Prince’s Sister Tyka Nelson Says Late Icon ‘Kept Avoiding Questions’ During Their Last Phone Call: ‘Talk to Me’

The musician recalled her final memories of her late brother ahead of her farewell performance in their Minneapolis hometown on Friday

Tyka Nelson is revisiting her final moments with her late brother Prince.

The singer-songwriter, 64, is slated to give her farewell performance at the Dakota in Minneapolis on Friday, June 7 (the same day as Prince’s 66th birthday). According to the Star Tribune, it marks her first show since 2018 in Australia and her first time singing in her hometown again in over 15 years. 

In an interview with the publication, Nelson said she’s apparently retiring from her public role as Prince’s sister as she’s “getting older.” But ahead of her upcoming performance — which she said will “honor Prince and my dad” — she looked back at her life and some of the last memories she has of her older brother, who died on April 21, 2016, at age 57.

According to Nelson, she last spoke to the “When Doves Cry” icon on the phone four days before he was found dead at his Paisley Park Studios home. “He kept avoiding questions. I kept getting mad,” the singer said of their conversation. “I felt like, ‘Talk to me for two seconds.’ He’d change the subject, make a joke and then we’d both laugh.”