Purple Brothas W/ Prince Hair Stylist Kim Berry

What'S up everybody, this is your boy big group, yes, and we have, for the first time, celebrity hairstylist and now arthur miss kim berry in the building kim how you doing i'm doing great thanks for having me. Oh thank you for being a part of the show. You know we're here with just avid avid lovers of prince and his music, and since she was his hairstylist from like seems like what 29 years i know you have a lot of things to to speak about. So can we just start from the beginning on? How did you get put on being his hairstyles um? I was actually uh dating one of his bodyguards and um told him to introduce me to the hair, stylist um on the team, and she, you know basically took me under her wing. I was fresh out of beauty school every time they did a video or any type of um show or event. She would always call me say: kim come hang out so, while uh i'm hanging out with her, she would say you know my dad used to tell us success is when preparation meets opportunity. When the opportunity presents itself, will you be prepared so, as i'm watching her table, i'm looking at everything on her table so everything on her table, i bought the hairspray. I bought the curling irons. I bought the combs. I bought the brushes, so i literally had um duplicated her um. I duplicated her table and didn't even realize you know never thinking that i would ever get the opportunity to do prints, but i said at least i'll be prepared if she's a celebrity hairstylist. I want to be one as well and so um i duplicated her table, then about a few months later um she was telling me you know, um. I think i'm going to quit and i said you're not going to quit. You got the best job in the world, she said. No, i think i'm going to quit. She said i'm tired of living out of a suitcase. I want to go home. I want to get married. I just want to be a regular person. I was like wow and you know i'm going to start yeah, i'm on the outside. Looking in and i'm like, you know, you got the best job in the world. You work for one of the biggest entertainers and she said it's not what you think and sure enough after i walked a mile in her shoes. I was like, oh god, it's not what you think so um she said: um uh. She went in the room with prince and they were in the middle of a video shoot. I forgot what song it was, but um uh, he snatched a comb out of her hand, and she said you know what my lips are chapped, i'm kissing your little black behind i'm outta here now see when prince do something to you. He used to you being there the next day and you're supposed to be all right with it, but this day tanya packed her things and left, and so they didn't understand that at all, so prince was like tell trying to get the salon ready the next day They was like no time to quit and so uh they got ready to go to germany. He was like you mean you tell me, you got me out here without no hair stylist and they was like yeah cause. He traveled everywhere with his hair stylist in his bodyguard and so um. He went to germany, they hired somebody, he hated them. He had to flat on his own hair that day he did the show they came back to california. The bodyguard said: look we're going to be at this club right here by the beverly center meet us at 11 o'clock bring your portfolio, so i brought my portfolio down. I had already been doing photo shoots, ready, locked and loaded put my portfolio on the table. I had walked up to the table. He looked like who the hell is this, so i walked up to his table. I said look, my name is kimberly. I do hair, i said i know you don't have a hair stylist. I said i want the opportunity to be able to do your hair. He said you got a salon, i said yeah, he said, go, get it ready. He said, get a bodyguard's information and get the salon ready. I already knew how to black out windows. Do everything that he needed done got the salon ready? He called about an hour later, kim yeah. This is prince. I was like he said: uh, i'm not gon na be able to make it. I was like oh okay. Well, next time you come to la you know, just know you got a hairstylist, he said well, do you travel mind you i'm 19 years old, i ain't been out of inglewood, let alone california, and he said he said i said yeah and i was like what The hell i just say, and so he says, um, okay. Well, he said uh the flight leaves in an hour we're sending a car to come pick you up. I was like uh, he says there a problem. I said no, sir, and i hung up the phone. I called my mother, i said i just talked to prince. She said, stop lying, i said no. I just talked to prince. He said the flight leaves in an hour and she said you take your curling iron and your hair spray and you go to target when you get there and buy you. Some clothes i'ma, send you some money and you keep rolling. I said, oh, my goodness i went to pacific park, they took me up into the hair salon. I saw the purple rain jacket. I saw the raspberry beret outfit hanging up anything i saw jewelry laying all around, so they were getting ready for some type of exhibit and i said, um okay, i was like i get it. I see what's happening so his brother said well, you gon na. Do my hair and then you know we got somebody else. That'S gon na come in behind now my my beauty school teacher got me ready. You know have built my speed up. I i can do seven eight clients in an hour. You know what i'm saying. So i'm like okay, i got this. Let'S go i'm built for