legend.
RR Auction house is selling the cassette and the listing states that it comes with “album sleeve proof for Prince’s The Black Album”, while it’s claimed there are “quite possibly” only two copies in existence.
At the time of writing, 17 bids have been made with the price currently set at $3,384.
Bidding ends on January 13.
Three vinyl copies of the record previously sold for upwards of $20,000 (£15,000) each.
Meanwhile, next month court proceedings will take place to establish the exact worth of the ‘Raspberry Beret’ singer’s estate.
According to tax filings from November, it’s estimated to total in excess of $100 million (£75 million).
Prince – who died of a fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home in April 2016 aged 57 – didn’t write a will before his passing, which means the case has gone to probate.
In January 2021, The IRS reportedly sought an additional $32.4 million in taxes from Prince’s estate – more than double the original bill.
Prince’s siblings had claimed they had yet to receive any money from his estate.
His sisters Sharon and Norrine and brother John Nelson – the latter of whom died last year – filed a legal claim seeking “payment for services and efforts provided to the estate and said they had spent “considerable time and investment in business matters related to the estate.
They also alleged that although they have not received any money, others have been paid “millions”.
The court documents added that they have had to rely “solely on their pension, social security, personal savings and loans from friends to cover the costs needed to support the Prince Estate despite the millions paid to advisors, attorneys and others approved by the Court.
“As this Court is aware, the Estate has now been on-going for over three years. In this time, millions have been paid to the Personal Representatives, their accountants, attorneys, and legal advisors.”