mononeon

Editor’s note: Prince died five years ago today, a moment that shook the entire music and cultural world. Dywane Thomas Jr., better known as MonoNeon, worked and performed with Prince in his latter days. Here, he shares some of his memories of what it was like to be with and work with the artist. My time with Prince was a life-changing thang. I started working at Paisley Park in early 2015 as Judith Hill’s bassist, Prince hired me to join her new live band. Prince was super chill. I never felt nervous or under pressure playing with Prince, I just wanted to play some music with him. If Prince wanted me to play a certain thang he would tell me but other than that he just let me play (and of course know the song). I did get some little butterflies in my belly when Prince first walked int...