Okayplayer Exclusive: Dionne Warwick is Entering Her Final Chapter in Music and She’s Letting What’s Next Come to Her

On a sunny afternoon in late March, a black SUV pulls up outside the Okayplayer office a little earlier than expected. The driver steps out and opens the back door, and there sits Ms. Dionne Warwick, calm, composed and ready for the day ahead.

She doesn’t need help getting out, but she lets you know, politely, that she doesn’t move as quickly as she used to. By the time she reaches the office, she’s already taking it all in — greeting everyone with a smile, a hug and a vibe that fills the room without even trying.

Sitting across from Dionne Warwick, the first thing you notice isn’t her legacy. It’s her presence.

She’s warm, sharp and fully engaged. She reminds you of that nurturing grandmother who has a wealth of knowledge to give because she’s lived enough life to share it. She asks questions, expects real answers, and doesn’t feel the need to soften her perspective to make anyone else comfortable. And after 66 years in the R&B and soul game, she’s earned that right. Truthfully, she’s likely always been this way, and that’s part of the foundation of her longevity.

It’s the same energy that’s carried her across generations of R&B and soul. The kind that doesn’t conform or bend to what’s current or expected. You can hear it in her music, feel it in her aura, and see it now on Twitter, where her wit and honesty have introduced her to an entirely new audience.

For someone who has helped shape the genre, there’s a quiet confidence in how she moves. The 85-year-old icon from East Orange, NJ, isn’t concerned with keeping up, but she’s deeply aware of what she represents — especially after navigating an industry that hasn’t always made space for that kind of authority, voice or staying power. It shows up in how she speaks about today’s artists, particularly younger women, with both admiration for how they’ve taken control of their careers and a clear perspective on what she feels is missing.

She doesn’t spend much time listening to today’s music, often preferring the work of her peers, but she pays attention to how this generation operates. Especially the way Black women are expanding beyond the music and leaving their own imprint.

At a time when women in music are redefining what ownership, visibility and longevity look like, Ms. Dionne — a name she graciously allowed us to use — sits at the center of that conversation. Not just as a reflection of what’s been done, but as a standard for what it looks like to endure, evolve and stand firm in who you are.

Now, as she prepares to release DWuets this summer — a project written entirely by Diane Warren and featuring artists like Cynthia Erivo, John Legend and Kehlani — she’s focused on the joy of it. The people, the music and the chance to connect across generations one more time.

Because what she’s really looking forward to isn’t just the work, it’s the life after it. Being home. Sleeping in her own bed. Cooking her own meals her way. Spending time in Brazil, which she calls her second home. Playing cards and pinochle with friends. Going to the movies.

In other words, just being normal.

And whatever comes next, God is her GPS.

But before Ms. Dionne gets there, she’s fully present in the moment she’s in now.

Okayplayer: After over six decades in music, what stands out to you most about R&B today?

Dionne Warwick: I must admit I don't listen to the genres of today. I think the music of today is for a much younger ear, which leads me to my listening pleasure of my era, and also those who recorded during my period of time.

What do you feel has changed the most in how artists express themselves today?

Well, the sound, of course, is a lot different. It's coming from a much younger place, first of all. Well, above all that, when I say I'm listening to my peers, who have recorded some of the most incredible music as far as I'm concerned, I'm listening to words that I don't mind hearing. Today is a little bit questionable to me. I don't feel that comfortable listening to someone cursing at me, or calling me names, or anything of that nature. I think there's a lot that our babies — as I call them — can learn from those of yesteryear. 

They love going, 'You’re old school.’ And I usually report back to them that, ‘Yeah, I am old school.’ But there had to be an old school before there was a new one. That’s for sure. So I think they still have a little bit to learn. That everything that they're saying can be said in a different way. A more palatable way. There's always another way to say anything that you have to say. 

When I first got involved with the internet, that was a lot of fun for me because it turned that around. Letting them know, ‘Yeah, I'm going to laugh along with you. You're going to laugh along with me.’ There's always another alternative way to say whatever it is that you have to say without going crazy. That's exactly what I feel most of them are doing. They're actually going crazy right now.

What do you enjoy most about connecting with people on X (formerly Twitter)?

Oh, some of the questions that I ask. As I said when I first got on, I'm going to be asking a lot of questions that I expect some answers, and you can ask me anything and I'll give you an answer. I think that basically is how we communicate. We have to talk to each other and as I said, every time I was on Twitter or poking a little fun at folks on Twitter, that's why I thought I was a comedian instead of… [laughs] I love to smile, I love to laugh and that was the message that I left with all of them. At the end of every conversation that you're going to have, always end it with a smile.

Do you feel like women today truly have more ownership and control in the industry?

