Deetweh

How D12 (DeeTweh) Became Renowned Afrobeat Star

Edwin Darlington Tweh Commonly known as D12 (DeeTweh) An Afrobeat Artist, Musician, Songwriter and Producer.

Born and raised in Liberia, DeeTweh ``D12” lives and breathes music. Growing up as a child, he will gather the dishes, pot and spoons for drumkit and play beautiful rhythms. He was known for lighting up parties and family gathering with his beautiful voice and dance moves. After the civil war, D12 and his friends took an adventure several times, seeking greener pastures in Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast to name a few. No matter what circumstances he faced, music was consistently an integral part of Tweh’s life. He plays four musical instruments: Piano, Rhythm guitar, bass guitar and Drums

As a foreigner in Nigeria and Ghana, He Played Live music in Churches and Nightclubs and Hotels to make ends meet, later travel back home to Liberia with his musical, sound engineer and music production skills he acquired. He managed to make a name for himself by producing and releasing his own music as well as writing and producing for other big names and hit artist in Liberia.

D12 (DeeTweh) was nominated as Afropop Artist of the year for the first Liberian Music Awards in 2014 which was held in the USA, Atlanta GA. He was invited to grace the occasion and perform as well. Upon leaving Liberia, there was an outbreak of a deadly decease (EBOLA) that later got worse, took the lives of friends and relatives and prevented him from going back home. He also made and produced an awareness song titled (EBOLA INTOWN) that turns out to be a hit and was captured by vice TV with 10million plus views on YouTube. It was a collaboration with two other Artist.

DeeTweh (D12) had no choice but to stay in United States. He figured the U.S. would be safe and have more opportunities for success -- but it didn’t go exactly as planned at first. For three months, DeeTweh (D12) was stuck investing his time working at Walmart and medical assembly Jobs with less time to work on music. He had a family to provide and care for, but these jobs just weren’t cutting it and it was time consuming made me unhappy “One day at work, I was just like, ‘You know what? I’m going to quit this job. This is why God gave me this talent. If I can’t survive off it, then I don’t know what else I’m going to do,’” he recounts. “I quit my Job to focus on my music career.

This is when DeeTweh (D12) invested his time fully into producing his work for the first time. He came up with is first 14 songs Debut Album Titles Elevated with hit like KEBEH, DEY CAN’T MAKE IT, RESPECT, LOVERBOY, DO ME, etc. He later drops his second 16 songs Album in 2020 titled (Born to Win) with hit like Born to Win, Nobody, Bad News, and the list goes on. He toured  US, Africa Canada, and Australia. The Artist has won multiple Awards like Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, and producer of the years. His hard work is paying off in extraordinary ways, from producing award-winning hits and landing impressive performances. In 2019, Liberian President George Weah fell in love with the artist music most especially the hit song (Born to win) and invited D12 DeeTweh to take center stage at the Liberian Independence Day celebration and perform infron of seven African Leaders and a stadium full with fans as the headlining artist.

“When I’m in the studio making beats and writing, sometimes I get writer’s block, can’t come up with anything I look around and observe things that are happening around me then boom I got a song lol Ex: (KEBEH).” Whether he’s writing stories based on his own experience or about a viral topic, he understands how to communicate to his intended audience. “Music is like a transfer of energy. It’s not just the words you say, it’s how you feel at the time and the energy you put out.”

Now, the next step is mainstream and becoming a global Star. “Becoming a successful artist is not just about talent; it’s 90% business and 10% talent,” he explains. “You could be the greatest artist, but if you don’t have a good team with the work ethics and no what they are doing, you’re not going anywhere.”

Being a Liberian and an Afrobeat artist, however, comes with unique challenges. “I feel like I have the country’s flag on my shoulders,” Tweh confesses. “I have a Son, siblings, my mom, friends and relatives back home in Liberia that look up to me, so I have to go hard.”

His philosophy behind what makes a successful musician boils down to having the right Mindset, dedication and consistency, surrounding yourself with those who will take you to the next level, and working “ten times harder” and smarter than others in the industry.

Creating a sustainable career from this passion, however, is no easy feat. Tweh spend couple years of college studying business management and marketing – pushing his passion to the sidelines. Before graduation he droped out, however, Tweh decided to leap into the music industry.

His philosophy behind what makes a successful musician boils down to dedication, surrounding yourself with those who will take you to the next level, and working “ten times harder” than others in the industry. “That’s the only way you can get to the top of this game.”

D12 Third Debut Album will be dropping sometime in february 2023 titled OverTime. He features Artist Like Tekno, Flavour, Harmonize and some top Liberian Artist. He promises that this is one of best work so far. Please be on the lookout for his new project.