"Black Sweat" is a song by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

that was released as the second single from his 2006 album ''

3121 ''3121'' (pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one") is the thirty-first studio album by American musician Prince. It was released on March 21, 2006 (or, on 3/21). ''3121'' was released by NPG Records and distributed, under a "one-album deal", by Un ...

''. The music video to accompany the single was released on February 2, 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, it was nominated for

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...

and

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

Music video

The video is presented in black and white. It features dancer

Celestina Aladekoba Celestina Aladekoba is a Nigerian-American recording artist, dancer and actress. She is perhaps best known for appearing in Prince's " Black Sweat" music video, and in MTV's original dance-themed reality show program ''DanceLife''. Life and car ...

and was directed by

Sanaa Hamri Sanaa Hamri ( ar, سناء حمري; born November 19, 1977) is a Moroccan-American film, television, and music video director. She has directed music videos for musicians including Prince, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Sting. She is k ...

Official versions

*Original *Video version *TSMV edit by

Tommie Sunshine Tommie Sunshine (born Thomas Lorello; March 26, 1971) is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternativ ...

Chart performance

For the week ending March 11, 2006, "Black Sweat" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 60 (Prince's highest debut since " The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" in 1999), and at number 83 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart. It also debuted at number one on ''Billboard''s Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, which tabulates both physical and digital sales. The song's initial surge of 11,500 digital singles sales was prompted by a month-long promotion with iTunes, in which four consumers would win a private concert performance by Prince. "Black Sweat" was bundled with a second track from ''3121'', ''Beautiful, Loved and Blessed'' (duet with Támar. This promotional tactic propelled the song's lofty Hot 100 debut. As is typical with songs whose chart position is predominantly attributed to initial sales (with little or no radio airplay), "Black Sweat" dropped off the Hot 100 the following week. "Black Sweat" debuted at number two on the Canadian Singles Chart for sales. The track was released on March 27, 2006 in the UK, and charted relatively low at number 43 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, meaning Prince did not have a top 40 hit since the re-release of "

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

" in the year 1998 during his lifetime. In Italy the single peaked at number 24. Overall, "Black Sweat" appeared on the pop charts in a number of countries in 2006, including the US, and went Top 40 on the charts in Greece, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, and Spain. In addition, the song was a hit on Japanese radio, staying at high rotation for several weeks on stations throughout the country.

Charts

References

2005 songs 2006 singles Prince (musician) songs NPG Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs written by Prince (musician) Music videos directed by Sanaa Hamri Black-and-white music videos Universal Music Group singles {{2000s-R&B-song-stub