From Prince’s Paisley Park to empowering youth through hip-hop and education—David “TC” Ellis shares his incredible journey in this rare 2004 Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley radio interview. Discover how a Minneapolis rap pioneer turned his passion into purpose.

🎙️ Musicians Reveal with Joe Kelley is a podcast featuring legendary and emerging funk, R&B, and Prince-associated artists. On air since 1982 and now spanning five decades, the show was personally spotlighted by Prince on his website in 2004. He also gifted us the One Nite Alone box set in 2002 — before any media outlet.

Joe Kelley interviews TC Ellis about his groundbreaking role at Paisley Park, his work with Prince and George Clinton, appearance in the movie Graffiti Bridge, and how he built a one-of-a-kind school blending music, academics, and mentorship for the next generation.

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And welcome to the Upper Room with Joe Kelly right here as we celebrate the music of the twin cities, Minneapolis, St.

Paul, here in March, and you're in tune to 88.5 WVOF in Fairfield, Connecticut.

We just listened to the song Dope from a hip hop artist, writer, producer, actor, and also, most importantly these days, he is the executive director of the High School for the Recording arts out in St.

Paul, Minnesota.

And it's a true honor to finally have on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly, Mr.

T.C.

ellis.

How you doing, T.C.

Hey, what's up, Joe?

So great to have you on after all these years and seeing what you've been doing.

So, you know, it's really, you know, inspiring what you've been up to last few years.

So tell us a little bit about what's been going on with you.

Well, when I got finished at Paisley park and I was out here, you know, getting it together, I opened a recording studio called Studio 4.

It was downtown in St.

Paul, and we're connected to the skyway system.

And that's, you know, my bridges from building to building for when it gets real cold.

And all the students that did school, they hang out in the skyway.

And I had a recording studio that was in one of the buildings downtown.

And all the kids were hanging out at the studio, you know, wanting to try their hand at doing some projects.

And so I'd let them in if a client didn't show up or something.

And they all were really motivated to learn about the recording arts industry.

And I kind of saw a need in the community, and that's what got me going with the High School for Recording Arts.

So the High School for the Recording Arts, it kind of evolved from your own studio or did you have like an overall plan you want to bring to the youth?

Well, not initially, but as it developed and I became part of came into being, I initially just opened up a recording studio, and a lot of young people would come there and they'd say, hey, if so, and so don't show up.

Can.

Can I do this rap or do that?

And then I would let them do the rap.

Then they would ask me, well, how do you copyright this?

You know, and they wanted to know, how do you do publishing?

And, you know, I was explaining to them, well, you got to go to the library and go to the government documents section and get a PA or SR form and fill that out and send it to the Library of Congress.

So they were calling me up, you know, I'm on line seven, and it says, this And I was like, you know, surprised by how dedicated they were to learn the music business.

So all these kids, most of them appeared like they were thugs or something like that.

And they hadn't graduated from high school, but they were motivated to learn through something that they were really interested in, which was learning about the music business.

And I knew myself having, you know, experience in the business and working with, you know, a lot of people, Prince and George Clinton and different stars.

I know that if you can do the music business, you're educated.

Right.

So, you know, talking about your own personal education and.

Did you grow up in Minneapolis?

Yeah, I grew up in St.

Paul and Minneapolis.

My nickname is TC so that was for the Twin Cities.

Yeah, that's right.

Who gave you that nickname?

Well, I got that nickname.

I had a girlfriend in Minneapolis.

I'm from St.

Paul.

And back in the day, when I was coming up, it was a.

There was kind of like a little ongoing beef between St.

Paul and Minneapolis.

So this chick I was visiting in Minneapolis, she lived right in the heart of the north side.

And I got caught at the McDonald's with her one night when about, you know, six or seven cats got off the bus coming from the roller skating rink.

And they were like.

They said.

One of the guys, he was like, hey, man, that dude's from St.

Paul, you know.

So another one approached me, said, ain't you from St.

Paul?

And I said, no, I'm not from St.

Paul.

He said, oh.

He said, well, where are you from then?

And I said, I'm from the Twin Cities.

And then they was like, oh, okay.

You know, for some reason, he kind of just let me off the hook with that and slapped me five.

He said, oh, you TC Right?

I was like, yeah, that's me, you know?

And so from then on, I always kind of had a visa in Minneapolis.

You know, I could do.

I could handle business for people in St.

Paul and Minneapolis, and I could do.

I could do my thing in St.

Paul for the cats from Minneapolis.

So I was kind of like a go between.

