Urban Thought Collective

Legendary funkster Charlie Wilson discusses his battle with prostate cancer.
Presented by Electronic Urban Report.

Charlie Wilson, a.k.a. Uncle Charlie, has one of the most distinct and familiar voices in R&B.

The former lead singer of the very funky GAP Band, laced the ’80s hits “Burn Rubber on Me,” “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” “Early in the Morning,” and “Outstanding,” and while the GAP Band is legendary, Wilson took his show solo in 2005 and now the troubadour has released his second solo disc, “Uncle Charlie,” leading with the hit single, “There Goes My Baby.”

The record debuted at #1 on the R&B Albums chart last month, but the success of the album hasn’t necessarily been the singer’s greatest promotion lately. In addition to supporting “Uncle Charlie,” Wilson has also been speaking out on behalf of prostate cancer testing. Certainly, it’s a worthy topic, but it’s more than that for Wilson. Just as he was putting the finishing touches on his new disc, he was diagnosed with the disease.

“I’m feeling a lot better now, for sure,” he told EUR’s Lee Bailey.

According to Wilson, he got the news after going in for a routine annual check up.

“I do it every year, but my wife insisted on me getting a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test. My test came back 3.9,” he said of the level in his blood. “My doctor was concerned and asked me to do another test 30 days later. I did the test again, and it came back 4.9.”

Concerned because the one-point jump was particularly aggressive, his doctor told him to see a specialist.

“I went to a prostate specialist and he wanted to do a biopsy. So we a biopsy and he said, ‘Charlie, I have some good news and some bad news.’”

When Wilson asked for the bad news first, his doctor told him he had prostate cancer.

“I immediately tried to…

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