Levi Seacer Jr. (born April 30, 1961) is an American musician. He was an early associate of

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

when he was tapped by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

to form a new touring band after the demise of The Revolution in 1986. Seacer became the band's bassist, as well as a backing vocalist. Later, he began collaborating with Prince as a songwriter on several projects. Seacer was a founding member of Prince's

The New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for h ...

in 1991, switching from bass to the band's guitarist. He remained a member of the band until 1993, and also participated in the later version of Madhouse. After leaving the Prince camp in 1993, Seacer has worked as a producer and

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on various projects, most notably the

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

ensemble

Sounds of Blackness Sounds of Blackness is a vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B and Hot Dan ...

. In 1990, he produced the majority of '' Right Rhythm,'' a Motown-issued album recorded by the pop/R&B group

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, b ...

. In 1991, he performed various instruments on the album '' Moment of Truth'' by

Terri Nunn Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a common feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa. Notable people with the name include: *Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter *Terri S. Armstrong, Amer ...

. In October 1998, Seacer (along with

Tony M. The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

) filed a lawsuit against Prince, claiming that Prince hadn't shared

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

that Levi and Tony were owed for songs they had co-written for Prince's NPG Publishing, including "

Sexy MF "Sexy MF" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as a single from their 1992 album '' Love Symbol''. The music and most of the lyrics were composed by Prince, while Seacer came up with the chorus and the song' ...

" and "

My Name Is Prince "My Name Is Prince" is a song by American musician Prince and the New Power Generation, released as the second single from the 1992 ''Love Symbol'' album. The song is about Prince himself and his musical prowess. The rap sequence is performed by ...

". In the end, Mosely and Seacer settled for approximately $40,000 each (apparently, not even enough to pay their legal expenses), having sued Prince for $800,000.

References

African-American guitarists African-American rock musicians American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American funk guitarists Rhythm guitarists American rhythm and blues guitarists American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American soul guitarists American male guitarists New Power Generation members Musicians from Richmond, California Living people Guitarists from California 1961 births {{US-bass-guitarist-stub