Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978), known professionally as Dwele, is an American R&B singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He is best known for his guest appearance on

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's 2007 single " Flashing Lights" as well as his often-uncredited performance on West's 2010 single "

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

", both of which peaked within the top 30 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Gardner's 2003 debut solo single " Find a Way" narrowly entered the chart and led his debut studio album, '' Subject'' (2003), released by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

Biography

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 Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, and

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

as favorite artists, and took inspiration from

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip< ...

, becoming an MC, and working with

Slum Village Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Record ...

. 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 hip hop group

and their producer

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

. Slum Village invited Dwele to sing the hook of the song " Tainted" for their album '' Trinity (Past, Present and Future)''. It was successful and led to more high-profile work with rapper

Bahamadia Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American Hip hop music, hip hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, ''Kollage (album), Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released ...

, the group Lucy Pearl and London's New Sector Movement. Dwele signed to

in 2001, and the label released his debut album, '' Subject'' in spring 2003, which mixed

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

and hip hop. In a 2005 review in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', his style was summed up: "Dwele's rooted in vintage soul but isn't stuck in the past, overly reverential or an exercise in pastiche - there's a major hip-hop 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. He released his fourth album titled, '' W.ants W.orld W.omen'', on June 29, 2010. Dwele was featured on the first single from Ye's fifth studio album, ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of ...

''. The song is entitled "

". He is also featured on " Flashing Lights" from West's 2007 album ''

Graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

''. Dwele released the first single, "What Profit", from his fifth studio album ''Greater Than One''. The song was written and produced by

Mike City Michael Flowers, known professionally as Mike City (born December 2, 1970), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for producing the singles " I Wish" for Carl Thomas, " Heard It All Before" for Sunshine Ande ...

, the same producer behind his other singles "I Think I Love U" and "What's Not to Love". The song was sent to radio on May 22, 2012.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Featured on

References

External links

* – official site *
Dwele: W.ants W.orld W.omen
review at Cream {{Authority control 1978 births Living people American people of Nigerian descent American neo soul singers Midwest hip-hop musicians Progressive soul musicians Virgin Records artists MNRK Music Group artists American hip-hop singers Singers from Detroit American contemporary R&B singers 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers