On April 21st 2016 we lost one of the greatest artists of our time: Prince. QG Enterprise is extremely proud to represent some of Prince’s closest friends and collaborators who are keeping his musical legacy alive. In addition to Sheila E. and Larry Graham & Graham Central Station, QG Enterprise now also represents The New Power Generation (The NPG), Love 4 One Another (Liv Warfield, Judith Hill & Shelby J. + The NPG Hornz) and André Cymone.
The New Power Generation (The NPG) – celebrating Prince
Over the years Prince has been backed by many different configurations of The New Power Generation. This one is the ‘mostly’ original line-up that shared the most commercial success with Prince as The NPG. The line-up consists of Morris Hayes (keyboards), Sonny Thompson (bass), Levi Seacer Jr. (guitar), Tommy Barbarella (keyboards), Kirk Johnson (drums), Tony Mosley (vocals, guitar, dancer) and Damon Dickson (background vocals and dancer). They will be joined on lead vocals by at least two additional artists from The NPG and/or the Prince family of artists (like Kip Blackshire, André Cymone, Shelby J., etc.), who will vary subject to availability. Depending on the budget, the line-up can be “extended” with a horn section (like the Hornheads) and The NPG may also be joined by a higher profile name lead vocalist.
Love 4 One Another
The tour/project consists of former Prince collaborators Liv Warfield, Shelby J., Judith Hill and a 10-piece band (including three NPG Hornz).
- Liv Warfield describes her style as “alternative R&B Soul with a little bit of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. In 2009 Prince watched a video on YouTube of Liv singing “Gimme Shelter” and three months later, he invited her to audition for his vocal backing group, The New Power Generation (The NPG). Liv toured extensively with Prince & The NPG, she sang on Prince’s albums and her own 2nd album, titled “The Unexpected”, was released in 2014, with Prince as the Executive Producer.
- Judith Hill has backed such artists as Stevie Wonder and the late Michael Jackson, appeared in director Morgan Neville’s acclaimed Academy Award winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom”, was a contestant on “The Voice USA”. Judith garnered much praise for her live performance as opener for Josh Groban, John Legend and Prince. Judith Hill’s debut album, “Back In Time”, produced by herself & Prince is out on NPG Records.
- Shelby Johnson – or as Prince dubbed her “Shelby J.” – has toured & recorded with her band Blackgypsy, Groove Theory, Mary J. Blige, Anthony Hamilton, D’Angelo, Santana, Larry Graham and Prince. In the fall of 2006 she was asked to join the legendary bassist Larry Graham for shows at Prince’s 3121 Club in Las Vegas. In late 2006 Shelby began performing as part of Prince’s band The NPG, with whom she performed at the memorable “2007 Superbowl Halftime Show”, the history making “21 Nights in London” concert series @ the O2 arena in London, as well as all of Prince’s subsequent tours with The NPG. Shelby’s much anticipated 1st solo album is scheduled for release in 2017.
André Cymone
Cymone and his schoolmate/best friend Prince laid the groundwork for the revolutionary Minneapolis Sound. After Prince signed a record deal he hired Cymone as bass player for his band, pre-Revolution. In 1981 Cymone left Prince’s band and began his own solo career, releasing 3 albums that spawned several R&B singles, including 1985’s Prince-penned Top 10 hit “The Dance Electric”. Cymone also established himself as an in-demand producer, co-writing and producing songs for a diverse array of acts, including Jody Watley, Adam Ant and Tom Jones. In 2014, Cymone ended a self-imposed 27-year recording hiatus with the album “The Stone”. Andre Cymone’s highly anticipated new album titled “1969” is scheduled for release in June 2017.