Tyka Nelson - Royal Blue (1988) & Yellow Moon, Red Sky (1992) DOUBLE POST!!

Poor Tyka Nelson has not had an easy road. While her superstar older brother Prince is considered one of the most important and influential artists of all time, Tyka is still pretty much unknown, despite having such a famous sibling. And her attempt at being a renowned artist in her own right fell flat, leading to very turbulent personal times. Tyka was born in 1960, and was Prince's only full sibling. Though their childhood wasn't the easiest, they had music to lift their spirits as both of their parents were musicians, which rubbed off on their kids. Of course Prince was the first out of the gate, and after a few moderately successful albums, he found international success with the 1999 album and then, of course, Purple Rain. According to Tyka, Prince offered her use of his Paisley Park studios and money to fund an album, but she wanted to get a contract on her own. It took her quite a few years, after going to college and having two kids, but she finally signed a deal with Chrysalis/Cooltempo Records (which, though the label denied it, likely happened because she was Prince's sister) and released her debut in 1988. The first single, the longing ballad "Marc Anthony's Tune", was a minor urban hit on Billboard. It was dedicated to her imaginary lover Marc Anthony. There was a lot of talk regarding her sanity when she did interviews for the album, as she wore a second watch that was on "Marc Anthony's time" and carried around a stuffed dinosaur named Jazz on a leash for interviews. There was also a lot of criticism, as she was inevitably compared to Prince and considered a much weaker singer and talent (I personally love her light, dreamy voice), and though the album was funky, sweet and produced in part by Prince collaborator David Z, it wasn't deemed 'Prince' enough for fans. She was also unfairly criticized for her appearance, as she was overweight and definitely not the beauty people associated with Prince thanks to his protegees like Vanity and Sheila E.. This, combined with her admitted shyness, resistance to interviews and lack of videos, gave her a very low profile. Her second single, the upbeat "L.O.V.E.", went mostly unnoticed and the label dropped her soon after. She managed to sign to the smaller label CMC International a few years later to release a second album, Yellow Moon, Red Sky, but the singles "Boy Do You Feel Lucky" and "I Want You" were only released in Europe and failed to chart anywhere, even though she updated her sound with a more pop yet urban vibe, even rapping on occasion! After the failure of this album everything went further downhill for Tyka. At one point, in the early 2000's, Tyka did an interview with the National Enquirer claiming that she was addicted to crack and had to sell her body for sex to get money to support her habit and kids. She claimed that Prince did nothing to help her out. She was later sadly deemed one of "Rock's Most Embarrassing Siblings" in Blender magazine. But Tyka resurfaced in 2006, with a new look, commitment to God and Myspace page. She claimed that God, her children, and Prince helped her kick her habit and get back on track. She independently released the very Prince-like gospel album A Brand New Me in 2008 and has presumably been happily working in the gospel world since.

Download Royal Blue

1		No Promises
2		L.O.V.E.
3		Paris
4		Be Good To Me
5		Marc Anthony's Tune
6		Royal Blue
7		Try My Passion
8		My Friend
9		This Girl's Gonna Fall In Love

Download Yellow Moon, Red Sky

1		The End
2		Boy Do You Feel Lucky
3		I Want You
4		Chosen One
5		In My Eyes
6		Depend On Me
7		Oh Love
8		Priceless
9		Keep On
10		Love All Over The World
11		Night Hawks
12		Yellow Moon, Red Sky