Released in 2015, “Baltimore” was Prince’s musical response to the Baltimore uprisings sparked by the death of Freddie Gray, who was arrested earlier that year for possessing a knife.
When he arrived at jail, hewas in a coma, his spine nearly severed, and died shortly after. When cellphone footage of his brutal arrest — in which police pinned him to the concrete by kneeling on his back — was posted online and went viral, the city erupted in outrage, resulting in protests demanding police reform.
Five years later, “Baltimore” is more relevant than ever, and on Sunday the Prince estate released a powerful new video for the track.