Longtime friend calls Lifetime Achievement Grammy for Prince 'full circle moment'

When Prince hit the silver screen in "Purple Rain", the world went crazy, sending his career into the stratosphere. Now, more than 40 years later, his contributions to the music industry are still being honored by his peers.

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The artist forever known as Prince

What we know:

The Recording Academy gave Prince a Lifetime Achievement Grammy during a non-televised ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Prince's childhood friend and early bandmate Andre Cymone spoke at the event along with Jimmy Jam and Jerome Benton from The Time, while Prince's niece accepted the award on his behalf.

"First of all, it was an honor. I definitely could feel his presence in the room. I know he would be really, really happy," said Cymone.

Minnesota's homegrown superstar

The backstory:

Cymone says growing up, he and Prince, who he met in the seventh grade, dreamed of winning Grammys while watching awards shows on TV, so being part of it was a full circle moment.

"I had a front row seat to seeing him go from this shy kid, who was trying to figure it out, to grow into being a world renowned superstar," said Cymone.

Prince performed at the Grammys twice, won seven of them and was nominated 38 times.

Cymone says being in the company of artists who also received Lifetime Achievement Awards that night, like Frankie Valli, The Clash and Taj Mahal, was fitting for his friend.

"The event was amazing because the people in the room, obviously you could tell that they respected him," said Cymone

Accolades keep coming

What they're saying:

Cymone says even though it's been nearly nine years since Prince passed away, he believes his work will continue to be recognized in the future.

"I think in nine years, 20 years, 30 years, depending on what happens, he's going to continue to be relevant," said Cymone.

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