I just finished this mix and I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it was going through Dwele’s catalog of countless contributions to global soul music! I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I did making it. (Click Dwele’s picture at the bottom of the page to hear it!)
Dwele is quite possibly the most creative, crafty and coolest cats in the indie Soul game. Influenced by the melodies and harmonies of fellow Detroit Soul-diers like Smokey, Stevie, Marvin, Leon Ware and others, Dwele’s consistency and compositions carved out his own ‘Raw and Breezy’ brand of modern day Motown Soul. The ‘Jarobi’ of the post-Native Tongue, ‘Neo Soul’ movement, Dwele is like the ‘Soulaquarian’ who missed picture day.
No knock on his contemporaries, (Eric Roberson, Vikter Duplaix, Raheem DeVaughn, Bilal, Musiq SoulChild and the like) but I’ve never seen anyone of them stop their show in the moment and go “Prince” on their band– moving away from the mic , turning the stage into an interactive playground– a merry-go-round ‘as it were, (on the night I last saw him perform live in Atlanta) I was kinda in awe ‘watching him’ re-arrange a song right before our eyes. This dude, known primarily as a crooner, deftly played each of his band members’ parts.. one at a time- drums, bass, guitar and keys , then slid right back into the spotlight behind the mic, at center of his soul symphony.
Dwele’s legendary self-produced demo ‘R.I.Z.E.’ (which was one of the most bootlegged R&B projects in the digital-file sharing era), propelled Dwele onto the mainstream, with most of his demo material becoming a majority of the production of his critically-acclaimed Solo debut album, “The Subject.” (Click to see the info about the concert in ATLANTA!)
He infused soulful tones with traditional R&B hooks and slick lyricism to create a modern classic. But the ‘flashing lights’ of the mainstream success “eleuud-ed” him because Urban Radio program directors discarded Neo Soul, replacing it with repetitious and raunchy Hip-Hop/R&B consisting mostly of cavorting and consumption– a pervasive trend that’s left several soul talents with something else to say out to pasture. Dwele did the dance with major labels for a while before bouncing to the beat of an independent drum. Program directors dropped the ball and continue to do so, but it hasn’t stopped Dwele or his fans from finding a way.
Approaching this mix, I wanted to put some paint where it ain’t, so-to-speak. So before I started recording, I got inspired by listening to about 3 or 4 mixes from different Dj’s on SoundCloud.com who posted their “Best Of Dwele’ mixes, respectively. Dwele has so many undeniably raw joints I knew I’d delight in mixing them as devotedly as my fellow tastemakers did. The challenge was weaving it all together, Dj Tabone style.. that Raw Soul Vibe..lol. So, I just went for it and here’s what happened.
Click the pic to hear The Raw Soul of Dwele G Mixed by Dj Tabone
Ridin High – PPP. f. Eleuud
Sho Ya Right
What’s Not To Love
L.O.V.E.
Wanna Be Starting Something (MJ Cover)
Find A Way
I Think I Love You
Infinite Infiniti – (White Label Re-Edit)
The Sun (Dwele Remix) – Frank McCombs
Obey (AppleJac Remix)
Power w/ Kanye West
Melodies & Harmonies
Dime Piece (J Dilla Remix)
A Dime For Your Thoughts
Eve (Spacek Cover)
Open Your Eyes (Bobby Caldwell Cover)
No Worries w/ Robert Glasper Experiment
Jimmy Down
Hangover
It’s The Weekend f. Bahamadia
Don’t Fight The Feeling w/ Slum Village
Flashing Lights w/ Kanye West
Without You
The Truth
Tainted w/ Slum Village
Tales From The Booth 
