Charlie Wilson has been in the game a long time, with all the peaks and valleys that a half-century music career guarantees. He first found fame alongside his brothers in The Gap Band and has since lent his voice first to Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Nas, and Tyler, the Creator. Last year, he and Ronald Isley remixed Fetty Wap’s “Sweet Yamz.”
To kick off Black Music Month, Wilson visited NPR’s offices for a Tiny Desk Concert found the venerated R&B singer in rare form. It’s the first in a string of performances from “Black artists expressing themselves in ways we’ve never seen before,” according to NPR. Accompanied by a seven-piece band and a full complement of backup singers, Wilson put together an impressive, extensive run of Gap Band originals and songs you might be surprised to learn he appeared on — think Usher‘s “There Goes My Baby“ and “Computer Love” by ZAPP.
