About Me
While Minneapolis and St. Paul, America's most exciting musical scene, are known far and wide for their hometown hero, Prince, T.C. Ellis made his debut in a whole new way with "True Confessions, his dedut album on Paisley Park Records.Born and raised in St.paul, T.C. Ellis' earliest musical experience came as a gospel vocalist in a popular local group, Telephone To Glory. At the age of 11, he began playing drums, providing a steady backbeat both for church services and a variety of school bands. A local talent contest landed T.C. in the winner's circle and enrollment in a nearby performing arts high school which further sharpened his musical skills. It was there that he began playing trumpet and subsequently fronted his own funk / fushion band.After graduation, T.C. took a musical hiatus to pursue his interest in flying. He attended the University of Minnesota, taking courses in aviation, and quickly earned his pilot's license, becoming the youngest licensed pilot in Minnesota at that time. But his music drew him back in when by chance he was introduced to Prince by another Twin Cities talent, vocalist Sue Ann.Actually, T.C. had met the superstar years before, when Prince's group played T.C.'s high school graduation. But it was this recent encounter that sent T.C.'s life spinning in a whole new direction, when he delivered an on-the-spot rap about the Twin Cities music scene.Rap came naturally for this multi-talented performer, and, with Prince's encouragement, he began writing more rhymes. The next several months saw T.C. gather a large and loyal regional following, thanks to such local radio hits as "The Twin Cities Rap" and his own rap retelling of the Batman saga, "Bat Rap."So impressed was Prince by T.C.'s talent that he not only offered him a role in the musical / movie "Graffiti Bridge", but a recording contract, and went on to contribute two tracks to T.C.'s debut album. The result was "True Confessions," highlighting such T.C. originals as "Pussy Cat," "love" and "For The Record." The album was produced by T.C. and Levi Seacer,Jr., who also co-wrote most of the material with T.C. Aside from able assistance by Prince, True Confessions also features great productions and vocals by funkmaster George Clinton, as well as performances by some of the Twin Cities' hottest instrumentalists / vocalists like Eric Leeds and Rosie Gaines.After time, T.C. started an independent recording studio and worked with a variety of educational programs, both traditional and alternative. Through musical work with a number of young black men who had dropped out of high school, he discovered these young artists would often ask questions about how to copyright and publish their work. Guiding them through the process, T.C. was struck by the way these youth would engage in educational processes while pursuing their career in music. With that realization, the High School for Recording Arts was born.T.C. has recently been honored as an Oxford University Roundtable Fellow for his work with Studio 4/High School for Recording Arts. While at Oxford, T.C. presented his work before leading educators from around the world to wide acclaim.
