Digipak. Rainbow Children is the 24th studio album by Prince. As the world greeted the promise of a new millennium, even Prince was experiencing a great sense of transformation. In 2000, he announced the reclamation of his birth name after seven years as an unpronounceable symbol. In 2001, after a period of study and debate with his friend and mentor Larry Graham (former bassist for Sly and The Family Stone), Prince converted to the Jehovah's Witness faith. Then the release of The Rainbow Children at the end of 2001. Billed as "controversial" in it's press materials for it's open spiritual message, the jazz-inspired record was Prince's first fully independent release, issued without any major label backing.