In 1985, Following the Purple Rain Tour, where Sheila E. was the support act, Levi joined her band replacing Benny Rietveld. His earliest (known) recording with Prince occurred later that year when he was invited to jam with Sheila E. and Eric Leeds at Sunset Sound. These sessions would yield the unreleased album, which was tentatively planned to be released under the name The Flesh, a forerunner to Madhouse, a band in which Levi would play a role in the studio (for the second album 16) and more prominently on stage.
Before the Japanese leg of the Parade Tour, Sheila E.'s live band is reconstructed, following her own Romance 1600 Tour. She added her childhood friend Boni Boyer on keyboards and future members of Tony! Toni! Toné! (Timothy Riley on drums, Rafael Wiggins, Jr on bass and Carl Wheeler on keyboards). Levi became the musical director and the band's guitarist. Along with Prince and David Z., they all contributed to Sheila E's Sheila E.'s third album which would be released the following year (with Levi co-writing three of the songs).
Joining Prince's band
After the Parade Tour, Sheila E., Boni Boyer and Levi Seacer, Jr joined Prince's group after the disbanding of The Revolution. At that same time Levi is also the bassist of the live line-up of Madhouse, together with Eric Leeds and Dr Fink. After the Sign O' The Times Tour, Levi, Sheila E., Eric Leeds and Prince recorded Ten, Ten And ½, Eleven, Twelve, Fifteen, for the second Madhouse album (16 and four instrumentals that would later appear on Eric Leeds' Times Squared album (Night Owl, Overnight, Every Night, Andorra and Kenya).
Between the Lovesexy Tour and the Nude Tour, Levi's role as a sideman became more and more prominent in the studio with him (co-)writing and producing many songs with Prince, including Sex for Prince, Bliss and Mind Bells for Kahoru Kohiruimaki, Shall We Dance and Bang Bang for Brown Mark, Shake! and Release It for The Time and worked on albums I Am for Elisa Fiorillo, May 19, 1992 for Ingrid Chavez and T.C. Ellis' album (True Confessions).
Paisley Park's producer-for-hire
With the successes of Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis productions in the eighties, many artists wanted to have what became known as the Minneapolis Sound on their albums. Together with David Z., Levi became one of Paisley Park's "producers-for-hire". In December 1989, while working on the Pointer Sisters' Right Rhythm album at Paisley Park, Levi called Rosie Gaines to put her voice on a track written by Prince for the group: I Want U. This song was not retained for Right Rhythm, released in 1990, half-produced by Levi, but Prince, having attended the session, was overwhelmed by Rosie's voice. He invited her to join her group for the upcoming Nude Tour as a replacement for Boni Boyer, who left the band following the Lovesexy Tour.
Levi Seacer, Jr also contributed to albums for other artists like Gerard Alston Deon Estus, Bobby Z. and Ricky Peterson.
The man with the blue guitar
After Miko Weaver's departure in 1991, Levi Seacer, Jr. became Prince's guitarist, leaving the bass duties to Sonny T. in the new band, now called The New Power Generation. As such Levi Seacer, Jr. is the only musician who held two different positions in Prince's band. Interestingly, in 1991, Levi wore a tie-hat costume to look like the blues legend Robert Johnson (Prince tentatively planned to do a movie based around him called "The Robert Johnson Story").
In between tours and recording with Prince, he continued to write songs and produce albums for other artists for Paisley Park Records (Carmen Electra, Mavis Staples), related artists (Martika, Monie Love, Jevetta Steele, The Steeles) and artists recording at Paisley Park Studios like (Terri Nunn).
Between the Act I and Act II tours, Levi joins Prince, Michael B., Sonny T. and Eric Leeds for a five-hour session yielding songs for a Madhouse album (24 that remains unreleased).
NPG Records
After the Act II tour, The NPG is reduced to Michael B. on drums, Sonny T. on bass, and Tommy Barbarella and Morris Hayes on keyboards. Prince asked Levi to take the reins of the new label he created to replace Paisley Park Records: NPG Records. Karen Lee, his girlfriend, was in charge of the advertising for the label. But a year later, in November 1994, Levi and Karen Lee resigned while Prince was overseas. No reason was given for their sudden departure but it was said at Levi Seacer, Jr. had little interest in running a record label, particularly one so plagued with problems as NPG Records was.
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In 1998, Levi and Tony M. filed a lawsuit against Prince. They claimed that he hadn't shared royalties he owed them for the songs such as Sexy M.F. and My Name Is Prince they wrote with him. They won their case, but on the $800,000 they were claiming, they received only $40,000 each which did not cover their legal expenses.
Levi wrote and produced most of the songs for Derick Hughes' "All For Love" album released in 2000. Former NPG members Tommy Barbarella and Morris Hayes also contributed to the record.
After actively contributing to the album "Soul Symphony" by the Sounds of Blackness and touring with them, Levi released his first album under his own name, titled 2wo 4our 1one in 2010, with saxophonist Ric Alexander. It contains 12 tracks including a remake of Get Blue, a song he wrote with Prince twenty years earlier and offered to Louie Louie. The other 11 instrumentals are composed by the duo. The opening track is entitled "25 (Bopp!)" as an echo to Madhouse, and contains musical similarities with "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night".
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