Comedic actress, Maya Rudolph, is not just a Saturday Night Live living legend, she’s also the 44 year old daughter of the late soul music icon, Minnie Riperton. So it’s only natural that she inherited an innate ability to sing.
Although Maya typically only displays her singing voice within her comedic roles- like the time she channeled Beyonce’ on Saturday Night Live and at Tulane University’s 2015 graduation commencement speech- she and her friend, Gretchen, decided to take her voice bit more seriously.
In 2011 they started a cover band, called Princess, as an ode to one of their favorite music icons, Prince. Turns out, Prince loved it so much that when he met them, he showed them nothing but love for their “Daring Nikki” cover on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Here’s what Maya said about the time they first met Prince and got his stamp of approval:
Via LAWeekly: “It was like the gates of heaven opening,” Rudolph says. “Gretchen and I got to meet him the last time he played in town. And he gave us both these big, nice hugs, and he said that he had our performance on Jimmy Fallon recorded on his DVR.”
That was then, but this is now, and more than a year after the Purple One passed away in 2016, Maya and her Princess band paid homage to their idol on what would have been his 59th birthday (which was June 7th). Princess, along with Maya’s SNL co-star, Fred Armisen, performed a collage of “Purple Rain,” “Darling Nikki,” and “Nasty Girl.” Check out a clip of it below…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVHHCRXFK_W/
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Armisen assisted on drums as Princess did their thing. Although the original basis of the Prince tribute band, Princess, was to pay a somewhat comical homage of Prince through musical expression, as their name grew, so did their level of seriousness. As more and more fans caught on to Princess, Maya and Gretchen decided to take the gigs they booked far more seriously, and Princess is now gaining a strong underground following.
Minnie Riperton and her husband, Richard Rudolph performing “Loving You”
It’s interesting when you think about it. Maya Rudolph once state that because she grew up in such a musical household, with such a legendary soul singing mother and songwriter/producer dad, music was the norm’ for her.
So although she’d made her biggest mark as a comedic actress, her life seems to be coming full circle now, as she incorporated the groundwork her Momma Minnie and Pops Richard Rudolph gave her. She’s managed to have long ago found her own identity as well, something many children of such legends cannot do.
Anywho, I’m looking forward to seeing Princess continue to pay homage to one of the greatest icons in music. Long live Prince and Minnie Riperton.
