The song starts with a faded-in synth line and quickly starts the main tune. The easy groove is achieved with a smooth bass guitar and piano embellishments. A drum machine provides handclaps to make the song danceable. "Pop Life" was recorded before Purple Rain was completed, indicating the new direction Prince wanted to take after the success of that album and film. Drums on the song were played by Sheila E. in tandem with Prince's then-drummer Bobby Z., bass was played by Brownmark, keyboards were played by Matt Fink and Wendy & Lisa provide backing vocals in addition to guitar and keyboards respectively, Jonathan Melvoin played tambourine and the rest of the song was performed by Prince.
"Throw the bum out!"
The song includes a portion that features the sound of bell ringing for a boxing match, followed by the sound of a restless crowd with someone yelling "throw the bum out!" This was rumored to be taken from an actual concert in 1981 when Prince opened for The Rolling Stones in Los Angeles. Relatively unknown at the time, the crowd booed him off stage. He returned for the second show, getting a better reception, but with still some booing; Prince quit the tour shortly after. In reality, the bits are from a sound effects library; the same riot crowd sound effect can be heard in the 1982 horror filmAlone in the Dark in the scene where a store is being looted ".
Releases
The song was released in two extended versions. The UK12" single version is a 9-minute extension of the tune, and ends with a similar synth sound as the beginning. The US received a "Fresh Dance Mix", which is a remix that included some portions of the longer UK version. It clocks in at 6:16, and was included on the 2006 compilation album, Ultimate. The US B-side of the track was "Hello", written quickly as a response to those who criticized Prince's lack of participation in the "We Are the World" event. The angry lyrics lambaste the prying media and false friendships, and is driven by a pulsing beat. The extended version of the song ends with a spoken word by Prince, which contain some self-humor about his high-heeled shoes. The UK B-side was "Girl", which the US had as the B-side of "America". Elvis Costello once planned to do a cover version of the song, with altered lyrics, but Prince refused. Costello later recorded the song "The Bridge I Burned", which borrows the chord sequence from "Pop Life". Alternative rock bandLocal H recorded a cover of the song, but it has since gone unreleased. Unlike most Prince hits, no music video was produced for this song.
Sampling
The first artist to sample "Pop Life" was Black, Rock and Ron with their song "Rap Life" from their 1989 release Stop the World.
Big Daddy Kane sampled this tune in his 1991 single "The Lover in You".
G-Unit used elements from "Pop Life" for the song "Coke Life" for their mixtape "Sabrina's Baby Boy ".
2Pac sampled "Pop Life" on the unreleased song "Pac's Life", a remix of which was later released with a complete different beat in 2006 on Pac's Life.
Ja Rule sampled it for his song "Thug Life". It was originally planned to be on his album The Last Temptation, but did not make it due to Prince's disapproval.
Life Without Buildings recorded a cover of the song for the 2001 various artists compilation Homesleep Home2 - Cover Songs.
Neon Indian recorded a tribute cover for Pitchfork Media in 2016.