Right.

That's an interesting background on the story there.

Right?

Yeah.

It was scary.

Yeah, I could imagine.

Right?

Yeah.

So how about the.

You know, everybody knows the Minneapolis, and I guess St.

Paul.

Would you say it's a little lesser known than Minneapolis?

You go ahead.

Yeah, I would say that on a national level.

Right.

That's why.

But on a local basis, you know, it's almost like.

I mean, you can't really tell if you're In Minneapolis or St.

Paul, you know, aesthetically or infrastructure wise, but, you know, the natives, they know, and it's, you know, St.

Paul is really the capital of Minnesota, so it's kind of like the more reserved, old school money.

And then Minneapolis is more of the progressive, you know, party town type of situation, more metropolitan.

So you spoke on growing up in the Twin Cities, and how about your introduction into music and what drew you into getting into it?

Well, initially I played the drums and the trumpet, and I was in school.

My first experience in the music business was playing the drums for the church choir, for our Sunday school choir.

And.

And just one thing led to another.

I did talent shows and then we put together, we had a little band and we used to play in a band.

Prince was in Grand Central Station, and then we had a band called Touch.

And we all kind of grew up in the same neighborhood.

I know Prince, he played for.

When he was young.

His band played for our school's prom dance.

And I had actually known him in the neighborhoods even before that.

I can't even remember the first time I met him.

I guess I was like 11 or 12 at the Super Value store or something like that.

So the band competitions back then, pretty fierce growing up?

Yeah, yeah, it was pretty fierce.

But at the same time, a lot of it was interchangeable.

You know, different cats, you know, knew what different people did and kind of it was.

It was competition, but it also was a community.

Right.

You know, I think it was really more of a community effort than anything because everybody would kind of help each other along.

So if you.

If you just tuned in, our special guest Right here is TC Ellis, who is based out of Minneapolis St.

Paul and is the executive director of the High School for the Recording Arts.

And it's a really great school.

And you can go to their website right now to do your homework and check out what TC's been doing.

It's HSRA.org and, you know, I was thinking if I had my chance going to high school like you have over there, life would have been a lot different in those days.

Yeah, a lot of kids must enjoy it.

Tell us about the school.

What's the day like for the kids?

Well, we're a very innovative program.

We're experimental.

We're trying a lot of different things.

We're based around the recording arts, the exploration and operation of the music business.

And that entails young people learning everything from performance to the business of music.

Publishing, copyrights, marketing, promotions, production, engineering.

They do graphics, they do choreography, they do management.

They learn everything about the business.

And that's kind of like the catalyst.

So they create projects based on their interest and generally it's within the realm of the recording arts.

And they web that to develop.

It could be a science project.

If they need to show competency in science or math or statistics or technical reading or whatever they need to accomplish their core academics to earn their high school diploma, they kind of web that inside of a project based on their interest.

And it works.

It's really cool.

We've been developing it.

It's a project based education program and it's always something new and exciting and we try a lot of different things.

And for a lot of young people who are at risk or have opted out of the traditional education, they're motivated and intrigued by this program.

So there's got to be a ton of success stories when you see people first walking through the door and then when they graduate, right?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

You know, I always kind of tell the story about when, you know, being on stage with Prince and going out in front of thousands of people and, you know, getting a chance to do my thing and how great that feels, you know, and then, you know, I've had times when kids are graduating and, you know, I see their parents crying or something like that, and that actually feels better than when I was in the middle of the, you know, big time, as they would say.

So it's very fulfilling to be able to affect young people's lives and get them on track, moving in the direction to, you know, do something positive.

So what are the classes at the school that get filled, build up the quickest?

Well, we have a class, the History of Jazz.

That's one of the classes that we offer, the history of funk.

Math class gets filled up really quick.

Generally, we don't present academics in a traditional way like a class, although sometimes we do if we need to.

We will use a class to fulfill a requirement.

But generally students create projects based around their interest.

So a student may be doing a project on jazz music and that may incorporate part of their history credit.

And it may, depending on how they're doing it, if they're doing performance or something, they might even use part of it for math if they're really getting into the.

The technical aspects of the arrangements and stuff like that.

And so whatever project they're doing, they web whatever they need in different areas.

Science may be based around waveform and sound oscillation and decibels and stuff like that.

So the students really have a lot of creativity about how to frame a class or a project.

And if you go to HSRA.org, you could look up.

They've had various recording projects and student compilations.

Are they for order yet or just.

Yeah, usually the projects we do are.

