Prince wrote "slave" on his face during a dispute with a former label

The album is the follow-up to the 47-year-old's acclaimed comeback album Musicology, which was released in 2004.

Prince enjoyed his greatest success with Warner Bros, which released albums Purple Rain and Sign O' The Times.

However, he fell out with Warner in the early 1990s and performed with the word "slave" on his face.

The singer changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, prompting the media to dub him The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

After leaving Warner, he released a series of albums on independent labels, including his own record label, NPG Records.

He later released 1999's Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic on Arista Records and last year Sony subsidiary Columbia distributed Musicology.

Star director

Meanwhile, the video for Prince's new single Te Amo Corazon (I Love You Sweetheart), has been directed by Hollywood actress Salma Hayek.

"Salma heard the song and came up with the original concept," Prince said in a statement.

He added: "Salma is the most thoughtful, attentive director I have ever worked with. An absolute joy."