Wiley - 100% Publishing

Although the commercial story might put across Wiley as something of a recent hitmaker (bursting into pop knowledge with 2008's "Wearing My Rolex"), the grime artist has been around for over a decade. Forming the collective Roll Deep in 2002 with a few notable members such as Skepta, Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder, the group have enjoyed success with great singles such as "The Avenue" and not-so-great recent #1s "Green Light" and "Good Times". Of course, such recent pop sensibilities have drawn a great deal of criticism from hishttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif contemporaries, suggesting he'd sold out: indeed he regards his 2008 record 'See Clear Now', which spawned Rolex, 'Cash in my Pocket' and 'Summertime', as one he's "disowned".

In 2009 he clawed back some fans with 'Race Against Time' - but this year sees an ambitious two albums released from the man. 100% Publishing is the first, released this week, and has already gained some attention thanks to lead single Numbers in Action and its funky video. Such viral pursuits are referenced in opener 'Information Age' where everything from the music industry to the couch-potato mentality of today are savaged: "The industry has seen much better days, my patience is wearing thinner".


Certainly any signs of a commercial sound are MIA - the title track combines a rather classic jungle/grime beat, and whilst there are some minor diversions in the tune, the focus is on Wiley himself: "Make a silly move, career ending, I'm an avatar when I'm airbending" he jokes whilst making some rather existential points about the difficulty of breaking various audiences ("I know some don't care about the grime scene but I'm gonna 'til I die", "Nobody knows if it's gonna work overseas, but you wait, I'm gonna try") - but he asserts confidence on 'Numbers in Action': "to get it right, I know it's all about timing." Understandably the first single with its catchy chorus hooks and flows, it's a step away from the electro-house of most mainstream urban artists that's welcome respite.

A circus introduction to 'Boom Boom Da Na' kicks off a more grimy sound and is a very quickfire track - the chorus is a little dollop of silly onamatopoeia but oh well. "I'm bang bang but my name ain't Chitty" he announces on 'Your Intuition' with a chorus that laments some poor past decisions - indeed "I'm real and so's my collective" seems to shrug off some of the Rolex worries. 'I Just Woke Up' doesn't really have much of a resonant message and whilst there're fast beats on show it feels a wasted track ("I'm awake now, reading the Sun newspaper, 25p I'm a saver"...) I guess you could make a point about laziness and its infiltration into commercialism and entertainment but it's a bit of a stretch (yawn) when the chorus relies on a yawning trick. A pleasant piano tune to 'Wise Man And His Words' is always going to please me, and Wiley again addresses his artistic conflicts: "That's why I made two albums, 'cos I've got two fanbases, not one".

Just which one this is comes under fire occasionally thanks to the commercial leanings of tracks like 'Talk About Life' and 'Up There'. The former has a kinda Bruno Mars vibe about it thanks to the pleasant-but-dull guest feature from Daniel de Bourgh, whereas the latter thrives off a nice tune. 'Yonge Street (1,178 Miles Long)' however focuses on a less mainstream instrumentation with slick vocals. Just what they're about is a little puzzling, though. 'Pink Lady' has a strong jungle beat and whilst songs about admiring women aren't entirely exciting, it's got enough of a tune to carry it for a brief charm. 'One Hit Wonder' is probably the only case where a bit of eurodance filters in, but it's the slightest of drops and the focus on its other aspects gives it a great kick - a mixture of humour ("you wanna mumble your words? Fair enough"), ambition ("I won't hit once, 'cos I'm not a one hit wonder"), mundanity ("hit the Macbook, open a file") that all combines and gives Wiley an unmistakable individuality.


"My work ain't over" he reaffirms in 'To Be Continued', "I wonder when I'm gonna burn out, but I keep on going like Duracell batteries". It's certainly said convincingly but is a little bit repetitive to me for some reason. Finally 'Music Not the Money' has a child-hook chorus that hammers home its title with as much subtlety as Janet Street Porter, that it accidentally comes off as false - but it's a cute sentiment nonetheless. Because whether or not there's some cynicism about going all "music, not the money", it's certainly a noble message to put across. The majority of the album does certainly argue the former - and whilst there are moments where you wonder if a track's been designed for the money, he's got 5 times as many to reassure you where his heart lies.

Rating: 7/10
Highlights: One Hit Wonder, Numbers in Action, Your Intuition, Wise Man and His Words, Up There
Avoid: Pink Lady, Talk About Life
Artwork Watch: It's the back of a head. You try coming up with something interesting to say about that.