So I’ve been very privileged to have known and worked with my Detroit homie, Andwele Gardner for over a decade now; I fell in love with his spacey Detroit Hip Hop soul music at the end of the noughties, went to Detroit and got him and the late J Dilla to feature on a few acts I was a&r’ing while working at Universal Music (UK soul group Spacek signed to Mos Def MCA/Universal imprint and L.A rapper and poet T Love signed to Virgin Records).
This is Dwele’s 10 year anniversary of gigs at London’s famous Jazz Cafe; it is now a scaled down 3 nite residency after having performed years of 5 date UK shows. On this occasion he brought his beloved mother; fondly referred to as momma G.
After getting in sync with his excellent UK band members on the debut night; the atmosphere for the second evening’s show was electric.. Having reached the venue just as soul vocalist Alyusha and the homie MC Zani were being applauded for what must have been a very good performance.
The vibes kept flowing with a brief warm up DJ set by the seasoned Calvin Francis, Dwele’s band members embarked unto centre stage; joined by the very soulful and lead bv’s of Detroit’s J Tait..
Immaculately dressed in co-ordinated suits and now a more mature Dwele sporting a hint of grey hair and no longer the signature mass of twisted afro stylee. Typically in a Dwele audience, the female fanbase has always outnumbered the male ratio; this show was no different.
Performing songs from a catalogue birthed from from his 2000 debut entry to present day; included some seasoned favourites like Cheatin, Find A Way. Dwele did his usual performance signature by serenading a young lady on stage and then temporarily jumped into the audience to be close to his fans. Highlights of the evening being when the band showcased their individual skills and when momma G took centre stage for a solo boogie. New York Hip Hop artists came though to show appreciation; Brooklyn’s Talib Kweli and Queensbrige’s Cormega, both fans of the Detroit RnB / musician / rapper.
All three shows were a huge success with many happy audiences; the tour continued to Paris.
Until next time !!!!!!!
#BigPromo
Twitters :
@thadboogie
@therealdwele
@jtaitsinger
@talibkweli
@cormega
