-
"More than music: St. Paul recording arts school makes high marks" by Dwight Hobbes - 15 June 2019
Sounds of Blackness leader Gary Hines recalled, “Brother TC Ellis [HSRA founder] and I had talked about a project for Sounds and HSRA. I was asked to write and produce.
“In one of my last conversations with Prince, he encouraged me to write a song focusing in on youth, teaching them history, heritage, and legacy. God sent me the title, ‘Royalty.’ A message especially for our youth.” Students helped record the track, performed it and are featured in the video.
-
"Prince and the B-Sides: a love story" by Tony Kiene - June 7, 2019
Yet by this time, the songs that graced each Prince album — as good as they were — did not always fully satiate the most hardcore fans who knew there was more to be heard. That’s because Prince started to employ what noted author Michaelangelo Matos adroitly refers to as a “Prince’s B-side strategy.”
Instead of delivering singles that contained an additional album track as its B-side, Prince would offer a brand new song to accompany most of the singles he released.
Granted, Prince was not the first artist to do such a thing. However, unlike other artists, the songs that Prince chose as B-sides were almost never deemed “throwaways” or “filler;” these tracks were gems, some of which are now considered all-time fan favorites.
-
"Paisley Park, Mpls. landmarks honor life and legacy of Prince" by MSR News Online, on 15 April 2019
In honor of the third anniversary of Prince’s passing on April 21, Paisley Park will celebrate his legacy with several events and tributes.
-
"Ballerina Misty Copeland says her message is more important than her dance moves" by Sheletta Brundidge, on 30 March 2019
If you think Misty Copeland stands strong in those ballet slippers as the first Black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater, wait until you hear her talk about the importance of Black unity and upliftment. Her passion for the subject will be on full display at “INSPIRED: A Conversation with Misty Copeland” at the U of M’s Northrop Auditorium on Sunday night. The event will benefit Northrop’s youth programs.
[...]
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder: We are so happy to have you in Minneapolis. It’s been a while since you’ve been to the Bold North.
Misty Copeland: I spent time here with Prince when I was working with him creating his “Welcome to America” tour, so it’s been a while, but I’m excited to be back.
-
"Rico Nevotion, taking success and lessons in stride" by MSR News Online, on 5 March 2019
Rico Nevotion’s bio reads like a “who’s who” of artists. The vocalist-songsmith-actor has traveled the world, opening for national acts, including Beyoncé, Celine Dion, KC & JoJo, Silk and Anthony Hamilton, not to mention packing in sold-out shows at Twin Cities hotspots like Myth Live.
[...]
On-stage, Nevotion has acted in and directed several plays in Twin Cities theatre. For good measure, he also danced behind Prince at Glam Slam and with Shaquille O’Neal.