Andwele Gardner
(born February 14,1978), [1] better known by his stage name Dwele
is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.
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DWELE TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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| Dwele & Goapele Tickets 5/31 | May 31, 2025
Sat, 8:00 PM |  | | Dwele Tickets 6/20 | Jun 20, 2025
Fri, 6:00 PM | | | Dwele Tickets 6/20 | Jun 20, 2025
Fri, 9:30 PM | | | Dwele Tickets 6/28 | Jun 28, 2025
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Sat, 9:30 PM | |
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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,
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 world-renowned producer
J Dilla.
[4]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 all-star group
Lucy Pearl and London's 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: "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."
[5] A second album,
Some Kinda...
, followed in 2005.
He then later signed with RT Music Group and KOCH records in March, 2008
[6]
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album
| Chart positions
|
| The Billboard 200 [7]
| Top Independent Albums | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums |
| 2000
| Rize
(Self-released)
| -
| -
| -
|
| 2003
| Subject
| 108
| -
| 20
|
| 2005
| Some Kinda...
| 54
| -
| 10
|
| 2008
| Sketches of a Man
| 35
| 4
| 7
|
| 2009
| Dwele
| -
| -
| -
|
Singles
| Year
| Title
| Chart positions
| Album
|
| U.S.
| U.S. R&B [8]
|
| 2003
| "Find a Way"
| 93
| 42
| Subject
|
| 2004
| "Hold On" (featuring Eric Roberson)
| –
| 53
| Subject
|
| 2005
| "I Think I Love U"
| –
| 53
| Some Kinda...
|
| 2006
| "Weekend Love"
| –
| 116
| Some Kinda...
|
| 2007
| "The People" (with Common)
| 111
| 56
| Finding Forever
|
| 2007
| "Flashing Lights" (with Kanye West)
| 29
| 12
| Graduation
|
| 2008
| "I'm Cheatin"
| –
| 29
| Sketches of a Man
|
| 2008
| "A Few Reasons (Truth Pt.2)"
| -
| 75
| Sketches of a Man
|
Featured On
| Year
| Information
|
| 2002
| Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
(Slum Village)
|
| 2003
| New Awakening
(DJ MITSU The Beats)
|
| 2004
| Pure
(Boney James)
|
| 2006
| Shine
(Boney James)
|
| 2006
| SOULidified
(Hil St. Soul)
|
| 2006
| The Shining (J Dilla album)
(J Dilla)
|
| 2006
| Dirty District Vol.3
(Brucie B.)
|
| 2006
| Witness My Growth
(Elzhi)
|
| 2007
| Desire (Pharoahe Monch album)
|
| 2007
| Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2
(2pac)
|
| 2007
| Interpretations: Celebrating The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire
|
| 2007
| Flashing Lights
(Kanye West)
|
| 2008
| Brooklyn's Don Diva
(Foxy Brown (rapper))
|
| 2008
| Of All The Things (Jazzanova album)
(Jazzanova)
|
| 2008
| The Dresden Soul Symphony
|
| 2009
| Death of a Man Rebirth of a King
(Pryslezz)
|
References
- "Drawing on His Roots", ''The Detroit News'', 25 June 2008
- Title:Mellow & mature: Dwele unveils 'sketches' of life, love.(Andwele Gardner)
- Rennie, Andrew (2008) "Dwele", ''Format'', 29 June 2008
-
Koch Records: Dwele
- Verma, Rahul (2005) "Dwele, Jazz Café, London", ''The Independent'', 22 February 2005
- KOCH Records Announces New Deal With RT Music Group and Soul Sensation Dwele
- Billboard.com -Dwele
- Billboard.com Top 100 Dwele Singles