Reflections on albums from the grim-auteurs

Diggedy Derek

Stray Dog
Dizzee- Showtime is simply phenomenal, yet it can sound a pretty humourless record. Even when there are jokes, they seem calculated for maximum dissing effect. Compare Dizzee's Hype Talk, where he takes a list of rumours and slews that have been made him and coldly rams it back down his opponent's throat, and Wiley's answer Dylan's On A Hype Thing, where Wiley reflects on the strife in Ayia Napa with palpable, heartbreaking intensity. It's like Dizzee's determined to demonstrate his iron nerve to the people, while Wiley wants to share his experience. Perhaps Showtime, with it's constant battle to make them "learn" and "respect", is caught in a similar neverending battle for reputation as Mobb Deep's classic The Infamous. That doesn't lessen it's status, far from it, but it's tough listening.

Wiley- I liked Treddin' On Thin Ice a lot, I thought it had charm, wit and strong beats (it got a bit dissed at the time for not having many experimental instrumentals, but give me vocals anyday). And yet it tried to bite off more than it could chew, every track had to fit into his concept of the album, and it sounds a bit stilted, not as fresh as it should be. A strange debut really. Whereas Dizzee's I'd recommend to anybody, I think with Wiley you need to know where he's coming from. Anyone else feel this same strange sense of liking the album, yet having to explain it to people?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
But 'Thin Ice' does have the best LP cover of the 21st century in its favour.

I initially thought that this might be a thread about Count Grishnakh....
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Very true, although a thread about Count Grishnakh would probably be quite amusing too. It would probably however contain the words 'church' and 'burning' many, many times.

To return to the question, haven't listened much to 'Showtime', but was a bit surprised at how pop 'Treddin' was, having expected a slew of stuff like 'Ground Zero'. A nice surprise tho', as the humour and charm it had was a lot broader (for me) than the relentless merkery that crowds out a lot of grime tracks. And it has a bit of the vulnerability that made things like 'This Ain't A Game' or much of Dizzee's first album such winners.
 

juliand

Well-known member
/I thought Wiley's album was an artistic miscalculation. It's "warmth" feels put-on and unbalances the music, which is driven by its humming alienness, its ska-like weightlessness. Even the best songs on it--"Pies", "Treddin'"--are burdened by Wiley's "seriousness" on the one hand, and his humanist warmth on the other.

Including more instrumentals might have made the record less commercial, but i think it would have sounded more exciting and "new". And more listenable, it seems to me: I do think the instrumentals stand quite well on their own, whereas "Treddin'" feels to me too crowded and compensatory. It's trying to fill the empty spaces that are grime's greatest asset, and to familiarize the strangeness of Ice Rink and Blizzard.

I haven't heard Shystie's full album, though people seem bored stiff by it. The singles that have made it to SF--"One Wish", and "Make it Easy"--have been OK though. Any counter-opinions on it?
 
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"Whereas Dizzee's I'd recommend to anybody, I think with Wiley you need to know where he's coming from. Anyone else feel this same strange sense of liking the album, yet having to explain it to people?"

OTM, my love for Treddin is inextricably tied to its place as a chapter in Wiley's story, in between the colder monotone raps and grim beats of before and the fiery passionate raps of Dylan's on a Hype Ting and 'Baby' etc. after, and I have no idea whether I'd feel the same way if it was all I'd heard by him. Maybe you have to LOVE Wiley to love this album, because he's not trying to be cool or innovative or mindblowing here, he's just being loveable. It's in no way a good encapsulation of all the amazing things Wiley can do, but it's brilliant. Like Showtime, it's almost a concept album, the concept being a legendary man 'coming in from the cold', finding a girl and a goofy sense of humour. What's refreshing is that he doesn't give a fuck if you don't take him seriously. "To all the people who don't like me, that's cool, I'm bigger now" He KNOWS he's the best so he can just make silly jokes about it. My love for the beats has a lot to do with the way he rearranges his trademark sounds. It's amazing how what were so cold and futuristic in another context are made to sound like comforting old friends.

Despite all this, it's not exciting enough to be a masterpiece (like Dizzee's two), and when it came out I suspected that maybe this was the beginning of the end for Wiley. He sounds way too comfortable and secure for there to be much future ahead of him. So for the sake of great music (not for him, because like I said I love him and want the best for him :)) THANK GOD he broke up with his girl and started a beef with Dizzee because now he's sounding better than ever!
 

puretokyo

Mercury Blues
Living in Australia and being mildly allergic to vinyl makes it rather to keep up with all this. I've found about a dozen Wiley instrumentals, but I havn't found any vocal tracks (besides the album, which I have); given all the praise for his earlier and later work, anyone got some recommendations/directions towards some material?
 
The Wiley Story, in vocal tracks:

pre-LP
United Grooves Collective - Wind Down Low
Pay As U Go Cartel - Know We, Champagne Dance
I Will Not Lose, They Don't Know, Take Time
Roll Deep - Roll Deep Regular, You Were Always, Terrible, Wickedest Ting, Bounce
Streets - Let's Push Things Forward (Roll Deep remix)
Dizzee - 2 Far

post-LP:
Roll Deep - Creeper vol. 1 mixtape, especially track 1, 'Baby' produced by Davinche
Dylan's On A Hype Ting, which you can listen to at Woebot
Pay As U Go - Watching You, from Target's Aim High vol 1 mixtape
 
yep! Hey it's not so bad! How bout this weather! :p :cool: We should meet up and exchange music. I've been thinking about inviting all Melbourne grime fans over to watch Lord of the Mics and the Dizzee v Crazy Titch video
 

rob_giri

Well-known member
HEY! Melbourne is a cool city, and i love living here. Sure, living in London or Berlin or New York would be totally cool, but i'm glad to be here. Best city in Australia by far, and i think one of the cooler cities in the world.
 
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