Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(69/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	A−
Entertainment Weekly	C+
Los Angeles Times
New York Times	favorable
Newsday	A
Pitchfork Media	(6.0/10)
Rolling Stone
Stylus	A−
Village Voice	favorable

3121 (pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one") is the thirty-first studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on March 21, 2006. 3121 was released by NPG Records and distributed, under a "1-Album Deal", by Universal Music.

The album's first single, "Te Amo Corazón", was released in the United States on December 13, 2005, and debuted at number 20 on the VH1 countdown; the second single, "Black Sweat", was released on February 2, 2006.

The title of the album was believed to be a reference to the address of Prince's rented Los Angeles mansion. A lawsuit filed against Prince by the landlord (NBA player Carlos Boozer) indicates an entirely different address (1235 Sierra Alta Way). However, Prince has repeatedly referred to the property as "3121"; indeed, the lawsuit alleges he painted 3121 on the exterior of the property, and the album's liner notes indicate that it was "recorded at Paisley Park Studios and 3121."

According to another explanation the album's title refers to a verse in the Bible (Psalm 31:21). "Blessed be Jehovah (God/Yahweh), For he has rendered wonderful loving-kindness to me in a city under stress." Prince made a reference to this during a performance of the title track on the 2006 BET Awards; "Where's the real party at? Shake your tambourines! BET read Psalms; that's where it is."

A further explanation reveals that 3121 refers to the album being Prince's 31st release and the release date being the 21st.

Album sessions started in November 2004 with the recording of the song "3121" with Michael Bland and Sonny T.

Ostensibly inspired by the 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Prince included a limited number of "purple tickets" with the album. Lucky winners who found tickets were flown in from Europe, Asia, Mexico and the US to attend a semi-private performance (along with a long list of celebrities) at Prince's home in Los Angeles.

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Wikipedia