Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, US, Andwele Gardner (born February 14th, 1978) better known by his stage name Dwele, is an American soul and R&B singer/songwriter, known for his smooth, relaxed grooves.
Having lost his father at the age of ten, after he was murdered outside their family home, Dwele found solace in music, through which he was able to recover from this tragedy. Surrounded by the music of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Detroit's Motown legacy, Dwele began studying music, learning to play the trumpet, bass and guitar.
He recorded a bedroom demo, which he titled "The Rize," selling 100 copies locally within a week, catching the attention of fellow Detroit natives, Slum Village, J Dilla's renowned hip-hop group. They invited Dwele to sing on their track "Tainted," from the album "Trinity (Past,Present,Future) in 2002, which became a hit for the group.
Through his songwriting prowess and adept performance abilities, Dwele was signed to Virgin Records in 2003, releasing his major debut, "Subject," which became particularly popular with European audiences. His second album, "Some Kinda…" (2005) reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart. His next three releases, "Sketches of a Man" (2008), "W.ants W.orld W.omen" (2010) and "Greater Than One" (2012) continued this success in breaking into the top ten.
His music has been praised for its vintage sound rooted in soul yet also its contemporary re-imagining of Motown and soul through his use of hip-hop influenced production and grooves. He manages to avoid rehashing old ideas, instead delivering forward-thinking soul music that sounds fresh and exciting.
156/Silence
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