An Unreleased Prince Radio Show Is Set to Premiere on SiriusXm

The two-hour-long show will be hosted by DJ Rashida.

The Prince Channel, a limited-run channel has been announced by SiriusXM. Created 15 years ago, the channel is set to include music from Prince’s catalog in addition to an unreleased demo of a radio show created by the late artist. 

Back in 2005, Prince and SiriusXM were in talks to create an artist-designed show, according to Vanity Fair. Scott Greinstein, president and chief content officer at SiriusXM shared, “I really wanted Prince to turn his full creative genius into a curated radio experience.” The channel never saw the light of day despite being recorded by DJ Rashida and Prince. Greinstein had held onto the demo tapes and due to the pandemic, he’s decided to release the recordings during a monthlong Prince channel. It will follow the model of existing artist-devoted stations.

The show will debut on Friday, May 1 and was created alongside Prince’s 3121 album. In 2005, SiriusXM had already set out to include Prince’s catalog, select songs from his favorite artists, mixes, interviews, live sessions and more in the show, the launch of it will stay true to this. There will also be live recordings from his “vault.”

DJ Rashida will host the two-hour-plus show. Slated appearances include Prince, Sheila E., and Katt Williams who will play the role of “Ezekiel.” Pitchfork reports playlists by collaborators of the famed musician including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will be a part of the show.

When speaking on the show, DJ Rashida shared, "It’s a mix of things I was playing at the parties at the time and music he’d introduced me to." She also added, " It’s such a trip listening back to it just now." A recording of the SiriusXM recent special Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince Town Hall featuring Sheila E., H.E.R. and Jimmy Jam will also premiere.