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Tyka Nelson releases song, video dedicated to her brother Prince

by Andrea Swensson

June 07, 2017

After teasing a "big surprise" and sharing many never-before-seen family photos on her social media accounts, Tyka Nelson is marking the 59th anniversary of the birth of her brother, Prince Rogers Nelson, today by releasing a new song and video in tribute to him.

Titled "End of the Road," the song takes the listener through the loss of her brother and their parents, and asks, "Is this the end of the road?" The video depicts her walking around familiar Prince-related landmarks in Minneapolis, including the Schmitt Music wall of notes, First Avenue, Paisley Park, the house from Purple Rain, and two of the houses where her family lived, 539 Newton Ave. N. and 2620 8th Ave. N. Between shots, scrapbook photos are shown of Prince, Tyka, and their parents, John Nelson and Mattie Baker.

Paisley Park's Studio A, where Prince completed the majority of his significant recordings from 1987-2015, is prominently featured in the video, with Tyka singing from the live sound room while Prince's chair behind the studio console remains poignantly empty.

“After Prince passed I wanted to give him one final birthday present and I decided to fulfill his wish, and record this song at Paisley Park,” Tyka told EW today. She added, “This song poses the question ‘is this the End of The Road?’ and my answer is I don’t think so! I will see all three of my beautiful family members someday again.”

The video was directed by Empire's executive director Sanaa Hamri, who also shot the 2004 video for Prince's "Musicology," and the director of photography for "End of the Road" was Afshin Shahidi, a trusted photographer who worked closely with Prince in the 2000s.

 

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