The White Family often opened gospel
programs for such established artists as
Shirley Caesar, The Williams Brothers,
The Highway QC’s, The Canton
Spirituals, and The Truthettes. Niyoki
was especially inspired by the Truthettes’
young lead singer, TuTu Jordan. “She
was always so vocally strong and
confident,” Niyoki recalls. “When I was
small, I was still a little afraid to go up on
the stage, but she never seemed to show
any fear at all.”
Eventually, Niyoki and her three sisters
left the family fold and formed an R&B
singing group called Milenia. “A local
promoter told us that we were tall and
beautiful,” explains Niyoki, who at 5’8”
was the shortest member of the group.
“We were at that rebellious stage. We
were tired of our parents managing us.”
While appearing in Minneapolis, Milenia
was spotted by Prince. “You always hear
about how tight harmonies can be with
siblings,” Niyoki explains. “That’s what
Prince liked about us. He just loved how
our blend was and how tight our harmony
was.”
The sisters began singing backgrounds
for Prince as well as opening his shows
with a 30-minute set of their own. They
appeared on his 2001 duet with Angie
Stone, “U Make My Sun Shine,” and on
his 2003 CD The Rainbow Children on
35
It’s Christ Or Nothing
which Niyoki was briefly featured singing
second lead on the song “Everywhere.” A
Milenia CD titled Our Story was issued in
2005, and included two Prince-produced
tracks.
Niyoki learned many valuable musical
lessons during her three years with Prince.
“We came from a gospel background,
and he used to get on us a lot about oversinging, so I learned how to use volume as
a vocal technique and not be so hard-hitting
all the time,” she explains. “He showed
us how to put parts together in the studio.
I listened to that and watched him, and
that helped me to be able to put my own
harmonies together now. However, I do
realize that the gift I have comes from God.”
A cancelled world tour and recordings
that didn’t require background singers led
the White sister