"7" is composed of heavy drums and bass in an acoustic style. It has a distinct Middle Eastern style of music, and a Hindu reincarnation theme, and an opera-like chorus which features Prince's multi-tracked vocals. The lyrics have religious and apocalyptic themes. The song is ambiguous and can be interpreted in many ways, as the "7" mentioned in the chorus of the song refers to the Seven Deadly Sins. The song received positive reviews and peaked within the top forty of many of its major markets.