Tyka Nelson, Sister of Prince Who Carved Her Own Path, Dies at 64
Out from under an imposing shadow, she recorded four albums as a singer and had two R&B hits before turning her focus to her brother’s legacy.Tyka Nelson, who was once called “the most famous unknown singer” as she followed her brother, Prince, into a four-album recording career, and who helped promote his legacy after his death in 2016, died on Monday in Robbinsdale, Minn. She was 64.Her death, in a hospital, was announced in a statement by her son President Nelson. He did not cite a cause.Tyka Evene Nelson, the only full sibling of Prince Rogers Nelson — who assumed his mononymic persona and began his rapid rise to fame in the late 1970s — was born on May 18, 1960, in Minneapolis to John L. Nelson, a factory worker who performed as a jazz pianist under the name Prince Rogers, and Mattie (Shaw) Nelson, a jazz singer.With her first album, “Royal Blue” (1988), Ms. Nelson drew comparisons to Anita Baker, Sade and Laura Nyro.NoneBy the time Ms. Nelson embarked on a music career of her own, her brother had been turning pop music inside out with his kaleidoscopic fusion of funk, rock, R&B and the color purple for a decade. With the release in 1988 of her debut album, “Royal Blue,” an adult contemporary rumination on love and relationships, The Minneapolis Star Tribune compared Ms. Nelson to Anita Baker, Sade and Laura Nyro.But it was another inevitable comparison that she found impossible to shake. “I was praying one day, I said, ‘Please, God, why can’t I sound like CeCe Winans?’” Ms. Nelson recalled in a 2018 interview with Australian television, referring to the star gospel artist. “Then people said I sound like him, so it’s definitely not intentional.” Still, she added, “If there’s anyone you can compare me to, c’mon, you might as well compare me to the best, right?”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