this, so i did dwayne and uh five other women that were there. I was like. Okay, i get it. This is my audition, so uh. Finally, his brother says: okay, he says um prince will be in in a minute. I said: okay, great, he says, um just hold tight, so i'm sitting there one hour go by two hours. Go by now. Paisley park is what they call a creative battleship inside pepsi park. There'S studios kitchens, uh uh, hair salons offices like prince, can go in there and never come out. If you don't want to okay. So i'm like they don't got me in this building and he don't went somewhere and went to sleep or something like what, because it's five o'clock in the morning now this time. So i was like what they don't forgot about me. So finally, his brother stuck his head in the door and said you didn't steal. Nothing did you. I said well, first of all, my mom ain't raised no fools. Second of all, you don't touch that in nobody's house. It don't belong to you, i said, and third of all, i got ta go to the bathroom y'all play too much. Oh sis you could have went to the bathroom. He was like. I said. No, he told me for real he'll be in here in 10 minutes. I said: don't you leave me sitting here, another two and a half hours. I ain't gon na. Do that to you. So finally, prince stuck his head in the door and i was like oh he's awfully little. That'S when i realized how small in stature he was. I was like he said, um how you doing. I said fine, he said yeah, you got the job because he said, but that was you know back in 87 89. I had them long, coco, swc nails. He said you got ta, leave them nails at home. You can't have it in my head: i'm tend to hit it. I said okay pop pop pop pop pop, and he said, oh, when prince laughs, he laughed from his gut. He was like. Oh my god, you are so [ __ ]. He was like okay yeah. You gon na work, he said, go home, i mean go back to the hotel, he said and uh we gon na leave for miami in the morning. I said you're not getting your hair done. He said. No, don't worry about me. He said i'll. Let you know when i'm ready, i said: oh okay so went to miami hit. Miami never got his hair done, he said come get whatever you need, go sightseeing. Do whatever i'll call you when i need you chicago atlanta, a couple other cities. Finally, we get to new york. He like him, get the salon ready. His brothers was like don't touch his ears. Don'T look him in the face. Don'T spill water on him, don't put color. I said i'm gon na knock. Do the man's hand. Look him in the face. I said you better quit playing with me. I was like so i said kim you got this. You did 1600 hours you built for this. You do this so he comes in. We do a consultation just like any other client. I want to cut, i want color, i want this or that everything they told me don't do. I did. I spilled water down his face. I put color on his ears. I touched him in the head with the curling iron, everything they told me. Don'T do it and prince just took it all in stride. He was like okay, i'm miss lady. I know you're nervous, he said, but i need you to slow down. Okay, okay, and so we got through with his hair, fabulous same little cut like what i got now hooked him up. He said, okay, he said yeah, that's gon na work. He said your car is waiting for you outside, and i've been rolling with him ever since wow. What? What was that first hairstyle? Do you remember which style? That was that very first one, this one, i don't know: okay, wow same exact, cut, very cool all right. So before becoming a hairstylist for him, i know you said you were 19.. Did you have aspirations to be a hair stylist in mind? Absolutely not no. I you know had the whole doctor lawyer, you know thing i told my mom took a year off. I said i'm gon na take a gap year with the kids are calling it now yeah. I said. Let me find myself and my mom was like okay. She let me sit around for like two months and she said what you gon na do. I said what you mean, i told you i'm taking a year off, so i can find myself. She said no you're gon na get a job. You'Re gon na go to school or you're gon na get the hell out of my house. I said: wait a minute. So i was stomping up, the street walked into pacific beauty college and literally that man signed me up that day. He said school starts tomorrow. I said: wait a minute tomorrow, i said it's the middle of the summer. He said no school starts tomorrow and he said and if you miss one day, don't come back for 30.. I said oh wow, i came home and told my mother. Well i signed up for beauty school. I hope you happy. She said, i hope you happy and close the door i said little did. I know that they were all getting me ready for the biggest adventure of my life. You know beauty school teacher every day was on me every day, so the course was 12 months, and i did it in 9 because i want to get the heck out of that building. Why are you here? I said i'm here because my mother making me be here my teacher, said before you leave here: i'ma turn you into a hairstylist. I was like yeah right. I wound up winning a uh six months into the school. I wound up winning a 200 student. Competition took first place, shut them all down the teacher. When i got my trophy and my my uh my check in my hand, she walked over to me and she said. Didn'T i tell you, i was gon na turn. You into a hair stylist, i was like yeah, whatever it's cooper, so everybody was doing literally a mr miyagi on me like wax on wax off. So all these people were literally teaching me building my speed, um keeping my integrity. Getting me ready. You know for the next level and i had no idea what i was about to embark on two years later: very cool yeah. That is cool. Now you you took over around 87 88, so dad was doing that signing the times lux love sexy period. I know i came in i'm sorry 89. It was like 89 90.. I graduated 87, so two years later, 89, so 89, 90. 