Prince left this mortal plane on April 21, 2016, and the world has been missing him ever since. To celebrate one of the most unique and influential musicians to ever live, Grammy-winning producer Keith Harris teamed up with The Office/Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Craig Robinson and singer Jordin Sparks. The results are an energetic cover of the song that has come best to represent Prince, “Purple Rain.” Craig and Jordin trade vocal duties on the track, while the band — Keith on drums, Andre Bowman on bass, Brandon “Chap” Chapman on guitar, with Renard Hughes (aka Church Boi) providing additional vocals — does The Revolution proud. They all come together on the track’s unforgettable chorus. Released on what would have been Prince’s 62nd birthday (June 7), Keith tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that this song “was inspired to show love to Prince and honoring his life and musical legacy.”
“It’s also my musical contribution to help the city of Minneapolis heal,” Keith tells HollywoodLife, noting the civil protesting following the death of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers. The Prince Estate also celebrated his legacy on his birthday by releasing a new lyric video for “Baltimore,” a song he released in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray. The estate also shared a handwritten note from his archives: “Nothing more ugly in the whole wide world than intolerance [between] black, white, red, yellow, boy or girl. Intolerance.”
This cover of “Purple Rain” will be available on SoundCloud throughout June. After that, it will be gone, like tears in the purple rain. However, fans won’t have to wait long before they hear new music from Keith’s new project, The Keith Harris Experience. He tells Hollywoodlife that the debut album, The Keith Harris Experience Vol 1, is out this summer.” You can expect a taste of Chicago, from its high energy dance music to soul-stirring ballads, it’s painting the picture of my influences growing up in the city.”
Prince dedicated his life to speaking out against injustice, advocating for black excellence, and spreading the message of "Love 4 One Another." In this note that he kept in his personal archives, he wrote a message that still resonates today. #Prince #Love4OneAnother pic.twitter.com/thTv9cukBV
— Prince (@prince) June 7, 2020
Keith, as a songwriter/producer, is the driving force behind hits like the Black Eyed Peas’ “Meet ME Halfway” and “Imma Be,” Grammy-winning songs like Estelle’s “American Boy” and Chrisette Michele’s “Be Okay.” He’s also worked with Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Madonna, Usher, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, and Kelis. Now, it’s