Asking about the releases from the students compilation, the HIV project.

Are they available for purchase?

Yeah, actually, those projects aren't for purchase.

We do those as a community service.

They're usually sponsored by a corporation.

They're released through our student record label, which is Another Level Records.

They also have a website, anotherlevelrecords.net and the projects are created and they're usually distributed through the community via different avenues.

Like we did one project called you'd have the Right, which is a spoken word cd and it explores the aspects of a positive and a negative relationship.

And then there's HIV Ain't no Joke, which tells an awareness of catching aids and STDs.

And then there's just a straight student compilation that they've done.

And we got another compilation that's in the can that we're preparing to release shortly this spring.

And the kids use Another Level Records as a platform to, you know, release music.

So we're looking at the possibilities of turning it into a full fledged, you know, to sell records.

But right now it's people, they donate money if they want a copy of the CD or something like that.

I gotcha.

Yeah.

So TC Ellis is my special guest each.

And every year the Minneapolis Music Month.

We hold it in March and tuned to the Upper Room with Joe Kelly TC For a little refresh.

Of course, for some of our listeners.

If you want to talk about your getting into the Paisley park family and working with Prince and how did that start and how did it progress into the True Confessions record?

Whoa, that was deep.

Yeah, it was.

Well, you know, I had grew up with Prince and he actually had recruited my younger sister to be in his initial band.

Sue Ann Carwell.

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, yeah, okay.

And he was, you know, he hang around the house and he did stuff with her and they were recording and working on projects.

And a long time ago, after I had kind of after my drumming in high school band experience, Prince was still working at it strong.

And I had went into boxing and stuff.

I was kind of like, you know, neighborhood tough guy or whatever you might say.

And Prince was having a beef a long time ago with some guy.

Anyway, I stuck up for him and Andre Simone.

We were at the Fox Trap one night.

And years and years later, after I came back into the business, you know, wanting to do hip hop, you know, there was, I Had an affection, you know, a drawing.

I was drawn to rap music.

I really.

I enjoyed it from the first time I heard it, you know, And I would.

Every time I would see Prince out, I would ask him, hey, you know, check this out.

You know, I was giving my.

Giving my demos and saying, hey, this is what I'm trying to do with the rap thing.

And he wasn't with it.

He was like, nah, man, I'm not with that.

You know, he wouldn't really address it.

And I remember at the time, one of the times he was doing Paul Peterson, he was working on the family thing, you know, And I seen him at Pacific Club or something like that, and I was telling him what I was trying to do.

Anyway, I ran into Mikko Weaver.

He was a Prince's guitar player at the time, and he.

He told me all about what the project they were working on was.

The Batman movie.

That's right.

And he had pre screenings of the movie and all that.

So he basically just told me what the movie was all about.

So I cut this rap called the Bad Rap.

Me and Miko did it in his apartment.

Oh, yeah, me and Mikko.

He had told me all about the movie and what it was about.

So I wrote this rap.

It was the Bat Rap, you know, this is the rap about the bat Batman.

That is the one in black Like a bat out of hell he will reveal Screaming down the road in the Batmobile Anyway, we cut this track, and it was hot, and we got it on the radio.

Kmoj, and they were playing it at some colleges, and I guess people were hearing it, you know, record was playing on the radio a little bit.

And eventually he called me up and I came out to Paisley and we started working on my album, right?

And it was exciting.

It was an experience.

You know, I just kind of got caught in a squirrel out there, you know, it was a lot different than what I had been used to, but I learned a lot about the music business, and I really appreciate him giving me an opportunity, and I think that that's why I'm in the position to do what I'm doing now.

Do you guys still stay in contact at all?

Once in a while, I see him.

You know, he has a birthday party or something like that.

I'll go out to Paisley and I'll run into him and, you know, we'll talk.

Hey, what's up?

You know, how you doing?

Right.

And basically, that's really it.

Well, you know, a lot of people, of course, know the album recorded on Paisley park, and Everything.

But at the time, there were some other great musicians on here.

I mean, George Clinton and Cliff Payne and Gary Diaperman.

Scheider.

What was it like working with the P Funk Mob back then?

That was an experience that I had kind of mystically been prepared for.

It was weird because Malia Franklin, while I was trying to break into the business, she had relocated in Minneapolis, and she had a band she put together up here.

She was the Queen of Funk.

She was billing herself as the Queen of Funk.

She had a group she put together with some cats from back in the day, actually, Boogie, My son, he was up here working with her.

And I had kind of got introduced to the funk.

And she let me do some.