89.90. So that was just graffiti bridge uh batman error. Whatever his hair was still long yeah i came in uh-huh. I was doing little bits and pieces and then after diamonds and curls, that's when i mean diamonds and pearls sorry, my book is called diamonds and curls diamonds and pearls uh was when i started touring with him after that, but i would do little spot gigs. You know in l.a for him, you know throughout that time, so for like every year, because he was always changing up his look. You know his direction in music. So was it something that you came up with with the different hairstyles or there's just something like he was just over a certain hairstyle and he wanted to do something different yeah. He would he he um. He was very open. Well, we, you know changed hairstyles, all the time we we kept um uh, what's called an artist rendering of his face and we literally had an artist draw different hairstyles and we could slide the hairstyles over his face so that he could see. You know what the different hairstyles would look like as well as um. We would get magazines from overseas and show him so he always knew that overseas was ahead of the curve, so in in the states that everybody was long, that he wanted to go short, and if everybody was short then he wanted to go along like he wasn't Scared to try anything braids ponytails, you name it like he. He had no fear. So you know um. I would have to talk him into a few things, but he didn't have he wasn't afraid of it right right, yeah it just it was like for me. It was a trip because i never really even during the uh rave period, when he had the the ponytails like the oh, the braves, that's what i call them branch the barrettes. Yes, the barrette yeah, the beret stuff when he was going. I said that was pretty pretty different from for him. You know yes, oh my goodness, we were walking down the hallway one day and we had just did his hair feathered him up fresh color, fresh perm, hair, bouncing we coming down the hallway, he said, go get steve parks, and so i go get steve parks. He said tell him: i want to do a photo shoot so right there in the middle of the atrium he says kim. I think i want some braids in my hair. I said: okay, well, you want me to part it off and braid it real neat and this he goes no just pick it up and braid it, and i said you want plaques and he was like yeah. I said huh, okay, so there's a picture. That'S all around the internet and steve park took a picture of me, braiding, prince's, hair and so and in the middle of the atrium, and so i did the plants and i said well now you needed some pretty bull rats and he said yeah go upstairs and Tell wardrobe to send me some ribbons. I said. Oh, i was just playing. I was like man. I was like wait a minute, so i go upstairs. I'M like tell the busting wardrobe like i need some ribbons and prince said he want ribbons on for every outfit. That he puts on and they were like, are you playing and i was like? No, i need some ribbons right now cut up material, let's go, and so literally for months we wound up doing those buckwheat braids is what i call them and literally uh putting ribbons tied on the end of his hair in every color. So every outfit he changed. We changed the ribbons to go with his outfit when we went to the shows the women were in the first sec first and second rolls in in these exact same braids with the ribbons hanging from there see kim, i told you they like it, they like it. I was like gon na be like don't encourage him, don't encourage him, but that that style window being on brave until the joy fantastic. I will cover iconic to this day and even kendrick lamar did a rendition of it. I said you're welcome, kendrick yeah yeah real trendsetter right there. So if you weren't doing here now, what do you think you would be doing at this point in your career wow? I wanted to work in the medical field, so yeah yeah yeah wanted to be a doctor, and so it just took a left and that left turned out to be the right of a lifetime. Yeah, absolutely yeah yeah, because 29 years of being with one person is a long time. What made you i mean what kept you, because i know that he always will change you know: staff or people. So what what? What made you think that you stayed there for that long period of time? What was it? I would tell people that it was the god in me that sought a god in him. You know he had enough fake people and yes, men around him um. He and i didn't have that relationship. We moved from hairstylist client relationship literally into family rather quickly, and he needed that. You know someone to have his back around him. Like we prayed together, we did bible study together, you know um, it was just a whole nother level. It wasn't just you know, people you know say all the time and i can't explain it to anything else but attributed to to god that i tell everybody this little girl from the hood did good. You know, and god placed me in his life and allowed me to walk alongside one of the greatest entertainers in the world and outlived hit