Track Listing

1. Poppa yo (intro)
2. Truth
3. Find a way
4. Twuneanunda (Possible)
5. ANGEL (interlude)
6. Day at a time
7. Subject
8. Sho ya right
9. Money don't mean a thing
10. Hold on
11. Kick out of you
12. Without you
13. Whoomp (interlude)
14. Lady at Mahogany
15. Let your hair down

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15170 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
Meet the nu-soul--same as the old soul? Well, Dwele's debutcertainly contains similarities to old-school artists such as Donny Hathaway and of course Stevie Wonder--all the evidence you need to connect the dots is here in the shimmering Fender Rhodes piano that predominates on SUBJECT.
But Dwele is made of more contemporary stuff. He's a rapper who's found his singing voice, though the only time his hip-hop roots really show is in the tumbling lyrics to the coming-of-agesong "Twuneanunda" and the title track. Mostly he's a smoothly sophisticated singer with a canny sense of what works inan arrangement, and while he obviously has deep ties to what is now ancient R&B history, his sound is undeniably modern, and irresistibly seductive. Most of the cuts on SUBJECT are down-tempo, though the incidence of satin sheet-oriented boudoir ballads is kept to a surprising minimum. He's a more thoughtful lyricist than that, as evidenced by the nuanced, humorous "Lady at Mahogany", about a tryst gone awry, in which he shows he's not averse to telling tales on himself. SUBJECT is both light enough in feel and accomplished enough inexecution to leave you hungry for more.

Customer Reviews

Find A Way to buy this album!
After reading a review in the magazine Blues & Soul I thought an album rated so highly must be worth a listen. And boy was it worth a listen!
Its a fantastic chilled out, neo soul set.
And I really recommend it to lovers of soul music.

Stand Out Tracks on this album are track 3 "Find A Way". This track is soulful and funky and if only he had the promotional campaign that Justin Timberlake has had, then this track may be a big big hit.
Track 5 is an interlude that lasts for 2 minutes 19 seconds but its such a jazzy chill out track and I love it.
"Money Don't Mean a Thing" is track 9. Its a more mainstream sounding rnb song and althought the theme is one which is a bit over used now its a stand out track.
Track 11 "Kick Out Of You" is simply a jazz track. Its suprising because I didn't think that this album would reveal the amount of jazz feel in the songs as it does. And its something I encourage.
"Lady At Mahogany" is track 14. This has got that jazz feel to it, and its another track i'm sure listeners of this album will like.
And the bonus track (16) "Let Your Hair Down" is another funky track which has a uplifting feel about it

1. Poppa Yo (Intro) - eight(Out of ten)
2, Truth - Nine
3. Find A Way - Ten
4. Twuneanunda - Seven
5. A.N.G.E.L (interlude) - Nine
6. Day At A Time - Seven
7. Subject - Seven
8. Sho Yo Right - Eight
9. Money Don't Mean A Thing - Ten
10. Hold On - Nine
11. Kick Out Of You - Ten
12. Without You - Eight

13. Whoomp (interlude) - eight
14. Lady At Mahogany - Eight
15. A.N.G.E.L (Reprise) feat Slum Village - Nine
16. Let Your Hair Down - Ten

Overall
Its an album to buy. Fantastic.
I can't really rate it any more. Buy it.

pole position
Now, for once, here’s an example of a Nu Soul album that succeeds at all levels. With his debut album, Dwele sits firmly in the pole position of contemporary Soul. The compositions are his ace card - they draw from the great reservoir of the those 40 years of Soul music, and he seems to be particularly impressed by the sophisticated urban Soul of Marvin Gaye and Leon Ware. Dwele is never satisfied with LP fillers but comes up with unusual chord progressions and well-measured stripped down arrangements, which sound like the product of many quiet nights at the home studio. Dwele has a smooth voice, and he doesn’t indulge in simple effects like hollering or other gimmicks used by most of his competitors. Along with Jill Scott, Dwele marks the best of the genre right now, and he generates hope that the treasure of Soul will find its legitimate inheritors. It’ll be hard to top this, though, for Dwele or for anybody. That’s no problem - as long as the music keeps coming like this, there’s no need to top anything.

Refreshingly good
A lot has been made of Dwele in recent years. His Rize CD and the internet certainly helped to spread his fame along with work with Slum Village. He has certainly produced an excellent debut and is up there and rightfully compared to the likes of Maxwell and D'Angelo. If you're a fan of these artists as well as Musiq then you will certainly understand Dwele's groove. Having drawn great inspiration from 70's soul and Jazz, Stevie's "Songs in the Key of Life" being a major influence on Dwele. Dwele certainly draws on his influences and even his contemporaries at various times throughout the album. Not just wanting to be a nu-soul clone there are jazzy touches to the album that you will appreciate. I won't pick a favourite song but will say that it is one of my favourite albums of the year so far.

Another artist to add to the glowing collection of good Nu-soul artists and certainly something you will find yourself listening to for years to come.