Part of being a “purpleholic” is that I have to get my Prince fix anywhere I could find it. My mother enabled my habit in the early days by buying all of his records and B-sides, and by ripping out magazine photos of Prince from the orthodontist’s office during my monthly visits.

Prince was an enabler too. When I couldn’t get enough of him, he unleashed a wave of multi talented singers, writers, producers and performers that made it hard to kick the habit.

The habit lingers to this day. Remember the 1980′s R&B hit “Screams of Passion” by The Family? The group is now Family2.0. They are putting together one of the best R&B, Funk, make-you-wanna-slap somebody’s-momma-albums I’ve heard in a long time.

The Family 2.0 includes the original group members of The Family, St. Paul Peterson (also of the Time); Susannah Melvoin (twin sister of the Revolution’s Wendy Melvoin); Jelly Bean Johnson (also of the Time); Eric Leeds (also of Madhouse); and Jerome Benton (also of the Time).

How is The Family 2.0 sounding after all of this time? St. Paul said it best after a recent live Family 2.0 performance in Minneapolis, “Oh My Funky!”

You can find The Family 2.0 on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. Their forthcoming album is slated for a fall 2009 release.

Check out music from the forthcoming Family 2.0 album.