both his wives. I was there when his mother died when his father died, when both the children died. I was, i was standing right next to his side and it was. It was something that had to be done at all times: wow, that's that's pretty heavy, and so from that you know from his untimely demise. Unfortunately um. What inspired you to to uh write the book diamonds and curves? I um, i wrote the book, it was a healing process for me, so i noticed that every time um more and more people were coming out with books, people that knew barely anything about him. They were interviewing other people and i was like how you gon na go around the one. That knows him the most, so i said prince said: do it yourself? If you want something done, do it yourself? He was always telling us how to be creative entities. What do we have to do to bring uh the money back into the neighborhoods? What do we have to do to be? You know um positive forces, you know around our neighborhoods and, and you know, show other people how to be great black leaders, and so i said it's time to write the book it took me about a year. I walked around in a fog um to get myself together still grieving and um. Then i just sat down and i started putting a pen to paper and um. I said who knows you better than your hair stylist and your bartender? Nobody, i said so. I said so: yes, i decided to bring the personal stories you know uh to life and bring and and and bring the human side to prince. I want to tell people about the brother, the uncle the father, the you know, um he laughed he cried. You know everybody think he's floated on air and you know when he, you know passed gas purple dust came out; no, he was a human just like everybody else. He had feelings. He had you know, and so some of the stories will be some things that you've heard before, and some of the stories will be some things that only he and i were privy to you know and um it. It'S just like. I said a beautiful way to humanize the superstar you know to to let people know that he was a man. He wanted to be treated like a normal human being, even though he knew he wasn't normal. He knew that he was downloaded by god to bring music to the world um and light and love. He knew what he was here for he knew what his purpose was um as he grew and he evolved, and you know the music changed. The message changed. It was just amazing just to see him work. You know yeah. It was amazing for us just just being the audience like that. Experience had to be just like something you'll. Never ever forget, you know yeah what was the hardest part about for for you. What was the hardest part about writing the book uh, i think just basically reliving the story. Um uh, everybody said what was your favorite story. I'M like it's like picking your favorite kid. You know. Um every story was with the artist with the man. You know the legend and so um every time i i would write a story. I would literally like have my moment where i would have to cry you know and break down and and because i couldn't believe it just tears of joy really because i couldn't believe, like i said, god chose me to walk alongside that man. There have been many other hair stylists, but kim berry got called back all the time. You know all those years um and there was because there was a level of trust and understanding and like he used to tell me he said kim you and your mama got the 911 hookup with god. I feel those prayers, so he he. You know he knew you know what i'm saying and and and we had we we laughed. We talked crazy to each other. We bagged on each other's mama's, like we did, you know we did all kind of stuff together and it was just amazing um just to be able to bring the stories. You know back to life and tell people you know. Like i said we, we rode on the colorado divide that separated the east coast from the west coast and he jumping off the horizon. I'M on the east coast, i'm jumping off the horse, i'm on the west coast, you're gon na fall off this mountain. You better be your bus still and then we riding camels in egypt - and you know across the street, you know and go walking through pyramids, and he was like him. You hear that and all of us have these different spiritual experiences as we walk through these. Through these pyramids - and it was just the most amazing thing, time after time, year after year to be able to travel the world with this man, i went in in the ice uh hotel in switzerland and and and we just they're chilling - and it was just beautiful Everything in there made out of ice, and it was just amazing, like i have stories for my children's children. You know, and it was just a beautiful thing to be able to share it. You know with the world, so i did it's a three-part series. So the part one is out now and part two is going to come out during christmas time, and so what i did was his numbers were 31 21. So i did three books. Seven chapters each so 31 21 equals the number seven in god for prince. So i did three books: seven chapters, each 21 chapters total and because i didn't want to bore the people, so i broke it down into three books. I ended each book on a cliffhanger, so it makes you look for the next book so yeah. So i didn't want to bore the people and give them this big big bible. I wanted to. You know, give a little come back. Looking for more, i heard that. That'S how you do it keep them coming, yeah we're looking forward to it. I know also you're an advocate