Dwele

Andwele Gardner born February 14 1978 in Detroit Michigan better known simply as Dwele is an American RB and soul singersongwriter and producer known for his work with Slum Village J Dilla and Kanye West After selfreleasing the demo tape Rize in 2000 he released his debut studio album Subject in 2003 through Virgin Records his second album Some Kinda followed in 2005 and his third studio album Sketches of a Man was released in 2008 His fourth studio album WWW Wants World Women was released in 2010 Although Dwele has had somewhat of a short career as a commercially avaliable artist he has a vast catalogue of material currently unreleased that diehard fans revere as some of his best work considerably superior to his material released as a signed artist that showcases the true depth of his artistic and diverse talent displayed without constraint Gardner was raised on the west side of Detroit in a musical family He played piano from the age of six later taking up trumpet bass and guitar He was deeply affected by the fatal shooting of his father outside his home when he was age ten later stating I learned to put my emotions into music it was my therapy He cites Stevie Wonder Donny Hathaway Roy Ayers Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard as favorite artists and took inspiration from hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest becoming an MC and working with Slum Village Gardner recorded a demo in his bedroom called The Rize and sold it out of the trunk of his car He had about 100 copies which sold out within a week He caught the ears of local heroes Slum Village and more specifically their worldrenowned producer J Dilla Slum Village invited Dwele to sing the hook of the song Tainted for their album Trinity Past Present and Future It became an instant classic and led to more high profile work with female rapper Bahamadia the allstar group Lucy Pearl and Londons New Sector Movement Dwele signed to Virgin Records in 2003 who released his debut album Subject which mixed neo soul and hip hop In a 2005 review in The Independent his style was summed up Dweles rooted in vintage soul but isnt stuck in the past overly reverential or an exercise in pastiche theres a major hiphop edge which betrays his original incarnation as a rapper A second album Some Kinda followed in 2005 He then later signed with RT Music Group and KOCH records in March 2008