Review: Wiley – “100% Publishing”

2011-06-20 00:02:33 In

• Audio
• Reviews

2 Comments

Richard Kylea Cowie, this is the reason why I still haven’t fully given up on you over the years. Cause behind the God-complex, all random fuckery and the ridiculous admiration tweets to Kim Kardashian, I knew you had it in you, you still able to make bloody good music.

“100% Publishing” is the album I’ve waited for ever since Wiley asked everyone ‘Wot U Call It?‘ on his ‘Igloo’-riddim and since he unleashed his solo debut “Treddin’ on Thin Ice” in 2004. The five albums he released in between all contain a couple of decent songs but compared to the debut and this “100% Publishing”, they are not up to par. In other words, I’ve waited seven looong years for Wiley to do a proper grime album, seven years for the proper follow up to “Treddin’ on Thin Ice”, to wow me the way he did in the early days of grime when he was a part of the Pay As U Go-cartel, still friend with Dizzee and when he showed up at the gigs he was booked for.

One of the best tracks off the album is actually the title track ’100% Publishing’, the DIY-anthem with the lines “I wanna 100% Publishing so I’m gonna DIY / I know some don’t care about the grime scene but I’m gonna ’til I die“. This is the way Wiley works best, this is where his production skills and ability to rap come to justice. Everything around “100% Publishing” comes together like a puzzle, all pieces are tailor made by the man himself. It’s 100% Wiley, from the production, to the rap and mixing.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And the DIY thing can be followed like a red thread throughout this whole release. Wiley’s speaking about label issues, on being true to to himself and do what he wanna do, about believing in oneself instead of the industry.

To be honest, this album doesn’t contain a single boring song. About 45 minutes long (depending whether it’s the original release 13 track release or the bonus tracks-version with 15 songs). But among the ones that are playing in the Grade A-league is ‘Boom Boom Da Na’, a proper grime banger that is ridiculously catchy and reminds me of the glory days of Wiley’s old crew Roll Deep.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Another one is ‘One Hit Wonder’, the production alone is stellar:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

On “100% Publishing” Wiley redeems himself to the fullest extent. It makes up for ‘Wearing My Rolex’ and all that shit I’ve hated from the past. But one thing Wiley needs to learn is how to kill his darlings, decide which fan base he should make music for. If it’s the grime crowd or the more dance oriented no brainers, both doesn’t work if you ask me. Hopefully this album will make good moves up the charts and sell well. I cross my fingers cause it’s no longer 2004. The music scene looks different today, access to music is different and just because it’s grime it doesn’t mean it won’t sell, the grime scene has evolved as well. The genre has gone mainstream, and young MCs that once Wiley brought into the scene like Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk are now real superstars, selling millions.

Even if Wiley release “100% Publishing” on his old label Big Dada (from which he parted ways after the release of his third album “Playtime’s Over” in 2007) it doesn’t mean that he has chosen the same path as his younger counterparts, for once he doesn’t try or aim to go overground with this release and that’s the main reason why it’s so good. No jumping the electro bandwagon, no guest features just to please the mainstream crowd and no shit tunes, instead Wiley stays true to the eskiboy-tattoo on his neck.

Even if this album is 100% Wiley it actually contains two guest features, or well one from form X-Factor contender Daniel DeBourg on ‘Talk About Life’ on the original release and one by one of his daughters Leah on one of the bonus tracks ‘Music B4 Money’. Leah chants “Do it for the music, not the money” and my heart melts like a popsicle in the sun even if it sort of contradicts with the message of the first single off the album ‘Numbers in Action’.

He ends the 13-track album version with ‘To be Continued…’ and my last wish is that the former buddies Wiley and Dizzee could just bury the hatchet, act like grown men and do a collaborative album, we all know that that album would be a masterpiece, cash cow and the next level of grime.

However, that scenario above is not the case. Soon Wiley will drop a mixtape together with DJ Whoo Kid called “Creating a Buzz Vol. 1″, follow up this album with an EP called “Evolve Or Be Extinct” which includes a track produced by Diplo (hopefully more interesting than the cut Dipper’s did for Kano’s latest album “Method To The Maadness”) and another album called “Chill Out Zone” slated for release this year is also in the works. The latter is said to be a new wave of RnG (rhythm and grime, a fusion between rnb, grime & hip hop) from which he has already released two singles ‘Seduction‘ ft. Alexa Goddard and ‘If I Could‘ ft. Ed Sheeran.

Resting on grime only is clearly not Wiley’s mission but hopefully I’ll not have to wait another seven years before he decides to go grime 100% again. I guess it would help if you copped the album.

——————————————————————————————————Release Notes—–
Artist: Wiley Title: “100% Publishing“	Label: Big Dada Released: 20/6 2011
Grade: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ½	Buy: Listen:
———————————————————————————————————————————-

100% Publishing, Alexa Goddard, Chill Out Zone, Creating a Buzz Vol. 1, Daniel DeBourg, Diplo, DJ Whoo Kid, Ed Sheeran, Evolve Or Be Extinct, Grime, RnG, Wiley