I think it's wonderful that women have decided: I am who I am, and I have been accepted. Which is even more incredible for me. Coming from the younger era that I'm able to now sit back and watch, which is wonderful to see our youngsters taking control of themselves and doing it great alone. It's wonderful. I am sure that those youngsters who are now coming up in the female era are learning. They're sitting there watching, they’re talking to these youngsters who are just phenomenally… just flying. Nothing makes me happier.

What excites you most about this new generation of artists?

The fact that when they were asked if they would like to be a part of this project, they were immediate, ‘Yes.’ Whoa, really? And that's very exciting for me. It means they have some knowledge of who I am and what I've done, and they now want to be a part of it, which is very exciting.

If one woman artist could reimagine your work, who would you choose and why?

Nobody. No. I have always felt that there's nobody like Dionne. There never will be. It's only one me. I think everybody that has any aspirations of becoming a recording artist should be themselves, whatever that is. So I wouldn't think anybody would want to attempt to do anything I've done, unless they make it their own, which has been done. 

Immediately coming to mind is Luther Vandross. Lu, I think, has done about four of my recordings, but each time he's done it, he made it a Luther Vandross event, which makes me happy. I'm totally in love with him. I miss him terribly. We talked at least three times a day. Aretha Franklin, she took ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ and made it her own. That's an interesting fact. When you are going to take someone else's work, make sure that you don't try to be that person. That you are who you are, and that's how you're going to get the song back.

What continues to drive you creatively at this point in your career?

I think just waking up every morning, for one thing. I don't know. I have always said that. 'What's next? What's next?' My answer will and always has been: whatever God has planned for me to do. I'm walking the path he's put me on, and that is literally my answer to, 'What else have you got to do?' I don't know what else I have to do until He points me in that direction and there I go, boogity boogity.

Why did this feel like the right moment to work with Diane Warren and release DWuets?

After 66 years out here on the road, and recording, I think I've given an awful lot of Dionne. It's time for Dionne to kind of maybe enjoy a bit of herself for a minute. It's at the point to running up and down this road is not the easiest thing in the world, especially for a female. And it's not to say that if something wonderful happens to come up that I might want to consider doing. And of course, if they're going to give me the building and pay, then I'll consider that. But until that time I have, I think, done what I was supposed to do. 

I'm doing one world tour now. We're preparing for that to say, ‘Bye bye.’  Then I'm going to take some time for me and do whatever it is that comes to mind. I would like to just sleep in my own soft bed, not thinking about a hotel room or anything of that nature. Getting up in the morning, going into my own kitchen, cooking my own food the way I want to eat it, not the way somebody else made it. Getting back down to Brazil, spending time with my friends there and enjoying what I refer to as my second home. Going to a movie, going out to dinner with some friends, playing some pinochle with my friends, that kind of thing.

What do you look for in artists you collaborate with today, and is there anything you can share about who’s on the project?

You have to know, I've recorded with some of the créme de la créme of today and of yesterday. When you find that — and I call them my babies — when they are as forthright and coming saying, ‘Yes, we want do this. Yes, we have to do this. Yes, we want you to know how much we appreciate you.’ When I approached Cynthia Erivo, I mean it was a no-brainer. You're like, ‘Are you kidding me? Of course.’ And my next single will be with John Legend. And everybody in the world knows that he's one of my babies, too. And when I approached him, it was the whole, ‘Of course. Yes.’ You don't expect that because most of our kids are running their own lives and doing a very good job of that, too, I must say. But when they stop and say, ‘Absolutely,’ it makes my little heart just go pitter-patter-patter. It's a good thing.

How involved are you in shaping your story for the biopic with Teyana Taylor?

I don’t think I have to be. Anyone that knows me has got to be portrayed that way. And I got to also say, [Teyana] is more than willing to give me everything that she thinks I should know, how I should know it, etcetera. I feel that Teyana's my alter ego because I said it yesterday on Sherri Shepherd’s show, she has no filter, and I want to know what a filter is. I am accused of not having a filter. And I guess it's just being straight up honest. And if that's how I'm going to be, I don't want a filter. Nobody can ever say I have one. 

My grandfather who was a minister, he was probably one of the wisest men that walked this Earth. Second only to Jesus, OK? But he said, ‘Why tell a lie when the truth is available?’ I never forgot that. And all my friends will let you know, and anybody else, if you have a question for Dionne or need an answer for Dionne: don't ask it unless you really want the truth. ’Cause I'm going to always give you the truth. I love the truth. I really do. And there's no point in me lying. What for? What's the purpose?

What do you feel like you’re stepping into next?I haven't given it any thought. I really haven't. Like I said, I don't know what He’s got in store for me — or She — however you want to look at it. When the time comes and they say, ‘OK, step to the right.’ That's what we gon’ do. I'm going to step to the right, and then they're going to take me from there. I don't know what I'm going to do yet.