Diamonds and Pearls

Diamonds and Pearls was recorded primarily at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, Prince's state-of-the-art personal recording complex, during 1990 and 1991. The album was produced by Prince and the New Power Generation, with engineering contributions from Michael Koppelman and Tom Tucker, among others. It marked a deliberate shift toward a more commercially accessible, radio-friendly sound incorporating hip-hop, new jack swing, and R&B elements, partly as a response to the declining sales of his late 1980s releases. The album featured notable technical choices including extensive use of the then-emerging digital recording technology alongside analog techniques, as well as the integration of rapper Tony M. and a full band approach that distinguished it from Prince's more solitary studio methods of previous years. Released on October 1, 1991, on Warner Bros. Records, it became one of Prince's biggest commercial successes of the decade, eventually achieving triple-platinum certification in the United States.