I'm Sorry but my answer would be No! Andre is talented but in my opinion, Prince is more talented. Plus Prince has been in the music business, Since 1978... Now that's a long time.

Musically, no. But Andre may be better at other things than Prince. For all we know, AC could be a world class cribbage player.

How do we know that. Andre spent most of his formative years (1972-1981) in Prince's shadow and it was clearly obvious he had lots of talent, probably just as much as Prince, and seemed to resent it towards the end, that Prince got all the glory while he was being overlooked.
Perhaps by the time he released his albums Living in the 80s and Surviving in the new wave, his moment for raw creativity had passed. Being in Prince's shadow for so long, he obviously was in tune with what Prince was playing and having to play Princes music (No matter how much of it he claims to have composed) when he could have been focusing on his own career.
Theres plenty of evidence to suggest Andre was Prince's equal and maybe his better, all these stories of Andre mimicking whatever Prince played, his instrumental virtuosity like Prince and the fact that he was considered the second in the band after Prince (Theres evidence in DMSR and Possessed, that Prince treated him better and paid him more than the others - maybe Prince felt threatened). He also apparently wrote "Do me baby" and planned the Time and Vanity 6 from the satrt, but Prince hijacked those ideas. Also he was Prince's oldest friend and practically grew up with him. If anything Andre could have been big, but he was shortchanged by Prince and the music industry, and when his chance came, it was too late, he had lost some of the passion.
Still he did produce and marry Jody Watley and had a minor hit with a Prince song called Dance electric. He also stayed in music, but yes it was the first career killed by Prince there (If you don't count Sue Ann Carwell).

same old Q and same old A - 'where's his music to back up the talent? - where's his SOTT, 1999, Purple rain albums etc. Point is the cat may be super talented in the studio and may even be able to outplay P on every instrument BUT can he write a world class jam? - hell Dance electric was his best song and P wrote that!.

Well he did better with Jody Watley than Prince did with any of his wives,girlfriends, hos. Musically that is.
[Edited 1/28/10 15:36pm]

André Cymone did not write Purple and Gold

And Prince did not write anything like Purple and Gold when André Cymone was around. Let's petition Andrés Facebook to give us a recent song and then we can have this debate. Read on twitter doing a search for him that he has a PERSONAL FACEBOOK PAGE

indiansky said:

Hence, he IS in fact more talented than Prince.

funkyhead said:

Kelly's Eyes kicks Dance Electric's azz.

AngelsCry said:

And who was Prince's first bass player in 1978?

ernestsewell said:

Wait... I know this one...

there isnt enough AC out there to make a fair comparison

while prince is most likely the clear winner in the talent department i think AC played a large part in creating the foundation of the minneapolis sound.
[Edited 1/29/10 15:34pm]

There's no doubt that he was talented but maybe not more than Prince. And according to BamBam Prince stole "Do Me Baby" and/or "I wanna be your lover".

funksterr said:

And the asses of countless other songs, many of prince's included.

squirrelgrease said:

He made one hell of a taco the last time I saw him working in LA. I bet Prince cant do that

funksterr said:

Brofie said:

okay this is like the 4th time someone has suggested andre cymone works at taco bell!?!?!? Is it true?

People keep hyping this guy, but he's barely written one decent song. More talented than Prince? I'm not one of those sensitive Prince freaks, but that Mr. Cymone is even three quarters as musically talented is seriously a ludicrous suggestion.

Sometimes parts of something make it whole. Some of Princes best music was from the era Andre was around. Andre surely had some input during that era. Sometimes having certain elements in a band makes it great. I think had Andre, Fink and P stayed together we would have some serious funk coming from P. Just my thoughts

Prince is more talened.. But Andre had his moments..I dont know for sure if Andre wrote Pretty Wild Girl, Satisfaction, Trouble but I love those songs.

I still believe that Prince had more talent than Andre.

PurpleKnight said:

You don't know much about Andre's career if you think he's barely written one decent song. I wonder what specific talents you think Prince has that are so much better than Andre. Prince is a major pop star in large part because he took credit for Andre's ideas. But anyway, enjoy your Purple Kool Aid.

funksterr said:

Yeah, well Andre stole from Eddie Hazel. So, I don't necessarily feel sorry for him in that respect.


For all the talk of Prince stealing from Andre, he should've been able to prove it or make better music.

He did neither.

I like Andre a lot, but he was given chances to succeed.

A lot of people who were associated with Prince have had successful careers for years after their time with him.

Paris9748430 said:

Exactly.

What talents do I think Prince has over Andre? Oh gee, I don't know, just this little knack for writing hundreds of incredible songs.

PurpleKnight said:

But in Andre's defense, Prince has said that he didn't think he was more talented than Andre or Sonny T, or anyone that was in that group.

What set Prince apart from everyome else besides his talent was his work ethic. He's willing to be in the studio 24/7 while everyone else sleeps.

Paris9748430 said:

but wasn't he speaking about their skill as musicians? Prince isn't a a legend because he's a fabulous musician (although it adds to his status). He's a legend because of those fantastic songs he's written, albums he's produced and performances he's given.

PurpleLove7 said:

It it really that hard to press the proper key combination on your keyboard? It's André. Not "Andre'".

Didn't Prince steal "Do Me Baby" from Andre'? Did not Andre come up with the bass line to "Uptown" during a jam session? Did not Prince list Bobby Z and Andre' as "heaven sent helpers" from his second LP? Listen people, Andre' nor many others in the early Minneapolis sound could be Prince, but let's not under estimate their contribution to Prince's early albums.

Aaron6 said:

Probably, but Andre stole Do Me Baby from the Eddie Hazel song Frantic Moment.