Wiley
Wiley (right) in New York City in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Richard Kylea Cowie
Born	19 January 1979 (1979-01-19) (age 29)
Origin	Bow, E3, East London, UK
Genre(s)	Grime
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	2000s

Wiley (born Richard Cowie, 19 January 1979)^[1] is a MOBO Award-nominated^[2] British rapper and producer of Trinidadian descent^[3] from Bow, East London.^[4] He has released several albums, both as a solo artist and as part of groups, including Roll Deep and Pay As U Go. Wiley also has two clothing ranges in addition to his music.^[5] The performer announced his retirement in 2007 but quickly ended it to continue recording.^[6] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 530 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 679 pixel, file size: 80 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Wiley in New York. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Bow is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... East London area East London is the name commonly given to the north eastern part of London, England on the north side of the River Thames. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Grime(also known as hip house) is a sub-genre of urban music which first emerged in London in the early 2000s, primarily a development of UK garage, drum and bass, dancehall and hip hop. ... Rap redirects here. ... is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... The MOBO (an acronym for Music Of Black Origin) Awards are held annually in the UK to recognise leading black musicians. ... Rapping is one of the elements of hip hop and the distinguishing feature of hip hop music; it is a form of rhyming lyrics spoken rhythmically over musical instruments, with a musical backdrop of sampling, scratching and mixing by DJs. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... For other uses, see Trinidad (disambiguation). ... Bow is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... East London area East London is the name commonly given to the north eastern part of London, England on the north side of the River Thames. ... Roll Deep are a London-based grime crew set up by MC Wiley Kat aka Eskiboy. ...

Wiley has pioneered the grime genre of UK Garage, as both a record producer and rapper, though he calls his music "eskibeat" or "eski", short for Eskimo. Wiley is therefore also known as Eski-boy. He explained his choice of name for his music and the continuing theme in his song and album titles such as Treddin' On Thin Ice, partly because he likes the wintertime, but mainly meaning cold in spirit.^[7] Wiley was quoted in conjunction with his "cold" theme: "Sometimes I just feel cold hearted. I felt cold at that time, towards my family, towards everyone. That's why I used those names."^[8] Grime(also known as hip house) is a sub-genre of urban music which first emerged in London in the early 2000s, primarily a development of UK garage, drum and bass, dancehall and hip hop. ... UK garage (also known as UKG or just garage) refers to several different varieties of modern electronic dance music generally connected to the evolution of house in the United Kingdom in the mid 1990s. ... For other uses, see Eskimo (disambiguation). ... Treddin on Thin Ice is a 2004 debut album by Wiley released on XL Recordings. ...

This Grime genre Wiley helped to pioneer "emerged from the rave culture of the late nineteen-nineties, and will sound to most Americans like hip-hop performed by m.c.s with English accents and really fast raps".^[9] Rather than Hip Hop which is often dance music, "Grime sounds as if it had been made for a boxing gym, one where the fighters have a lot of punching to do but not much room to move".^[9] Like his self-named genre of 'eskibeat' or Eskimo, one of his first grime tracks was called Eskimo, and has been recently released on an album in the United States.^[9] In the most "hopped-up"^[9] track on the album, Destruction VIP, Wiley begins with music reminiscent of a police chase, and then leaps in with "'I know hungry—he said he don't know you. I know who's who, and who's who don't know you.' The music ping-pongs between half time and a faster tempo, seguing into the next verse".^[9] Wiley proclaims that though their "music was made for the whole country (of the UK)...now (they) want to take the music international".^[10] This album may have helped to pave the way for Grime in the United States, which has been shown by the acknowledgement of more recent Grime artists in nomination for music awards. In the 2005 MOBO awards, “artists from the scene called ‘grime’ - the uniquely British style of rap - were not only nominated against but beat superstar American rappers such as Snoop Dogg and The Game for the main awards”.^[10] However, widespread appreciation for Grime has still not been achieved since the members of the Roll Deep tour in New York City (including Wiley, MCs Scratchy, Taliban Trim, Flow Dan and DJ Karnage) often perform to an arena half-filled.^[10] Grime is a sub-genre of urban music which first emerged in London in the early 2000s, primarily a development of UK garage, drum and bass, dancehall and hip hop. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began amongst urban African American youth in New York and has since spread around the world. ... Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. ... Roll Deep are a London-based grime crew set up by MC Wiley Kat aka Eskiboy. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The Scratch Orchestra was founded by Cornelius Cardew. ...

He has mentored, among others, the grime musician Dizzee Rascal.^[1] However, Wiley says that he has gained as much from Dizzee as Dizzee has from him, helping Wiley to expand his horizons. Wiley said, "I got energy from him. When he was growing up listening to me it was vice versa."^[8] Wiley and Dizzee have collaborated in some of their musical productions as well, including Run the Road, a series of compilations documenting the industry and energy of the grime genre.^[9] Dylan Mills, known professionally as Dizzee Rascal (born November 1, 1985 [1] in Bow, East London)[2], is a Mercury Prize-winning English MC/rapper and producer. ... Run the Road is a series of compilations released on 679 Recordings and Vice. ...

Crews

Wiley is currently a member of the Roll Deep Crew and Boy Better Know. He was once a member of the Pay As U Go cartel also. Roll Deep are a London-based grime crew set up by MC Wiley Kat aka Eskiboy. ... Boy Better Know is a North London-based independent record label founded by the CEO JME The Boy Better Know (BBK) movement has expanded and gained popularity through their catchy songs, JMEs humorous Myspace blogs and their instantly recognisable t-shirts. ...

Discography

Albums

• Treddin' On Thin Ice (2004)
• Da 2nd Phaze (2006)
• Playtime Is Over (2007)
• The Race Against Time

Treddin on Thin Ice is a 2004 debut album by Wiley released on XL Recordings. ... Playtime Is Over is the third and last solo album by Wiley. ...

Mixtapes

• "Tunnel Vision Vol.1"
• "Tunnel Vision Vol.2"
• "Tunnel Vision Vol.3"
• "Tunnel Vision Vol.4"
• "Tunnel Vision Vol.5"
• "Tunnel Vision Vol.6"
• "Umbrella Vol.1"
• "£10 An Hour Vol.1"
• "Two Bottles of Cyanide Vol.1 [Feat. Flow Dan & Manga]"

Singles

Full singles

• "Wot Do U Call It?" (2004) UK #31
• "Pies" (2004) UK #45
• "Wearing My Rolex" (2008)

Promo singles

• "My Mistakes"
• "50/50"/"Bow E3"
• "No Qualms"/"Baby Girl"
• "Taliban" Ft Trim

Forthcoming albums

• The Race Against Time (due September 2008)^{[citation needed]}
• Grimewave (Due May 5 2008)

References

The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... All Media Guide (commonly known as AMG), is the company which owns and maintains All Music Guide, All Game Guide and All Movie Guide. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Daily Mail is a British newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. ... Associated Newspapers is a large national newspaper publisher, which is a subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... {| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The domain name bbc. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The electronic telegraph (the initial lowercase was a marketing device) was Europes first daily web-based newspaper. ... This article concerns the British newspaper. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Radio-Canada redirects here. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jockey Slut was a British music magazine which ran between 1993 and 2004, focusing mainly on dance music and club culture. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Sasha (Alexander) Frere-Jones (b. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see New Yorker. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Wiley at MySpace
• Wiley on the Grimepedia