Prince and his little sister, Tyka Nelson, shared a close bond throughout their lives. Tyka was Prince’s sole full sibling, with other half-siblings from their parents’ previous marriages. Despite having a large blended family, Prince and Tyka had a special connection due to their shared love of music. Tyka admitted that she didn’t realize the extent of her brother’s fame until people approached her with stories of how his music had saved their lives.
Sadly, in April 2016, Prince was found dead at the age of 57 in his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota, due to an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl. Eight years after Prince’s death, Tyka passed away at the age of 64, according to her son President Nelson. Tyka also pursued a career in music, releasing four studio albums and performing on stage. She was planning to retire in June 2024 but had to cancel her final concert due to illness. She considered herself more of a writer than a singer and expressed interest in putting her life story down on paper.
Tyka was married to Maurice Phillips and was the mother of six children. Following Prince’s death, Tyka and her half-siblings were named as the legal heirs of his estate since he did not have a will. Tyka ended up selling most of her shares of the estate but retained 2 percent for herself and her family. She made it her mission to preserve Prince’s legacy and honor his memory by releasing some of the 2,000 unreleased tracks from his vault. Tyka wanted to fulfill her brother’s dream of being remembered as one of the most prolific writers in the world.
Throughout their childhood, Tyka and Prince shared a love for music and would pretend to be famous singers like Elvis Presley. While Tyka pursued singing as a career, she always felt a strong connection to writing. She expressed her love of singing and hinted at a potential memoir about her life and family that she was working on. Tyka was dedicated to keeping Prince’s memory alive and ensuring that his immense musical legacy would continue to be celebrated. She believed that by releasing his unreleased tracks, she could make his dream of being remembered as a prolific writer come true.
