The Time, one of Prince's most successful side projects, released their signature track "Jungle Love" in 1984, cementing the band's reputation after it featured prominently in Prince's film Purple Rain. The song mattered because it gave The Time, whose material and sound Prince largely shaped, their breakthrough moment in the mainstream, reaching No. 20 on the pop chart even as the band's lineup was already in flux.

Prince formed The Time in 1981 as an outlet for funkier material that didn't suit his own solo output, initially writing and playing most instruments himself while frontman Morris Day handled vocals. By 1984's Ice Cream Castle album, key members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had departed, but "Jungle Love", credited to Prince, Day and Jermaine Johnson, became the standout hit; Day's flamboyant delivery and Johnson's guitar work (largely cut from the single) helped define it, though tensions with Prince's controlling approach led the band to split soon after, before later reuniting several times, including for 1990's "Jerk Out".