Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978 in Detroit, Michigan), better known… Read Full Bio ↴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. 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." A second album, Some Kinda..., followed in 2005. He then later signed with RT Music Group and KOCH records in March, 2008. He is coming out with his fourth album titled, W.W.W. (W.ants. W.orld. W.omen) coming out June 29, 2010. Dwele was recently featured on the first single off of Kanye West's fifth studio album, Good Ass Job. The song was entitled "Power" and was leaked on May 28, 2010.

Holla
Dwele Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We're gonna miss you, poppa yo
And you know I speak the truth
I learned that two years ago now my lady
And I've had to find a way to make you mine
Remembering the summer, I was twuneanunda (twenty and under)
Had to take it one day at a time
Had an angel and a subject at the same time
Sho ya right

They crossed passed at mahogany
I tried to make it work, remember I said, let's (let's) try (try)
This life without you is not for a brother
That's why I'm here trying to find my some kinda....

Love! Love la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la- Love!

To be continued [x5]

Move to the drum, my L.A. babies
Where the night life is young,
You will find your soul
Holla! for your man's
It's addictive baby
I don't know about you
But I can't fight it

Holla [x8]

Let the beat move your soul my New York mommas
You're giving me control by moving to this song
You gon make me lose my girl, and all that drama
I swear I'm lovin you,
You love it to, then holla

If y'all be feeling this ladies say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah oh oOo
And, If y'all be feeling this fellas say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah
ooo oh
And, If y'all be feeling this chickens say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock
If y'all be feeling this everybody say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- ee-yeah
oh oOo

Holla [x8]

Swing your bum to this one
My Detroit mommas
Hold me down on this one
Throw up your hands to this one
My Detroit players
Hold me down on this one
And holla...

If y'all be feeling this ladies say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah oh oOo
And, If y'all keep feeling this fellas say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah
ooo oh
And, If y'all be feeling this chickens say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock
oh Oh
If y'all be feeling this everybody say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- ee-yeah

And, If y'all be feeling this ladies say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah
oh oOo
And, If y'all be feeling this fellas say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah
ooo oh
If chickens is feeling this please say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock
Everybody if you feel this for my people say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-
ee-yeah

Holla [until fade]

[Phone rings:]
[Dwele:] Yo
[Guy 1:] What's up Dwele man, what you into man?
[Dwele:] Shit, Holla at me
[Guy 1:] man we tryin to this club,
man trying to hit Icon or something man, you down?
[Dwele:] Naw man, I'm tired dude
[Guy 1:] You tired man!?
[Dwele:] Ya man
[Guy 1:] Step out with your boys man,
we only see you every blue moon man.
Let's go see the city man and the sights baby
[silence]
HELLO!? Man this nigga here going to sleep man,
this nigaa back in town, man don't want to kick it with his peoples man.

[Guy in the background:] That nigga asleep?
[Guy 1:] Man this nigga pass the caken? man, I don't know man

Overall Meaning

In the beginning of the song, the artist reflects on love and loss. He talks about missing someone referred to as "poppa yo" and how he's been trying to find a way to make his lady his. He reminisces about the summer when he was "twuneanunda" (twenty and under), and how he had an angel and a subject in his life at the same time. He recalls trying to make it work and how life without his loved ones is not for him. Then the chorus comes in with "Love" repeated several times, implying that love is the solution to his problems.

The second half of the song talks about partying and dancing, enjoying the night with friends and meeting new people. It says the night is young, and there's soul to be found. He encourages everyone to "Holla" and let the beat of the music move their souls. The song ends with a conversation between the artist and a friend about going out and having fun, but the artist declines, saying he's tired.

Overall, the song portrays a sense of loss and longing for love while also having a fun and carefree element to it. The lyrics encourage others to embrace life and enjoy the moment.

Line by Line Meaning

We’re gonna miss you, poppa yo
We are going to miss you, dad.

And you know I speak the truth
You know that what I am saying is true.

I learned that two years ago now my lady
I learned that two years ago, my girlfriend.

And I’ve had to find a way to make you mine
And I had to find a way to make you mine.

Remembering the summer, I was twuneanunda (twenty and under)
Remembering the summer that I was twenty and under.

Had to take it one day at a time
I had to take it one day at a time.

Had an angel and a subject at the same time
I had an angel and a subject at the same time.

Sho' ya right
Are you sure?

They crossed passed at mahogany
They ran into each other at the club Mahogany.

I tried to make it work, remember I said, let’s (let’s) try (try)
I tried to make the relationship work, remember I said we should give it a try.

This life without you is not for a brother
I cannot imagine my life without you.

That’s why I’m here trying to find my some kinda
That's why I am here trying to find my identity.

Love! Love la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la- Love!
Love! (repeated line of the song)

To be continued
The song will continue.

Move to the drum, my L.A. babies
Dance to the beat, my youth from L.A.

Where the night life is young,
Where people enjoy the nightlife.

You will find your soul
You will discover your true self.

Holla! for your man’s
Shout out for your boyfriend.

It’s addictive baby
It is irresistible.

I don’t know about you
I do not know about you.

But I can’t fight it
But I cannot resist it.

Holla, holla, holla, holla
Shout out, shout out, shout out, shout out.

Let the beat move your soul my New York mommas
Let the rhythm inspire you, my female friends from New York.

You’re giving me control by moving to this song
You are giving me the power by dancing to this song.

You gon make me lose my girl, and all that drama
You are going to make me lose my girlfriend and all the drama that comes with it.

I swear I’m lovin you,
I swear that I am loving you.

You love it to, then holla
If you also love me, then shout out.

If y’all be feeling this ladies say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah oh ooh
If you are feeling the song, ladies say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah oh ooh.

And, If y’all be feeling this fellas say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah ooh oh
And, if you are feeling the song, guys say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah ooh oh.

And, If y’all be feeling this chickens say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock
And, if you are feeling the song, say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock.

If y’all be feeling this everybody say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- ee-yeah oh ooh
If you are feeling the song, everybody say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- ee-yeah oh ooh.

Swing your bum to this one
Swing your hips to this song.

My Detroit mommas
My female friends from Detroit.

Hold me down on this one
Support me with this song.

Throw up your hands to this one
Raise your hands up with this song.

My Detroit players
My male friends from Detroit.

If y’all be feeling this chickens say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock oh Oh
If you are feeling the song, say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- bu cock oh Oh.

If y’all be feeling this everybody say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- ee-yeah
If you are feeling the song, everybody say yea-ee-yeah-ee-yeah- ee-yeah.

Yo
Hey

What’s up Dwele man, what you into man?
What are you doing, Dwele?

Shit, Holla at me
Talk to me.

Man we tryin' to this club, man trying to hit Icon or something man, you down?
We are trying to go to the club Icon, are you coming with us?

Naw man, I’m tired dude
No man, I am tired.