Wiley - See Clear Now

Grime is a subgenre that has been newly categorised, blending hip hop with the outer reaches of traditional electronic dance music. The roots of grime can be firmly traced back to the UK underground drum&bass, jungle and two-step garage movement that exploded in the 90s – pioneers such as Andy C, the Artful Dodger and Roni Size led the scene, all of whom worked with MCs plucked straight from the urban talent pool (for example, Craig David can thank the Artful Dodger for his success, and Rahzel of The Roots lent his services to Roni Size). One such MC, known affectionately as the ‘Godfather of Grime,’ is Wiley. The current wave of grime artists bursting through the commercial airplay barrier are led by the posterboy Dizzee Rascal, without a doubt the most successful grime artist to date. Intriguingly, Dizzee was once Wiley’s apprentice as part of Wiley’s garage MC crew and Wiley appeared on Dizzee’s breakthrough release, Boy In Da Corner. Wiley appears with his next studio offering, See Clear Now.

See Clear Now is home to Wear my Rolex, a track that peaked at No.2 in the UK charts and copped a respective flogging on Australian commercial radio – I recall hearing this track on my visit to London last year, and whilst it was embraced by many it would be remiss of me to label it as indicative of Wiley’s style. In that regard, Wear my Rolex certainly could not be considered as a grime anthem. When listened to in context of the whole album, you get the distinct impression that there is more to Wiley than a commercial one-hit wonder. It’s clear that Wiley’s label has a lot of faith in him, and to prove it they have enlisted some serious weight on this record with prolific producer extraordinaire Mark Ronson behind the mixing desk for Cash in my Pocket and Nuevo-popsters Hot Chip also pulling the strings on Step by Step.  The former is currently becoming a favourite on Triple J and there is no doubt it is the slickest of See Clear Now’s offerings, albeit Daniel Merriwether on choral duties is an interesting choice - I could not help but laugh at the lyrics “cheddar” sung in Barry Gibbs-esque falsetto! A bit too clean to be grime, for want of a better explanation, as you can almost hear the battle Wiley is having as he is caught between staying true to the streets and achieving success as you cycle between tracks– leading to a somewhat confusing record; part-subterranean garage work, part slick urban chart release.

After a few rotations, I found that Wiley’s style is testament to the grime way: stream-of-consciousness lyricism with links to London’s East End matched to filthy, frenetic, reggae-fused beats. This in itself can be problematic, as the use of local urban slang can lead to confusion and isolation amongst listeners, but you get the distinct impression Wiley wasn’t looking further afield than his UK audience (and nor should he.) What this album has achieved is bringing Wiley to the attention of many which we can only hope leads listeners (Dizzee fans, I’m talking to you especially) to rummage through his back catalogue for his dirtier, however, more consistent work. There is no doubt that as an artist Wiley is incredibly talented, and we may just be witnessing a metamorphosis from leader of the underground to public success. Whether he reaches the same heights as Dizzee, we can only wait and see.

See Clear Now is out now through Warner Music.