I posted the album cover a while back, but new details have emerged today about Prince’s next musical opus — it’s going to be sold exclusively at Target.

Prince is coming to a Target near you.

The superstar is releasing a three-disc CD set through the retailer at the end of this month. The set will include two new albums — “LOtUSFLOW3R” and “MPLSoUND” — as well as a third by his new artist, Bria Valente, for the price of $11.98.

Prince is just the latest music legend to release new music exclusively through a major retailer. AC/DC and the Eagles were among the acts who sold millions of CDs through their partnership with Wal-Mart.

Prince has released his recent CDs through major labels, but they were one-album deals that gave him the flexibility to go elsewhere when the project was done. Last fall, he released a coffee table book of photos titled “21 Nights” documenting his record-breaking, 21-night run at London’s 02 Arena in 2007. The book also included a CD of live performances.

“Prince has long been renowned as one of the world’s most original and iconic musical artists,” said Mark Schindele, Target’s senior vice president of merchandising. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share his most recent work with our Target guests.”

The CD set will be on sale at Target and its Web site on March 29. (Source)

$11.99!? I’m there. And I’m mad he’s putting out this Bria Valente chick…who? Who cares? Why? I am still mad he never put out my girl Tamar’s album…scandalous.

I also hear that an artist I used to manage now sings backup for Prince LOL. Congrats to her!

Sorry, it’s been a busy Friday. Real life has been getting in the way of me being a blogger LOL.

As I jet off to another meeting and to shake my a** with Mystikal in the speakers somewhere tonight, I wanted to share that the Purple One is going to put out 3 ALBUMS this year. That’s right, 3. And he’s going to release it via one retailer and via the Web. And probably send up rainbows that will rain mp3 chips into people’s pockets because well, he is PRINCE.

I’m gonna guess that the retailer he WON’T be doing it with is Circuit City LOL. They are el bankrupto.

Probably Best Buy, maybe K-Mart. Or Wal-mart! I stay in a Wal-Mart!! Anyway, here’s a long article excerpt from an in-depth blog that ran on the LA Times music blog that I thought was interesting.

I need to hit up my girl Tamar and get the whole story on what happened with that…

It was 11 p.m. on the night before New Year’s Eve, and I was doing something I hadn’t expected would crown my 2008: sitting in Prince‘s limousine as the legend lounged beside me, playing unreleased tracks on the stereo. “This is my car for Minneapolis,” he said before excusing himself to let me judge a few songs in private. “It’s great for listening to music.” He laughed. “I don’t do drugs or I’d give you a joint. That’s what this record is.”

That morning I’d received an e-mail inviting me to preview new music at Prince’s mansion in the celebrity-infested estate community of Beverly Park, where he’s currently keeping his shoe rack. The summons wasn’t entirely unexpected. Prince, who’s less reclusive than his reputation would indicate, has spent a year and a half consulting with culture industry leaders and occasionally entertaining media types, with an eye toward taking complete control of his own musical output.

His new mantra is “The gatekeepers must change,” and he’s refashioned his career to become one of them.

Since beginning his gradual relocation from the Midwest to the Left Coast, Prince has headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and 2007′s Super Bowl halftime show. He sold out a 21-night run at London’s O2 Arena and released an album, a high-end photo book and a perfume. Most recently, he’s whetted fans’ appetites with sneaks of songs from three upcoming releases, first on the popular “Jonesy’s Jukebox” radio program on Indie 103 and then on two websites, the now-dark MPLSound.com and the still-evolving Lotusflow3r.com.

Check out the rest at the article link.