BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
Charlie Wilson is a familiar presence in Atlanta most summers at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.
He’s known for both bringing the party and the smooth during his live shows, which is one reason why he’s upgrading to arenas on his new tour with fellow R&B-soul charmers Kem and Joe (their Philips Arena show on Saturday is sold out).
His fans adore him and they’ve supported “Uncle” Charlie from his ‘70s and ‘80s heyday with the Gap Band through a solo career that started in 1992 and most recently bore the audio gift “Forever Charlie,” his seventh studio album that has produced the finger-snapper “Goodnight Kisses.”
On a call from New York the week his new album bowed in January, the always-beguiling Wilson talked about his guests on the album, why he’s touring with Kem and Joe and his love for Atlanta.
Q: You recently celebrated your 62nd birthday. Do birthdays mean more to you having endured those health scares (in 2008 Wilson was diagnosed with prostate cancer; he continues to be an advocate for testing)?
A: Birthdays to me now are just a number. Other people, when you say birthdays they think about the age. I think about thanking God for another year of living. I don't think about the day I was born, but that I had a chance to wake up again and live another year. That's the only way I look at it. I'm so happy about life; I celebrate it all the time. I pray twice a day and thank God for life.
Q: Tell me about this tour. Why did you want to tour with Joe and Kem?
A: Because they're some of the greatest singers we have right now and they understand how to put on a show and they're gonna go hard. They're gonna sing and put it down.
Q: Will there be any collaborations?
A: You never know what the three of us could do on a live night. Go big or go home, we're not in theaters, we're in arenas, and everything gets bigger. All (fans) need to do is show up.
Q: Speaking of, you have some great collaborations on this album. What was it like working with Shaggy?
A: Shaggy was such a sweetheart. He cut his part either in Jamaica or New York and the files didn't make it in. So when I called him to tell him, Shaggy got on a plane and came to L.A. and recorded the whole thing over.
Q: You and Snoop Dogg go back a long time. Was it a no-brainer to have him involved?
A: I was so happy to have him on this new record because I'm on his new record that I thought would come out before mine. But the record me and him done for his album, I'm on about nine songs. I'm always there for Snoop. When it comes to him or Pharrell (Williams), I'm here, put me on whatever. I'll sing on everything. When I asked him to come on my record, he was like, I'm going to light this thing up. It's a beautiful thing to have Snoop, he has a great spirit.
Q: How do you manage to bridge the gap between funk and rap so well?
A: It's a thin line trying to figure out what you need to do. One thing I don't do is I don't try to make records for radio. I don't try to please one genre or one generation of people. What I do try to do is make great records, records that will be around for a while, that people are gonna sing 20 years from now. I try to remember that what worked then will work now, it's just how you purchase the records is all that's different now. I think I've got my finger on the pulse of knowing what my fans like and what they miss. Me and Kanye (West) or me and Pharrell, it's just been a blessing to do that music and be heard and you can find out who Uncle Charlie is. But I'm not talking about your booty. I'm not going to be degrading women.
Q: You seem to want to always want to work with younger artists – I still remember you tearing it up at the BET Awards a couple of years ago – but do you seek inspiration from them?
A: For sure. I call them my famous nephews. Those guys are really keyed into what music is. They have the same mentality that I have. A guy like Pharrell, he loves real music. People are missing that. "Goodnight Kisses," that's real music. "Happy," that's real music. Everybody in the world heard that record.
Q: One of your fans wanted me to ask where the “ooh wee” comes from in your songs?
A: It started years ago. I just said it, loved it, and ran out of words to say one night and I started chanting things and it stuck. Sometimes you have a phrase and you don't have anything else to say! I ran out of lyrics and that was the thing to say.
Q: It seems as if Atlanta is a good market for you.
A: I just remember back in the day, Atlanta, when the Omni was there, we used to sell that place out. I remember we'd do two nights back in the day. That market was always big for the Gap Band. It's like they just stuck with me. Atlanta is so supportive of Charlie Wilson. They continue to stay supportive of Charlie, they know he's going to put on a show for you and he's going to sweat. I love Atlanta, Atlanta loves me and I'm so happy that the city is such a big fan.
Charlie Wilson with Kem and Joe. 8 p.m. Saturday. Sold out. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
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