Grime Wave Review
Wiley, fresh off the heat from the current chart success of his electro-grime hybrid ‘Wearing My Rolex’, releases his best album since 2nd Phaze. This is the current sound of London and just makes you think of that city the whole way through.
Years of devotion to the art have now left Wiley and entourage with next level production skill and the album shows this off fully. The variety of production style and sound within the perceived narrow constrictions of the grime genre truly dazzle. This release mirrors an ‘up’ in levels seen with Trim’s Soulfood Volume 3 to a professional standard. Perhaps a direct result of the scene seeing bassline music suddenly doing well through appropriating most of grime’s lexicon.
Flowdan sprays some heavy bars on the CD. Been watching the incarcerated Crazy Titch’s Crazy Times Volume 1 DVD a lot recently and the footage of Mr Sandman at the Cobana in Bedford is breathtaking. He takes a lot of flack from other MCs for being old but its all respect for the Big Mic Man.
There are tracks on this album that you could imagine being in the charts. With the current success of the UK Underground sound through the boundaries people are suddenly understanding the level of stamina required in order to achieve real success. The talent is all still there underground, bubbling - more than it has for some time.
What makes this album stand out though is how Wiley has this time somehow managed to meld the true raw grime sound with a commercial one without it sounding weird and strained like the first Roll Deep album ‘In At The Deep End’. All of which signify William and co. maturing their sound, honed now to exactly how they want it. This is stadium music ultimately and grime’s stars are making along roads Dizzee has trod to bigger things. Like Hip Hop in the US grime takes time to find its feet but when it does there isn’t much budging.
Wiley, fresh off the heat from the current chart success of his electro-grime hybrid ‘Wearing My Rolex’, releases his best album since 2nd Phaze. This is the current sound of London and just makes you think of that city the whole way through.
Years of devotion to the art have now left Wiley and entourage with next level production skill and the album shows this off fully. The variety of production style and sound within the perceived narrow constrictions of the grime genre truly dazzle. This release mirrors an ‘up’ in levels seen with Trim’s Soulfood Volume 3 to a professional standard. Perhaps a direct result of the scene seeing bassline music suddenly doing well through appropriating most of grime’s lexicon.
Flowdan sprays some heavy bars on the CD. Been watching the incarcerated Crazy Titch’s Crazy Times Volume 1 DVD a lot recently and the footage of Mr Sandman at the Cobana in Bedford is breathtaking. He takes a lot of flack from other MCs for being old but its all respect for the Big Mic Man.
There are tracks on this album that you could imagine being in the charts. With the current success of the UK Underground sound through the boundaries people are suddenly understanding the level of stamina required in order to achieve real success. The talent is all still there underground, bubbling - more than it has for some time.
What makes this album stand out though is how Wiley has this time somehow managed to meld the true raw grime sound with a commercial one without it sounding weird and strained like the first Roll Deep album ‘In At The Deep End’. All of which signify William and co. maturing their sound, honed now to exactly how they want it. This is stadium music ultimately and grime’s stars are making along roads Dizzee has trod to bigger things. Like Hip Hop in the US grime takes time to find its feet but when it does there isn’t much budging.
