"It's About That Walk" is a song recorded by American musician

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. Th ...

. It was released as the third and final promotional single from his twenty-second studio album '' The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale'' (1999). It was issued in 1999 as a promotional-only

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

, exclusively in Germany. Prince solely wrote and produced it, while a series of individuals provided various instrumentation for the track. Originally recorded in September 1993, the song remained unreleased for six years until the announcement of ''The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale''. "It's About That Walk" received mixed reviews from music critics, who enjoyed the track's production, but found it to be "unmemorable". The German CD single was issued via

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, including only the album version of the track; this marked Prince's final collaboration with Warner.

Background and release

In July 1999, Prince announced the upcoming release of '' The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale'', a collection of previously unreleased material from his partnership with

. The material created was recorded from 1985 to 1994. While it is unknown what album Prince wrote the song for, "It's About That Walk" was written around the time ''

The Hits/The B-Sides ''The Hits/The B-Sides'' is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive three- disc set consisting of many of his hit single ...

'' was released. A

of "It's About That Walk" was released exclusively in Germany, to further promote ''The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale''. The CD solely included the album version of the track, but was not made available for purchase as it was a "promo-only" CD. This collaboration was the last Prince would do with Warner Bros. for nearly fifteen years; his next release with Warner would be ''

Plectrumelectrum ''Plectrumelectrum'' is the thirty-sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and first (and only) to feature his backing band 3rdeyegirl. It was released on September 26, 2014 by NPG Records under a renewed license to Warner Bros. ...

'' (2014).

Critical response

After its release, "It's About That Walk" received mixed reviews from music critics. Mark Zeltner of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' declared it the "best of the lot" on ''The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale'', favorably comparing it to the works of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

and

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

. In a highly mixed review, a critic of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' called the single "agreeable" but "unmemorable".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale'' liner notes *

– vocals, lyrics, production, instruments * Michael B. – drums * Tommy Barbarella – keyboards * Brian Gallagher – tenor saxophone * Mr. Hayes – keyboards * Kathy J. – baritone saxophone * Dave Jensen – trumpet * Michael Nelson – trombone * Levi Seacer, Jr. – guitar * Steve Strand – trumpet * Sonny T. – bass guitar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:It's About That Walk 1999 songs Prince (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs written by Prince (musician)