Both these guys are pretty good! They both also write, & produce their own music too [for the most part]. Which do you prefer vocally of the two & If you had to pick either to write you a song, which would you choose? [I guess this a 2-part question ]

I don't think Robin Thicke is all that good or talented. He is taking over the blue eyed soul spot until Punk ass Bitch, aka Justin Timberlake, reclaims his throne.

As far as Dwele, all his shit sounds kinda the same. Not as bad as Musiq, though. Truth be told, Dwele reminds me more of Raheem DeVaughn than anything

Robin on looks alone

Oh, and I dig his music too.

Robin 4 sure! He has the "Magic" touch.

Robin Thicke, only because he is more versatile with songwriting and styles. Even though he's better on record than he is on stage, he's superior to his counterparts such as the overhyped and played out Justin Fakerlake. Robin's latest album, Sex Therapy was a complete snoozer though.

I fell off the bandwagon with Dwele after his first album, Subject. I can say that after that album, the only thing that impressed me about him was his collaborations, notably with artists such as Kanye West and Common.

Easy; neither

SEANMAN said:

Robin on looks alone

Oh, and I dig his music too.

Ooh wee.

Dwele hands down. Not a fan of Robin's recent music.

...

with Dwele, I think his unreleased music as well and collaborations are more interesting than his official albums:

Dwele w/ Boney James - Wake the Baby

...

[Edited 5/16/11 16:07pm]

Harlepolis said:

Easy; neither

Its supposed to be (google it)

Eric Roberson vs Dwele

Robin Thicke vs Jon B

These two can't be compared one's a neo-soul/jazz/soul artist and the other is an RNB/pop artist

[Edited 5/16/11 16:16pm]

Both have been hit or miss. A draw imo.

So-called "versatility" is overrated, especially around here. Being able to do a disco song doesn't mean you should do it. Sometimes being really good at one genre is much better than being okay in several.
Robin Thicke does pop and pop/R&B, which is completely different from what Dwelé does. I have yet to hear Robin write anything lyrically significant other than platitude-filled "sweet-nothings" like "Lost Without You", a pure ego stroke for women as he declares his beta male servitude status. While Robin is talented, he is very much a pop entertainer. Dwele is more of an artist's artist. I could never imagine Robin coming up with something like "I'm Cheating". Its much too layered for Robin. Dwele tends to overdo it with the mid-tempo ballads but he stays true to what he does. Robin sticks to slick production and even though he may delve just a little into other genres (so does Dwele but for some reason when black artists add elements of jazz, blues and gospel into R&B, they get overlooked and treated as the same genre EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT), Robin sticks to the pop formula like glue. Its not within his scope to do a song like "My People", which is a jazzy social commentary. While Dwelé is a stylist, he's focused and plays his musical position well. Robin is talented but the material he does teeters between mediocre and throwaway. He was on the right track with "When I Get You Alone" and hasn't been able to quite get a grip since.

And let's not eve compare Robin with Jon B. Jon kicks his ass several times over.

phunkdaddy said:

Both have been hit or miss. A draw imo.

Agreed.

You can take them or leave them!

BlaqueKnight said:

So-called "versatility" is overrated, especially around here. Being able to do a disco song doesn't mean you should do it. Sometimes being really good at one genre is much better than being okay in several.
Robin Thicke does pop and pop/R&B, which is completely different from what Dwelé does. I have yet to hear Robin write anything lyrically significant other than platitude-filled "sweet-nothings" like "Lost Without You", a pure ego stroke for women as he declares his beta male servitude status. While Robin is talented, he is very much a pop entertainer. Dwele is more of an artist's artist. I could never imagine Robin coming up with something like "I'm Cheating". Its much too layered for Robin. Dwele tends to overdo it with the mid-tempo ballads but he stays true to what he does. Robin sticks to slick production and even though he may delve just a little into other genres (so does Dwele but for some reason when black artists add elements of jazz, blues and gospel into R&B, they get overlooked and treated as the same genre EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT), Robin sticks to the pop formula like glue. Its not within his scope to do a song like "My People", which is a jazzy social commentary. While Dwelé is a stylist, he's focused and plays his musical position well. Robin is talented but the material he does teeters between mediocre and throwaway. He was on the right track with "When I Get You Alone" and hasn't been able to quite get a grip since.

