Anyone know what he's up to these days?

okaypimpn said:

I talked 2 Andre over a year ago. He was supposed 2 be producing some girl. Don't know from that point on.

Yeah where is Andre Cymone, well i know one person who care less and that is Jody Watley. I saw Jody Watley in NYC last year during her show when she sunged I'm the one you need, she made remarks to him, well he must have really did Jody wrong, and she seems bitter about him. I met later that night and she is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. She is definetly a people person.

Wow!! That Sucks!

okaypimpn said:

He's coming outta bed after a bad nite of sleep. he had nitemares about people remembering 'bout him when he hoped everybody had 4got about him. He's gonna pee, wash his teeth & eat some cornflakes, now.

shaomi said:

DaARTIST said:

the best dream i ever had in my life i was with Jody

I've wondered where Andre is myself. He is my favorite Prince protegee.

vainandy said:

If it's fair 2 call Andre a "Prince Protege". He grew up with P, his mom helped raise P. I always thought they were equals. Andre did a lot 4 P, and P didn't give back.

blackguitaristz said:

Yeah, like Prince never gave Andre "The Dance Electric".

Sowhat said:

Yeah, like P didn't rip off the music to "Uptown" & "Do Me, Baby", and like he didn't take the idea from Cymone to do The Time. "The Dance Electric" wasn't enough of a payback. Andre and his family gave more to Prince than just a song.

I totally agree. I guess the only reason I used the word "protegee" is because Prince has always been the "leader of the flock".

I think Andre is far underrated. If anyone else could possibly be an equal to Prince, it would definitely be Andre. I think Andre did so much for Prince on a personal and professional level and Prince returned the favor by shitting on him numerous times and never giving him credit.

Everyone thinks Andre was so bitter because he was jealous. I think Andre was bitter because he wasn't given credit for a LOT of his input. I think Prince really felt threatened by Andre's talent.

Another "protegee" I think is far underrated is Jesse Johnson. Morris is a good frontman, Jimmy and Terry are both talented also, but I think Jesse is the REAL talent. I think Jesse is another one that Prince felt threatened by.

Prince has always had a large ego and I think Prince was at his VERY BEST in the pre-Purple Rain era when all these guys were around to give him competition within his own circle. I'm sure their input, competitiveness, and mere presence was a big part of his influence in making some his best albums before Purple Rain. After Purple Rain, he was "King of the Hill". He could do and say as he pleased and had pretty much run all his "protegees" away. There was nowhere to go but down.

vainandy said:

Dead on the money Vain. I totally agree. P was threatened of Jessie because Jessie could kick Prince's ass on lead guitar, that's why he did the solo on "777-9311" to try and show Jessie he could do that "Style" of playing as well. When I worked with Morris and Andre back in 95, Morris told me that the solo on Jungle Love was much longer and flashier, but P went in the studio after Jessie had left and "edited" down Jessie's solo so it wouldn't be as great as it originally was. When Jessie heard the final mix, Morris said that Jessie was so pissed at Prince that he had to leave before he did something he would later regret. That was one of the final blows that caused Jessie to quit The Time.

blackguitaristz said:

Nobody doubts P's talent, but after Purple Rain, P wasn't the same.

[/quote]

AMEN!!!!! I have been saying that for years.

Then the question remains: If Andre is so great, why is he M.I.A.?

Think about it. Look at the state of radio today. Listen to some of Andre's stuff. Do you actually think he would get any airplay? The only way he would get any airplay would be to water his funk down with hip hop. I would rather him stay in retirement, at least he went out with dignity.

vainandy said:

I feel you. But music and life change. I'm not sayin' that dude has to go to hip hop. But he doesn't have to stick to one genre either. All artists need to do different things, branch out, take some friggin' risks. I believe an artist can do those things and still be true to themselves. It would be nice to see him back on the scene, especially if he has something cool to offer.

I know exactly what you mean. Jesse Johnson did an all rock album in the mid 1990s called "Bare My Naked Soul" but it never received any airplay. I think he was right in his choice to do an all rock album because look at the success that Lenny Kravitz has received.

There was no promotion for Jesse's album though. The only way I knew it was even out is because I happened to see it in the record store. I immediately bought it.

blackguitaristz said:

Uptown and Do Me Baby? Great songs but hardly career defining songs. Plus, he just came up with a part of the groove, Wendy and Lisa were turning over whole songs and nobody wants to give them a lick of credit so none for Andre either.

What songs were so career defining that Wendy and Lisa contributed to? Which songs are they?

vainandy said:

You must fall down A LOT. Let's see, uh, Purple Rain, there that should do it!

And as far as wrote the music and Prince did the lyrics, off the top of my head, Mountain, Sometimes it Snows in April, and Power Fantastic. Also along with Matt Fink they are credited with co-writing 17 Days which is just a slightly popular song in the Prince world. That should prove my point just fine.
[This message was edited Fri Jul 16 17:33:24 2004 by EverlastingNow]

I knew you were going to say something from the "Parade" album. I remember when I first heard that album, I said..."Prince must be letting his band influence him...he needs to go back to doing everything by himself". As far as groundbreaking, the only ground that broke was driving away more of his original fan base.

vainandy said:

Only the simple ones, so no big loss. His most prolific years were from 1983 to 1987, hmm, was Andre in the band at that time?

The early fans are the ones that made him. He would never had reached such heights of success with "Purple Rain" without his original fan base behind him. The best Prince years are from "Dirty Mind" through "Purple Rain".

From "Around The World In A Day" to the present, he lost that original fan base. They would come back for short periods when they heard singles like "Kiss" but once they bought the album "Parade", they said "Prince is still way out there on his far out trip". I know plenty of people who said that and we have been fans since the first album. When did you become a fan.....with "Little Red Corvette"? Myself and only one other person I know have been able to "adapt" to Prince since "Around The World In A Day". Everyone else jumped ship.

It would be nice if he would do at least ONE other album like the "old Prince". Hell, if he didn't do anything more than release an album of unreleased tracks from that era, it would be better than nothing. Watch and see how many of his old fans would come back. The old fans are what got him to the height that he could do whatever he wanted to do and make a drastic change like changing his style at the height of his career. He doesn't need to turn his back on them.

vainandy said:

For the record, you're talking to one of the early fans. The orginal fan base was there before Purple Rain and after. It was the masses that jumped on the bandwagon and then left. You make the original fan base sound like they were they 13 million people who bought Purple Rain and that is not the case. It was a brilliant move that Prince released ATWIAD and Parade because he backed his reputation as an innovator of new sounds (which a lot came from the girls but that's another story). Most of the old fan base I know love Prince because of the musical growth, I'm not looking for a repeat of what I already know he can do. And get it right, they turned their back on him not him on them, and that's from a fan of 25 years and counting.

vainandy said:

I didn't know that it was out either, I just happen to be in a local used record store and they had the cd in a bargaib bin for $3.99. That project got totally no promotion.

vainandy said:

The man has many styles he likes to perform, so does that mean that he turns his back? No!

As far as you not looking for a repeat of what he already can do. Since "Around The World In A Day", what has he done that is so different. He has been in that style and stuck there ever since. With the exception of slinging on a few songs to adapt to the passing trends such as house and hip hop, he has always gone back to the same style that he had after "Purple Rain". His original style, considering his growth, was from 1978 - 1984, that is only 6 years. That is six years of growth with every album. After "Purple Rain", from 1985 - 2004, that is 19 years. Like I said, there is nothing drastically different. He is stuck in that damn rut!

From the "Parade" album....."Do U Lie". You sound like it.