for uh breast cancer and also women's health, and you mentor young women and into the ministry also as well. What made you get started and how long have you been doing that as well? Oh, ever since high school um young women are have always been my passion, um grooming, um etiquette, uh, just being there uh teaching them how to uh, not be a product of the of the environment that that we can rise above just like i said i i Got hand-picked literally out of the neighborhood out of inglewood, california and flown all over the world, and if it can happen for me, it can happen for you. So i want to stand and be um that voice and stand and and be that that light to let somebody know that you don't have to be a product of your environment, that you can travel the world, that you can do great things and see great things And be around great people it. Never. It never ended night after night, all the musical talent that i was able to uh be around, and i just want to share that with the world and be able to pour into young women and um the welfare to work program. My girlfriend's closet is a ministry of my uh pastor's uh wife um, my original pastor, uh, wt, irving and um. That was her ministry, but we would bring the women in and on their way to interviews. I would we would set up the store set up a salon like a mall where they could pick out their clothes. We would do hair makeup, facials nails, and it's just something. It does good that you know we're blessed to be a blessing and so that we, you know you want to be um, be able to give back. You know it's not just about taking all the time. You know that's what i love about my industry is that when you do someone's hair, they stand up straighter, you see they their shoulders go back. You know they feel different about themselves once their crown is adjusted. You know, and so that's my that's my legacy. I want to leave behind you know. Instead of tearing women down, i want to adjust your crown and have you walking a little straighter and walk it in your purpose. That is so that is so dope yeah. That is really really good and now fast forward. I know you did um at some point. You were the hairstylist for cat williams when he was on the road, correct, absolutely and now you're on set for uh. One of the most watched shows on hbo we'll talk about that. A little bit yes, uh-huh we're on set with issa rae um hbo. This is her fifth season and um. Having the time of our lives is beautiful um. I can't wait to see the finished product. It'S always interesting because everything's taped in sections, so you never know. What'S going to be weird, so i can't wait to see the finished product, but i'm just glad to be a part of her vision because she's, a visionary in and of herself and just to be a part of same thing. She said she called herself the awkward you know, young lady, when she first started um this. This whole vision and it had blossomed into something amazing, and i i'm and i'm just so proud of her and just standing in her company it just it does something good for my heart: it's just beautiful and being able to work with cat williams. Oh, my god he's such a genius when it came to that comedy and - and i was i've been with cat like 10 years now, and so i've traveled all over the world with him as well and and he's so much like prince as far as their business Acumen, you know is, is just watching videotapes and being on top of his craft and staying you know sharpening his jokes and, and you know he has a whole team around him and they go and they hit it hard every night and prince used to do the Same thing: go back every night watch his videos make the band do better, make him make every ever. If you had to be in his presence, you had to do better. You had to be a better person being around them, there's so much alike. It was just incredible, it was. It was seamless to go from one camp to the next because they they both were so much alike. It was like, i was working for the same person except one did music and one makes jokes. You keep so many people looking fly. How do you even find time for yourself your hair style, your dude tonight yeah, it's on point, so i didn't even find time for yourself we're doing all these celebrity hair styles. Oh yeah, you got ta, you got ta stay on point cause. They won't try! Nothing if you don't try anything if, when i walk in with a different style, they'd be like. Oh that's. What you're doing today, okay, they'll step out the box a little bit. Okay yeah, so we like to thank you for being a part of our show. Um is anything i mean you know. You'Re always welcome to come back. Can you um give us how we you can be reached via uh social media? Absolutely um. You can reach me at kim berry on set uh k-i-m-b-e-r-r-y on set on instagram and facebook, and also diamonds and curls uh diamonds, uh, the letter n c-u-r-l-z diamonds and curls.com and um. The book is on amazon ready for uh part. One part two will be released by the end of the year and um. You know we're just gon na keep it coming. You know, as god sees fit. We gon na keep adding to the world, like prince, said, keep bringing love and light into the world. So i'm excited, i thank you guys for allowing me to be a part of your journey. We thank you. We appreciate your time and also your stories. We appreciate it. Thank you so much yeah and go get that book dinosaurs, please two more coming at you real soon! So look out for ken barry, bye,