Dwele

Dwele may be best known for his appearances on Kanye West’s singles “Flashing Lights” and “Power”, but the soul singer’s catalogue runs deep. Born in 1978 in Detroit, Dwele started making music as a child to cope with his grief following the untimely death of his father. He drew inspiration from the jazz and soul legends he heard at home, including Donny Hathaway, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. After the regional success of his 1998 demo tape, The Rize, Dwele worked closely with local hip-hop heroes Slum Village, most notably on 2002’s R&B-leaning “Tainted”. Dwele married the aesthetics of his idols with modern sounds on his 2003 debut album, Subject, a record that established him as a neo-soul force in his own right. While he continued collaborating with hip-hop artists like Kanye West, Common and Big Sean, Dwele has also built a solid catalogue of releases all united by a devotion to expressive lyrics and the soulful soundscapes that carry them.