Tyka Nelson, Prince’s only full sibling, has died aged 64, her son said. The Minneapolis musician died on Monday at North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, President Nelson confirmed to The Associated Press. A cause of death was not immediately available, and President Nelson said he does not expect to know “for a couple of days”.
That album produced her biggest hits, Marc Anthony’s Tune, which spent 11 weeks on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 33, and L.O.V.
E., which spent seven weeks on the chart and topped at number 52. At the time, she told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis: “The album is basically about love relationships between a man and a woman.
I’m royal blue because I can’t find him.” It is an alternative to her brother’s chosen colour of purple. Of their relationship, she said: “The funniest thing is people say, ‘How does it feel to be Prince’s sister?’ They don’t actually realize what they’re saying.
I’ve been Prince’s sister ever since I got here on Earth.” The Associated Press described her Royal Blue album as “mostly adult-contemporary or easy-listening” material, “far removed from Prince and the so-called Minneapolis sound. Hers is a mature, romantic sound aimed at 25- to 45-year-olds”.
Then came 1992’s Yellow Moon, Red Sky, 2008’s A Brand New Me, and finally, 2011’s Hustler. Nelson is survived by two sons, President and Sir, and five grandchildren. “Services will be private.