Released: October 1997
UK Chart Peak: #15
US rapper Warren G teamed up with Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø for the UK Top 20 single ‘Prince Igor’, which is based upon the Polovetsian dances of the 19th century opera Prince Igor.
The collaboration stemmed from a project helmed by producers the Voelker Brothers called ‘The Rapsody Overture’. Released by Mercury and Def Jam Records, the concept album blended hip-hop and classcial music and also featured LL Cool J and Reverend Run of Run-DMC fame.
Sissel, most famous for her vocal contribution to the motion picture soundtrack for the 90s blockbuster Titanic, delivers the Russian aria which becomes the song’s chorus whilst Warren G (“rap for me“) recycles his verses from a track that features on his album ‘Take A Look Over Your Shoulder’.
I still love ‘Prince Igor’. When I was a teenager, it made me feel like I could convincingly sing Russian opera and it also taught me the word ‘beyatch’. Instrumental educational pieces in the lives of any adolescent, if you ask me.
Chart Shaker 
[…] previously adopted by producers the Voelker Brothers for their concept album The Rapsody Overture. Prince Igor was a UK #15 hit back in 1997 for US rapper Warren G and Norwegian singer and Titanic soundtrack […]
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