After news broke back in 2013 that Richard Cowie, known to the world as Wiley, would be retiring, hearts of a generation dipped and fell off the 140bpm radar.
Luckily for us though, that was all just a public display of doubt and we've continued to receive the blessings of new music up to this day. The grime icon recently hopped on Twitter to share how a "friend" of his told him that he didn't have it in him anymore—especially with the rising careers of Stormzy and Skepta—and that he should put down the mic. Well, a message to you, undisclosed "friend": rest up your negative versions of reality and allow this man to continue evolving in his own unique way.
Whether you're a post-"Shutdown" fan or whether you were tuning into Déjà Vu FM every day after school, Wiley is—and will always be—a highly respected UK musician. And because he is just that, I have pieced together some of the reasons why I—someone who's documented his career for over a decade—and so many others appreciate the godfather of grime. Dive in below.
He isn't afraid to give anything a go.
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Wiley is confident and talented enough to ride any beat, from any genre, with the same charisma he would give, say, a "Pulse X" or his own "Eskimo" riddim. Some of his attempts have been a little hit-and-miss (like this taste of the Nineties), but pop-leaning tracks like "Shake A Leg" and "The Avenue" balanced out Roll Deep's In At The Deep End with grime golden treasure "When I'm Ere". This mic-man's lyrical ability has given his loyal fans a pure and direct version of himself. "Mum I'm Stronger", for example, takes us through a conversation with his mum about the climate of grime, street politics and his family over a mellow grime production. Simply the best.
A Wiley show is always hype, eventful, and a highlight of the year.
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Wiley has quite a long history of not showing up to his own shows, but when he does, he will entertain you until he's got nothing left to give. His headline show at KOKO last year was a true testament to his stageshow skills, bringing through every top-boy MC to join him—which only boosted his appeal. And we can't forget the Red Bull Culture Clash: although his Eskimo Dance stage didn't win, some legendary business took place that night.
He's bloody hilarious!
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Wiley's recent interview with DJ Vlad introduced him to a completely new audience. There's a clip of him that went viral of him allowing Vlad to mispronounce the genre 'garage', with gah-raj, and even repeating it with the same pronunciation a few times over. Wiley saw the joke and quickly joined in on Twitter. If he's not Ustreaming cooking up an English breakfast—eggs and soldiers included—or clashing a comedian (see above), he is happily being filmed going back-to-back with Bashy explaining why he's a better MC in the middle of the street. The appeal is that, while Wiley is an icon in our eyes, he isn't afraid to laugh at himself while we laugh with him.
His passion for music continues to give everyone an opportunity.
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The grime scene has benefited and evolved through Wiley's enthusiasm to give every generation of talent a chance to succeed. If it's not the moment he brought Ice Kid and Chip up to BBC Radio 1 for Tim Westwood's show, uniting Dizzee Rascal with his manager Cage, or encouraging Skepta to swap the decks for a mic in the mid-00s, then he's igniting excitement in dull periods with radio clashes. Seriously, what a guy.
His catalogue of music captures every phase of grime.
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Scrolling through Wiley's mixtape and album releases shows a timeline of the musical climate of the grime scene.
"Wot Do U Call It?" was the fork in the road that led to the ignition of the scene we now see thriving; "Where's My Brother" deals with the division between grime's key figures, and Wiley trying to reunite with Dizzee Rascal; the tracks "50/50" and "100% Publishing" teaches MCs how to avoid exploitation from the bigwigs; and then there's "Wearing My Rolex", the moment electro-pop roamed itself into grime, attracting the majors so artists could put some money in their wallets.
"Can't Go Wrong" is now considered a modern-day "Wot Do U Call It?", capturing the genre's truer sound and DIY aesthetic.
He has a way with words like no other in grime.
Whether he's piecing in a roast dinner or comparing himself to a large vagina, these often random thoughts—along with his fusion of British/Jamaican slang-rhyming—is something that continues to be one of Wiley's unique selling points. The man could talk about literally anything and make it sound good. Case in point: "Laptop", a song about the greatness of Mac computers (and, indeed, a Godfather highlight).
He's not afraid to risk it all for a clash.
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Wiley has always been a lyrical warlord, ready and waiting for any opportunity to test his ability and entertain the masses. Whether it's on the radio, on a track or on the live stage, Wiley leads in how to really handle yourself in a grime clash. From Sidewinder's spontaneous clash with MC Nasty Jack, to his legendary war with The Movement and planned album face-off with Skepta—Eskiboy's the reason why everybody's here.
