On August 10th, Spike Lee‘s upcoming movie, BlacKkKlansman, will be formally released to the public. Based on a true story, the movie follows the true story of a black detective named Ron Stallworth who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Per a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the iconic director spoke about the new movie’s soundtrack, adding that BlacKkKlansman will feature a previously unreleased Prince track called “Mary Don’t You Weep”.
Prince’s “Mary Don’t You Weep” will play during the film’s ending credit. As Lee explained to Rolling Stone,
I knew that I needed an end-credits song. I’ve become very close with Troy Carter, one of the executives at Spotify [and a Prince estate advisor]. So I invited Troy to a private screening. And after, he said, “Spike, I got the song.” And that was “Mary Don’t You Weep,” which had been recorded on cassette in the mid-Eighties. Prince wanted me to have that song, I don’t care what nobody says. My brother Prince wanted me to have that song. For this film. There’s no other explanation to me. This cassette is in the back of the vaults. In Paisley Park. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it’s discovered? Nah-ah. That ain’t an accident.
“Mary Don’t You Weep” is an old spiritual number, with accounts of the song spanning back to the Civil War. Prince’s rendition of the song will also be released on the upcoming posthumous album Piano & A Microphone: 1983, which compiles rehearsal recordings from Prince’s Kiowa Trail home studio. In addition to “Mary Don’t You Weep”, the forthcoming album—which is set for release on September 21st—also features stripped-down renditions of classic Prince numbers like “Purple Rain”, “Strange Relationship”, and Joni Mitchell‘s “A Case Of You”.
You can stream “Mary Don’t You Weep”, which will be used as part of the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s forthcoming BlacKkKlansman and formally released on Piano & A Microphone: 1983, below.