MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Prince’s protégé and former fiancé Sheila E. flew to Minneapolis immediately after learning of his death on Thursday.

The musician’s former percussionist visited WCCO Friday morning to reflect on the loss of a Minnesota icon.

“Prince was amazing to work with in the studio. He was able to do things that no one had ever done before, and that’s why he’s so amazing as a songwriter and a musician,” Sheila E. said.

In addition to reflecting on Prince as a musician, Sheila E. also spoke about the kind of person Prince was.

“Prince was very loving,” she said. “He was a gentleman, very funny and competitive, a perfectionist and a genius.”

Sheila E. also spoke about her relationship with Prince.

“We both loved a lot of the same music, the same artists, and we were both very competitive. We liked a lot of the same things,” she said “We became friends very quickly when we first met. He had been following my career. We just liked a lot of the same things and we were able to sit in a room, or at the studio and record for hours on end, even days at a time, and just have fun.”