Dwin, The Stoic, real name Edwin Madu, is a songwriter, performer, composer, poet and journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian publication, Zikoko and also one-half of the Indie band Ignis Brothers. Their debut album, Cost Of Our Lives explores various themes like death, remembrance, love, heartbreak, and healing. The 9-track project features verses from rapper Phlow and poet Logan February. The tracks include Saint or Sinner, Time Go Come, Alien at Home, Sand and Shells, To Fly, etc. The album was hailed as “one of the best Nigerian albums of 2020” by Pulse with Dwin A&Ring, co-writing, co-producing and performing on the project.
His first official single “Are You The One?” was released in February 2018 and was the lead single for his debut solo album Heavy Heart which was released in July of the same year. Several songs from the album like “Stay The Night” and “The Lonely” became soundtracks for the fifth season of the hit NdaniTV web series “Skinny Girl In Transit”.
In January 2022, Dwin, The Stoic opened the Lagos leg of Fireboy DML’s tour. He has also performed at Felabration, Ake Festival and for the Swedish Embassy in Nigeria. Adekunle Gold, Ibeji, Jessica Bongos, Bigfootinyourface, and other artists are among those for whom he has composed music.
He released “Streets” at the beginning of the year. H also recently featured on Bigfootinyourface’s Daylight. GKW/Winning Bread is a follow-up to Streets and is a 3-song project which employs vivid storytelling while exploring the themes of trials, loneliness, losses, gains, success and the overall meaning of life.
In GKW (God Knows Where), the singer is lonely. His home is very far away and there is a pain he experiences that he is unable to share with others. He implores someone to take him on a trip to wherever. Maybe while on this journey with no specific destination, he will find some healing and the world will get its colour back.
Winning Bread explores the constant ups and downs in life. ‘Your hands, see how they’re calloused, they’ve always been here, they’ve seen as much as your own eyes, cus they work from dawn to dusk’. This refers to the toiling one engages in to try and succeed. Life is funny in the sense that it can be quite unpredictable. It is a constant cycle of winning some and losing some. He advocates for an attitude of fortitude rather than being shaken by life’s uncertainty for ‘what will be will be‘. Perhaps the meaning of life lies in the journey and not the destination. That will be up to listeners to decide. The third track is a reprise of the first track.
Listen to GKW/WINNING here
