Prince’s grieving older half-brother Alfred Jackson spoke out on Thursday about his memories of the music icon following his untimely death last week.
Jackson shared his emotions with Entertainment Tonight:
“I miss my brother, because my brother was everything in the world to me. God bless Prince, God bless the world. He’s a legend, he really is.”
Jackson told ET that 15 years have passed since he spoke to Prince. He said his famous brother was always traveling and performing: “I always saw him on television, read the magazines, and said, ‘There’s my brother, Prince.’ I was so happy he was making it for himself, I really was.”
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The two brothers have the same mother. Jackson recalled their visits to Prince’s Paisley Park, Minnesota mansion, where the artist was found unresponsive on Thursday of last week. His cause of death at this time in unknown, however the DEA has joined the investigation to determine whether drugs were involved.
“My mother liked looking at his records on the wall—she wishes she had that many herself,” Jackson joked.
Prince’s father, John L. Nelson, and mother, Mattie Della Shaw, were also musicians. Prince’s mother performed as a jazz singer in his father’s band.
Jackson told ET Prince was a gifted musician since childhood. He recalled playing a piece of music on a piano and his younger brother replaying the same song, exactly as he heard it—but improving on his elder brother’s version.
“He was a genius. Wherever he heard music, he could copy it just like that—like he had a photographic memory or something,” he told ET.
Jackson could inherit part of his famous brother’s estate, according to the site. The singer and producer failed to leave a will. Jackson’s lawyer told ET the two of them would be part of a meeting to discuss how Prince’s estate will be divided.
One of Jackson’s fondest memories growing up is teaching his kid brother how to play basketball. He said they would improvise by shooting balled-up paper into a trashcan.
SOURCE: Entertainment Tonight, New York Times | PHOTO CREDIT: AP | VIDEO SOURCE: Inform
