Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978 in Detroit, Michigan), better known simply as Dwele, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter and producer known for his work with Slum Village, J Dilla and Kanye West. After self-releasing 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 W.W.W. (W.ants. W.orld. W.omen) 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 die-hard 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 world-renowned producer J Dilla.
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