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Prince Igor (song)
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Wikipedia article
'"Prince Igor"' is a 1997 song inspired by the Polovtsian Dances of Borodin's opera 'Prince Igor'. It was released as the lead single from the album, 'The Rapsody Overture' in October 1997. The main vocals are performed by Warren G, the Russian refrain by acclaimed Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjeb and the instrumental background is provided by The Rapsody. Warren G uses the same rap lyrics as in his song "Reality", available on the album 'Take a Look Over Your Shoulder'. "Prince Igor" was very successful in Europe, peaking at number-one in Iceland and Norway. In addition, the single reached the top 10 in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song peaked at number six in January 1998. Outside Europe, it peaked at number 41 in New Zealand.
Critical reception
Pan-European magazine 'Music & Media' wrote, "Maybe it had to happen at some point... so blame the Voelker brothers (Achim and Klaus), a German production team who initially came up with the unlikely idea of an album combining rap with opera. This is the first single to be taken from the resulting long player, 'The Rapsody Overture: Hip Hop Meets Classics' (due on November 3). The single uses Borodin's 'Prince Igor' as a foundation over which Warren G raps and Norwegian folk singer Sissel provides "classical" vocals."
Programme director Marc Stingl at German AC commercial station Radio Gong in Nurnberg, Bavaria considered the track to be "a perfect chartbreaker because of the combination of rap with classical music." Stingl added, "The Rapsody is refreshingly different because this has not really been tried before and most other chart material is pretty old-fashioned." He concludes: "This could very well be a new trend-a band called Sweetbox have been quite successful over here with a similar approach."
Track list
*"Prince Igor" (Radio Edit) (3:52)
*"Prince Igor" (Ries Class Jazz Edit) (4:03)
*"Prince Igor" (Ries 7" Remix) (3:54)
*"Prince Igor" (Album Version) (4:24)
*"Prince Igor" (Ries Class Jazz Extended) (6:08)
*"Prince Igor" (Ries Class Jazz Instrumental) (4:01)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
Category:Songs about princes
Category:1997 singles
Category:Hip hop songs
Category:Number-one singles in Iceland
Category:Number-one singles in Norway
Category:1997 songs
Category:Sissel Kyrkjeb songs
Category:Def Jam Recordings singles
Category:Songs written by Warren G
Category:Macaronic songs
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