She let me sit in and do a couple songs with her.

And so then when I got with Prince, they sent me off to Detroit with some tracks for.

They were working on Graffiti Bridge.

And they said, you know, when I went to work with George, I was carrying the 24 track.

They did this song called Soul Psychedelicide.

Yeah, I remember that one.

And I was carrying the 24 track on that.

And when I got to town, it was like family, you know, Clip and Autumn Cats picked me up at the hotel.

I shared a room with Gary Scheider.

Oh, yeah, he's been on the show before.

Yeah, nice guy.

Yeah, yeah, I shared a room with him.

And when them cats just bought me into their family, you know.

And I've been down with the funk ever since.

I've been jamming with them whenever they come to town.

Usually George hollers at me.

He keeps in touch with me.

I visited him.

I visited him in Florida and visited his studio, and we collaborated.

He helped the school.

He helped me get a grant from the Mars Music Corporation.

And he's very supportive of the program.

And he's just been a great friend along with the rest of his band, Gary and Moson, and all the people in his organization.

They've just really been helpful.

So why don't we give our listeners a revisit to True Confessions with the Cats from P.

Funk.

Track called Pussycat.

And we'll get into that from TC Ellis and come back and talk more right here on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly.

Minneapolis Music Month.

Okay, that was from TC Ellis's True Confessions, right here on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly here at WVOF in Fairfield, Connecticut.

We are featuring the music of the twin cities, Minneapolis, St.

Paul for the month of March, which we do each and every year, and want to thank TC for stopping by.

And he's the executive director of the High School for the recording arts.

Hsra.org is their website and you can visit them and check it out.

How about the size of the student population?

There's.

What do you have?

We've got about 200 kids.

We've got about 20,000 square feet of space.

We got a performance area, study area, dance room, two dance studios, two project rooms.

We're using all the latest pro tools stuff.

A lot of cool stuff going on.

The kids are just doing their thing, man.

It's like the coolest place to be, I gotta tell you.

Have you, have you seen a lot of other cities and people taking interest in taking the blueprint that you've done, maybe putting it in the city?

Yeah, we've had a lot of interest.

We've had people from Japan, China.

I actually had some people visiting me from China last week.

Yeah, they're really interested in the school.

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has been very helpful to us all Also along with eDevisions, that's a nonprofit that helps support us and support what we're doing in the area of small learning communities and project based learning, which is something that it's kind of.

It's not really new, but it's something that's being reintroduced into education because it works with a lot of students that, you know, the big traditional school doesn't work for, which, I mean, those schools work for a lot of kids.

But there's, as you know, there's a lot of kids that they just can't function under that system.

Right.

So, yeah, saving a lot of lives or helping to save them.

Definitely.

Yep.

Yeah, I think so.

I definitely feels good, you know, talking.

About recording Paisley park and all this stuff.

When you built your own studio, did you have in mind some of the stuff that they used over there or what are you using today for that?

Well, you know, the experience at Paisley park was just invaluable.

You know, getting a chance to work with those types of people.

Prince especially.

And then, you know, I had Alan Leeds, he was my executive producer and he's a phenomenal dude.

I mean, you know, he managed James Brown.

Right.

The answer, I mean, he was incredible.

And the people just all the stuff I learned.

Tom Tucker was there, Craig Rice.

You know, I met Spike Lee, came in when we were making the movie Graffiti Bridge.

I met him, I visited him on the set in New York when he was doing Jungle Fever.

So I mean, just getting a chance to be around that type of energy and those people during that time just was an Incredible education for me, and it just allows me to pull from those experiences all the time while I'm working with these young people and just kind of, you know, pass that.

That energy and that experience on to them and watch them go with it.

You know, they're hungry for it and they've got the energy and they're young and they're excited and they got dreams and hopes, and it's just, you know, incredible to get to be a part of that.

Just really feels good.

And TC Also has acted in movies as well, in Graffiti Bridge and also a movie with Charles Dutton.

Right, right.

I did.

Well, Charles Dutton was a producer of a movie called Laurel Avenue.

Okay.

And Carl Franklin, he was the director of that.

And it was a great.

It was a great experience.

How about appearing and acting in Graffiti Bridge?

What was it like filming a movie and what was it done primarily out of Paisley Park?

Yeah, it was.

It was.

Oh, yeah.

Graffiti Bridge.

That was just another great introduction to the music industry and the entertainment industry as a whole.

I mean, I was able to experience the film aspect of the music industry by working with Prince.

I got a chance.

I worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Jelly Bean, the whole crew at the time, and Prince and the filmmakers were there, and we went to LA and did some ADR work.

And it was just a magical time for me to just learn and absorb.

And again, it's something that being able to experience almost every aspect of the recording industry, from being a producer myself because I produced my first records, to being a performer out on the front stage now, to being a teacher and a mentor for other students in my community.

It just gives me a whole sphere of information and experiences to share with other people.

Do you still do recording for your own music?

Yeah, you know, I try and hit something every now and then.

I just did a track with a group called the Telephones.

They're local.

They were doing a retro, kind of a retro thing.

And she did a remake of Fame, and she asked me to do a rap on there, and I did that.

And, you know, I'll do something every now and then.

I'll do something with the kids in the studio or we freestyle and, you know, we'll record something, or I'll hit them with something they never heard, you know, something back that I did in the old days.

They're like, oh, you know, you know, where'd that come from?

You know, So I have a lot of fun like that.

And T.C.

ellis has remained in Minneapolis St.

Paul, which.

Which I got to give him a lot of credit and.

And doing tremendous positive work out there and have you?

Yeah, you know, I always, from my own personal opinion, when I see like the so called Minneapolis sound and all that has happened in the last 20, 25 years, I know it goes back even further.

And an experience like that, or the P.

Funk experience, it's like that is truly magical.

Something that doesn't happen too often.

Do you guys, since you guys were in it, look at the same way or is it just, you know, that's what we were doing.

That was our work.

Well, you know, I didn't even.

At the time, I didn't even look at it as work.

It was kind of like a bridge really, that just saved my life, you know, and that's how it kind of came about.

It was just a quest, a drive, something that I had to do inside me.

And you know, looking back, I realized that it was really a blessing, you know, something to take my energy and my interest away from some negative things and keep me moving in a positive direction.

And it was a lifesaver.

You know, I love the Twin Cities.

It's a beautiful part of the country.

It gets cold.

I like to travel too.

You got to come out here to New York during the spring or summer.

Yeah, for sure.

I would love it.

You know, I just kind of take it one day at a time, you know, I'm working on some other projects now.

Actually, there's a group in Los Angeles that are interested in doing a movie about how I started this school.

Yeah, that would be something.

Yeah, that's in the works now too.

I got a first copy of a script and it's a true story.

And I think it's gonna be really exciting for people to be able to kind of see how something like this evolves and becomes so important.

And then you'll have Prince beggin to be in your movie.

Well, I doubt that.

But you know, if he wanted to do something, he sure could.

I wouldn't.

I would definitely try to facilitate it.

Well, I'm sure you're probably well aware that in a few weeks Prince will be inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame.

And been asking people who've been affiliated with them maybe talk about some of their favorite moments and what you've really enjoyed from watching this guy's career.

Well, man, I have to say my very favorite time with Prince was he was oblivious to it.

But I caught him at First Avenue one night.

He didn't announce the show or nothing.

He just did his thing and it was so incredible.

I was so in awe of, of his ability and what he was able to do on that stage that night.

It was really a magical time in my life.

I mean, it just struck a chord in my soul.

And that's when I really, you know, it brought something up out of me too.

Having, you know, been in grown up with him and seeing the power and the stage presence and the presentation and everything that he had within himself, let me know that I had some of that too.

Because it was, hey, if he could do it, so can I.

And that was kind of like something that really sparked me.

The other thing that I really felt was a special time was getting to see Prince's very first show.

He performed at the neighborhood theater.

I mean, when he did his first.

Is that the Capri?

At the Capri, I was there, I was in the audience.

So that was an incredible time for me to see that happen.

And now realizing, you know, what a superstar he was and getting a chance to just be part of the whole thing, to have been able to influence him musically was, I think, a great opportunity for me because I definitely did that.

It wasn't easy though.

I mean, I stayed in his face.

The part I played in the movie Graffiti Bridge where I kept bugging him about let me rap, give me a break.

That was true, but it was over the time span of about five years rather than two hours.

Yeah, right.

But, but it was, it was a, it was true.

And you know, looking back, you know, I have to say that I think Prince, whatever he got coming from, you know, the hall of fame or wherever he's heading, he deserves because he's worked hard and nobody really can understand, you know, what a man has to face unless you're in his situation.

You know, a lot of people, you know, I think they have some animosity towards them or they think, you know, he acts funny or something like that.

I remember a long time ago when everybody was, you know, Prince, man, he don't talk, he don't, you know, I see him, I say hi.

