Prince took a bold creative risk before recording his 1987 album "Sign O' The Times," disbanding The Revolution—the group that had backed him during his commercial peak with "Purple Rain"—to work in near-total isolation. Rather than sticking with a proven formula, he chose to retain full creative control, working almost alone with engineer Susan Rogers, a decision that pushed him to produce sounds unlike anything else on the radio at the time and marked a pivotal artistic shift.

The title track "Sign O' The Times" emerged roughly halfway through the album's creation and became a serious piece of social commentary, tackling the AIDS crisis and gang violence through vivid, topical lyrics. Rogers has described how Prince demanded complete privacy and quiet during recording, allowing him to move freely between instruments with only a small circle of trusted collaborators present, a working method she says was essential to the song's innovative textures and lyrical growth.