Ruff Enuff was the first song recorded for the album. It was played live by Prince during shows at Paisley Park Studios in October 2015 with his new band comprising Kirk Johnson, MonoNeon, Adrian Crutchfield and Donna Grantis. Soul Patch was also intended for Black Is The New Black and a snippet was posted on Prince's Instagram.

"YES, IT'S ALREADY GOT A SISTER: ON THE SAME ALBUM AS " FREE URSELF"...THEY SOUND GREAT 2GETHER!"

This information caused a bit of confusion as Ruff Enuff was released using the artist credit Mono Neon, while Free Urself was credited to Prince. It has been speculated that Free Urself was possibly the title of an album Prince was working on, but this has not been confirmed.

Black Is The New Black was the last track recorded for the album in early February 2016.

A version of Ruff Enuff was released as a download and the Tidal Purple Pick of the Week on 11 January 2016 and further session was planned for guitar overdubs by Donna Grantis. Nothing is known about the other tracks intended for the album. The title of the album comes from a discussion Prince had with his band members about the situation of the Black community in the United States at that time and the Black Lives Matter movement