βWith everything going on there this week, I had a lot I needed to get out.β Prince recorded the song βBaltimore" in response to the April 2015 murder of Baltimoreβs Freddie Gray. Gray βfell into a comaβ while in custody in a police van, dying a week later of a βsevere spinal cord injury.β The six officers involved were suspended WITH pay. Eventually, the officers were found not guilty or had the charges dropped. Gray had been arrested on April 12 and charged with βillegal possession of a switchblade.β Video recordings by two bystanders captured Gray's arrest, showing Gray screaming and being dragged to a police van by officers. The medical examiner concluded that Grayβs death was a homicide. The officers failed to follow safety procedures βthrough acts of omission.β A witness recounted that the officers were βFOLDING" Gray - one officer bent Grayβs legs backward, and another held him down by PRESSING A KNEE INTO HIS NECK. Grayβs arrest and subsequent death sparked widespread protests in the city and around the country. In 2017, the Justice Department announced that the six arresting officers would face no federal charges in the 25-year-oldβs death. On April 30, 2015, Prince recorded βBaltimore" at his Paisley Park Studios just outside of Minneapolis. A βbouncy trackβ that belies its dark subject matter: βDoes anybody hear us pray?/For Michael Brown or Freddie Gray/Peace is more than the absence of war.β The song appears on Princeβs final album, 2015βs Hit n Run Phase Two. In honor of what would have been Princeβs 62nd birthday yesterday, the Prince estate released a new lyric video for the song.
