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.
I'm sorry
Dwele Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before I dream of something else
(And have the greatest song ever wrote) (ooh)
And with a hazy eye, I build myself upright
Grab for my pen and screw, to bear my soul and I hope
The hand can translate my flow (hmm)
For overzealous pen it seems
It has a dream of being
The greatest pen this hand will ever hold
Sometimes in the journey though, the mind to pen seems so cold
The translation is hard to hold, and we ain't even got to the studio
And now she waits to distract my motivated stroll
Come back to bed, is the song she sings
She hates when I wake her from her lucid dream
But she don't know what this song could mean
(Oh I) Why can't it wait
Wait til the sun's a little bit higher
She still burns from last nights fire
And she wants me to douse the flame
But wait, If I did the song wouldn't be the same
I'm sorry
Do do do do do do do do
The first line of these lyrics, "Within a dream, I try to catch myself, and awaken myself / Before I dream of something else," suggests that the singer is struggling to hold onto a specific idea or vision before it slips away - this could be interpreted as a metaphor for the creative process. The following line, "And with a hazy eye, I build myself upright," implies that the singer is perhaps still half-asleep as they try to bring their vision to life.
The lyrics continue with the singer grabbing for their pen and screw, which could represent the tools they use to write or make music. The singer hopes that their hand is able to translate their vision into something tangible, with the "ink of man's soul" representing the raw emotion that they hope to convey through their art. Despite the singer's enthusiasm, the process of translating their thoughts into reality isn't always straightforward - "Sometimes in the journey though, the mind to pen seems so cold / The translation is hard to hold, and we ain't even got to the studio."
The latter half of the lyrics introduce another character - possibly a partner, lover, or muse - who is encouraging the singer to abandon their work and return to bed. The singer, however, is torn between their creative process and the needs of their relationship. The singer acknowledges that the song would be different if they stopped working on it and instead tried to put out the "fire" that their partner is feeling. Ultimately, the singer apologizes, recognizing that their artistic pursuits may sometimes conflict with their personal relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Within a dream, I try to catch myself, and awaken myself
I am trying to catch myself dreaming and wake up before I dream of something that will distract me
Before I dream of something else (And have the greatest song ever wrote) (ooh)
I do not want to miss out on writing the greatest song of all time by being distracted by other dreams
And with a hazy eye, I build myself upright
I wake up groggily and get myself ready to write
Grab for my pen and screw, to bear my soul and I hope
I pick up my writing supplies and hope that I can pour my heart out on paper
The hand can translate my flow (hmm)
I hope that my hand can keep up with the flow of ideas in my head
For overzealous pen it seems
Sometimes my pen seems to be too eager to write
It has a dream of being
My pen seems to have ambitions and aspirations of its own
The ink of man's soul
My pen wants to be the tool that writes the deepest, most soulful thoughts
The greatest pen this hand will ever hold
My pen wants to be the best one I ever use
Sometimes in the journey though, the mind to pen seems so cold
Sometimes I struggle to put my thoughts into words on paper
The translation is hard to hold, and we ain't even got to the studio
It's tough to translate my ideas into a song, and we haven't even started recording yet
And now she waits to distract my motivated stroll
Someone is waiting for me to be distracted and lose my motivation
Come back to bed, is the song she sings
Someone wants me to come back to bed and stop working
She hates when I wake her from her lucid dream
This person dislikes being woken up from their own dreams
But she don't know what this song could mean
This person doesn't understand the importance of this song to me
(Oh I) Why can't it wait
I wish this song could wait
Wait til the sun's a little bit higher
I wish I could wait until later in the day to work on this song
She still burns from last nights fire
This person is still feeling the effects of last night's activities
And she wants me to douse the flame
This person wants me to stop working and help them with their needs
But wait, If I did the song wouldn't be the same
If I were to stop working on the song now, it wouldn't be what I want it to be
I'm sorry
I apologize for not being able to stop working on the song
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Andwele Gardner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
M Adjei
no words can describe how this song makes me feel.....This is one of those you just close your eyes to.
Iam Mz juicy
still playing this in 2016 dwele you are the man thanks for making such beautiful music your fans appreciate it. many may over look your craft but the real ones commend you stay blessed 👏👏👏💯👍🎶🎵🎤✌❤❤❤
Carlton Harris
me too this song is so dope
Guiseppe A.M
Dwele,dwele, Dwele thank you for all the good melodies!!!!you are the best!!!
RudeBoii Don Dada
Only a few r & b cats can sing about subjects in regards to life and not just one emotion, which pertains to love.. A struggle of keepin somebody happy and chasing a dream and having to sacrifice one in sake of all.. priceless
Bee Ward
So smooth and I love Dwele
Kiara Marshall
damn! i love this man!
hopethadon
Myy favorite track off the Sketches of a man album! The best!
Shay
❤❤❤ He is so smooth.
nanoloopbandit
This song, my God!!!