You know, he don't even really say nothing.

He just kind of looks at, you know, well, you know, from the outside it looks like he might be trying to diss you, but from being on the inside and having experience with them, I know why he doesn't say anything.

And it's not because he doesn't want to kick it chit chat with you.

It's that, you know, he's gigging every night.

So he's trying to save his voice.

Yeah.

You know, he's he's like, you know, what can he say?

He's like nodding his head, he's acknowledging you, or, you know, he's just trying to get by without talking.

When you're, when you're working hard in the studio and then you're performing, you're using your vocals all the time and you sometimes, you know, you can get to the edge.

You gotta take it easy.

That makes a lot of sense, right?

So, you know, it all depends on which perspective you're looking at, you know, any set of circumstances to get the effect that, that you're trying to get.

So, I mean, I'm.

I'm.

That's the first time I heard that.

And it makes the most sense.

Trust.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Well, the reason, the reason why, you know, I understood it is because it happened to me too, you know, when I would.

When I would rehearse and perform, you know, your voice gives hoarse and then, you know, you go out somewhere and then everybody wants to come up and talk to you, but, you know, your vocal coach or the doctor said, hey, man, don't talk.

You gotta just shut up, you know, and then it seems.

Then it seems like, you know, you're being stuck up or something.

Right?

So you never know.

You never know what the circumstances are.

I can say that the opportunity that I was able to get with him, I'm very grateful for.

You know, I hope someday maybe we can work together again on something.

Hopefully.

I'm hoping that he'll get wind of what we're doing here at the High School for Recording Arts and he'll come over and do something with our students because they've got some tremendous talent and a great future in front of them.

And I think them having a chance to possibly communicate with Prince would be fantastic for them and for him.

Right.

I'm sure he's aware of it.

So let's hope he makes it over there and stops by.

Kicks out at Studio 4 and the HSRA.org website.

You can check out High School 4, the recording arts, and the executive director of the high school is T.C.

ellis, who has been my special guest here on the Upper Room with Joe Kelly.

And, you know, I'd love to invite you whenever you have the time.

Coming to east, coming Eastward, and come by our studios.

We broadcast on the TV network here.

And pleasure to meet you in person.

Well, pleasure to talk to you.

Yeah.

Hey, man, you keep it, keep it, keep it going up there in the upper room.

Where'd you get that name?

Where'd that name come from?

You know, it came from a Prince song, but not.

It's.

I don't know if you remember, he came out with the Emancipation Record and had a song called Sex in the Summer, and he was talking about listening to Mahalia Jackson's Greatest in the Upper Room.

Just the way he sang it, kind of laid back in the cut was.

You know, I just.

I mean, it's really obscure, but, you know, it kind of.

Yeah, that struck me because my mother, she used to get these little inspirational little magazines, and one of them was called the Upper Room.

Yeah, right.

I guess.

Where they had the last supper.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So.

Okay.

Yeah, so it's cool.

That's great, man.

Well, keep up the good work, man.

You know, stay in touch with us over here in Minnesota.

It's good to connect with out East.

Yeah.

And, you know, one day we're gonna make it out there and.

And do the show out there for this special.

That would.

That would be real nice.

Cool.

Hey, let me know, man.

You can use the studio here whenever.

Whenever you get ready.

All right.

Thanks, T.C.

hey, you know what?

We're gonna go out with something which we were talking.

You're real happy with this song that you guys recorded, New Power Generation Number Two, which is on the Graffiti Bridge cd.

How did you add your approach right on this record?

How did.

What.

How did you work on this song yourself?

What was it like recording for this?

That was me and Prince in the studio.

Just me and him together.

That bag, he.

I had heard him working on the track.

I said, hey, you know, I could feel the rap flowing with that track.

I said, that's the track I need to rap True Confessions on.

And then a couple days later, he called me in the studio and he said, you know, I got out in the booth and I ran it a couple times.

He was like, that was smoking, dude.

And next thing I know, it was.

You know, he put it on the.

Album, and there it is.

Yep.

On Graffiti Bridge and TC Ellis CD True Confessions on Paisley Park.

And most time in a year or so, we may see the T.C.

ellis story in Hollywood as there's a lot of interest.

I definitely wish you a lot of success on that project.

Thanks a lot.

Yeah.

So we'll listen to New Power Generation Number Two, and thanks, TC Peace.

All right, the Upper Room with Joe Kelly, wvof.

This is TC Ellis.

This is TC Ellis.

You're listening to the Upper Room with Joe Kelly and G.

Dussault.