And let's not eve compare Robin with Jon B. Jon kicks his ass several times over.

Well then you should hear this

2 The Sky Lyrics

I agree with those who say these two have nothing in common for comparison.

With that said, I enjoy Dwele's vibe and like a lot of what was on Some Kinda. Its good music for cookin dinner...

SEANMAN said:

Well then you should hear this

2 The Sky Lyrics

...

That's a pretty decent song. I'd never heard it. Its still just a bit shallow but at least its introspective. I still wouldn't put him in Dwelé's class as far as writing goes but it adds a bit of dimension to him.

Thanks.

This is one song that perfectly displays Thicke's verstatility in the songwriting department...

No one can tell me that this isn't one of his best songs... This edges out anything Dwele has done by far.

Dwele by a mile buy I dig a lot of Robin's work on record. Robin's live performance is BORING as they come though.

Graycap23 said:

Dwele by a mile buy I dig a lot of Robin's work on record. Robin's live performance is BORING as they come though.

That's one thing I gotta nitpick as well when it comes to Thicke. That guy has zero stage presence and his vocals aren't that strong on stage either. I remember seeing him during an Essence performance and I couldn't make out what he was saying or singing. "Lost Without U" sounds horrible in concert. Guy needs to improve his shit. But it doesn't matter because he won't be getting any more of my money because his latest stuff is just bullcrap and live performances have gotten worse.

silverchild said:

This is one song that perfectly displays Thicke's verstatility in the songwriting department...

No one can tell me that this isn't one of his best songs... This edges out anything Dwele has done by far.

Gotta disagree. Most "blue-eyed soul" artists have a song like this. Its nothing special. Its another "I wish the world was the way I want it" song. Still kinda shallow. See, this is my problem with most pop R&B artists. They write these wishy-dreamy songs while a lot of real R&B artists take real life situations and write about them. I have more respect for that type of writing than I do that daydream shit. Fuck daydreaming about how you want things to be. What are you gonna do to make them how you want them. Write THAT song! That's where I think culture comes into play.

BlaqueKnight said:

silverchild said:

This is one song that perfectly displays Thicke's verstatility in the songwriting department...

No one can tell me that this isn't one of his best songs... This edges out anything Dwele has done by far.

Gotta disagree. Most "blue-eyed soul" artists have a song like this. Its nothing special. Its another "I wish the world was the way I want it" song. Still kinda shallow. See, this is my problem with most pop R&B artists. They write these wishy-dreamy songs while a lot of real R&B artists take real life situations and write about them. I have more respect for that type of writing than I do that daydream shit. Fuck daydreaming about how you want things to be. What are you gonna do to make them how you want them. Write THAT song! That's where I think culture comes into play.

Hmm...interesting! But are you implying that R&B is limited to just real life situations? I don't look at R&B or to a larger extent, black music as one thing, where artists have to write about their lives. Sometimes it is about hopes, utopias and dreams. You would be surprised at how many R&B artists have written songs as "Dreamworld". And speaking of that song by Dwele you posted, he wasn't doing much but talking about how things are. I heard nothing about what he was going to do in order to change things.

Well maybe these songs could change your perception...maybe not! But Robin's songwriting is just a little superior to me. I'm sorry! But they are two different artists with two different agendas musically. One is more pop influenced and the other is clearly more R&B.

[Edited 5/17/11 12:07pm]

We just have to agree to disagree. I'm not feelin' Robin that much as a writer and to tell you the truth BOTH of them have way too many ballads for my taste. I like Dwele but he needs more songs like "Find A Way" and "I Wanna" just like Robin needs more "When I Get You Alone" and less "Lost Without You".

[Edited 5/17/11 12:05pm]

BlaqueKnight said:

We just have to agree to disagree. I'm not feelin' Robin that much as a writer and to tell you the truth BOTH of them have way too many ballads for my taste. I like Dwele but he needs more songs like "Find A Way" and "I Wanna" just like Robin needs more "When I Get You Alone" and less "Lost Without You".

[Edited 5/17/11 12:05pm]

That's what I've been trying to say in a nutshell. Both are just not impressive as they used to be. They've become way watered down and contemporary for my taste.