Dwin, The Stoic Wants to Be Undeniable

Earlier this year, “Streets,” a song about a sweet-talking man yearning for an elusive lover, started gaining traction on those platforms. This sudden surge in popularity could be attributed by some to accident, luck, or going viral – that rapid and widespread sharing of content across social media platforms that leads to unexpected and overnight fame. For instance, Tuface shared a clip of the video on his Instagram story in March, sparking widespread interest in the song. Additionally, “Streets” was featured in a Disney original film, Madu, released in the same month, drawing further attention to the song and his discography.

However, there are no accidents in success. Dwin’s “Streets,” and his gradual move toward the mainstream, are not due to luck or the Nigerian propensity for sudden fame, often referred to as “blowing.” Behind the glory and shine on the outside, there’s an unglamorous phase of hard work, toil, and late nights. Success stories don’t happen by accident, and Dwin’s is no exception.

A duty to create

If you asked a Dwin, The Stoic fan — wittily referred to as “Stoics” — what they enjoy most about his music, they would probably tell you it’s his raw, earnest, yearning stories. This talent for telling poignant tales through music didn’t simply fall into his lap. Before winning hearts with his earthy tunes, Dwin, The Stoic was a 19-year-old university student nearing graduation. In 2016, he applied to the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie-led Farafina Trust workshop. “I applied on the last day with an unfinished story,” says Dwin. He was accepted. “It was very validating. I was 19 and in a room filled with writers, people who wrote for a living. It was also a great way to enter the literary scene.”

Dwin published his work in various publications. While pursuing writing, he also maintained a nine-to-five job. Then, in 2017, his journey into music began. “I just decided to make an album,” he recalls.

Dwin’s shift to music wasn’t sudden; he had actually been writing songs for about a decade. Stories are beautiful and complex, expressing themselves in myriad forms. Many songwriters today are also musicians, and many musicians began as writers. “I’d been writing music since 2007,” he says.

Growing up, Dwin listened to artists like Nina Simone and Jim Reeves, singers and songwriters who “put a lot of emotion into their storytelling,” he mentions. “You could pick up any random notebook of mine and find song lyrics doodled at the back. So in 2017, I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to make an album.’”

In 2018, while keeping his day job, Dwin worked with a friend on 13 songs that later became his album Heavy Hearts, released in July of that year. “At the time of the album release, I was working as a technical consultant with a tech firm. I was in Conakry, Guinea, and doing some work with their central bank. I had to quickly upload certain things and then rush back to figuring out what was happening with the checks. It was a very interesting time. But it was also the sensible thing to do: keep a job that could pay the bills — pay for the music.”

Needless to say, these were the early years when the music wasn’t bringing in any money, only taking. “The only thing on my mind was: I just want to do this. It wasn’t supposed to become a huge career or anything. I was just doing what I wanted to do.”

As an artist, Dwin says, there is a duty to create. After Heavy Hearts, in 2018, Dwin felt a stronger pull toward music. “But I was also trying to be sensible and keep a job,” he says. It wouldn’t be until December 2022 that Dwin would quit his day job as Editor-in-Chief of Zikoko magazine to fully embrace his passion for music. “Making that decision,” he recalls, “I thought about how, looking at my life, I couldn’t say I’d given music a chance.” Dwin wanted more from music. So, he set off on his own path and created his record label, St. Claire.

“Streets”: the sleeper hit

Dwin sees every job he’s ever had as preparation for something he might need in the future. He’s worked in advertising and media, and has been both a writer and an editor. However, when he left Zikoko in 2022, he didn’t initially have a clear plan for what was next.

“At the time I left Zikoko, the label didn’t fully exist as a concept. I only knew that I was leaving to give more time to music. I wanted more from music. We’d done the Risevest theme song, we’d done ‘Streets,’ we’d done ‘GKW.’ People knew me more for my music now, although my work at Zikoko was also significant. It felt like I’d done plenty in the media space and needed to give music a full go.” At the time, Dwin was also burnt out. “I went to Cotonou for a bit, where I did a lot of the conceptualizing and planning. Cleaner air and living close to the beach helped. It was like a reset.”

Upon returning to Nigeria, Dwin immediately entered into work mode. “And we haven’t stopped since,” he says. “We completed the EP, did a small tour last year, and are planning a larger one this year. Simultaneously, we began shooting content for the Love Lane EP.”

Last year, Dwin, along with his long-time collaborator Rhaffy and their team, achieved a significant milestone when they secured a spot in a Disney+ docuseries called Madu, which tells the story of a young Nigerian ballet dancer. “This came after the release of Love Lane,” he explains. “We started creating a lot more content that we planned to release around the same time that Madu would be released. Content from our previous shows, content about ‘Streets,’ about Love Lane. We were cutting and editing — we became more consistent.”

When Madu finally premiered and the buzz began to swell, people were captivated, watching the docuseries and listening to the song. “We ramped up promotions, ran more ads,” recalls Dwin. “It started reaching more accounts, including Tuface’s, who promoted it on his Instagram story. Momentum grew, spreading across Instagram and TikTok, with TikTok especially propelling it forward.”

As of early 2024, “Streets,” released in April 2022, had garnered about one hundred thousand streams on Spotify. Today, it boasts nearly 700 thousand streams on Spotify alone, and almost two million across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.

Before “Streets” gained massive popularity, Dwin had a strategy — and he still does. “Drop a lot of content, release the album, do shows.” His upcoming Love Lane tour in July will hit four major Nigerian cities — Abuja on July 20, Ibadan on July 27, with dates for Port Harcourt and Lagos to be confirmed.

While this might seem like the peak of excitement in someone’s career, Dwin believes he’s only just beginning. “We aim to build a community here at St Claire,” he says about his record label. “We want to connect with fans on an intimate level. We want to show that music like this comes from here.”

Looking ahead three to five years, his vision includes signing talent — “there’s talent everywhere.” St. Claire aspires to be one of the most notable labels on the continent. For Dwin, more than anything else, it’s about fulfilling an inherent need to create. “We want to be undeniable,” he says.