Wiley (rapper)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wiley (right) in New York City in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Richard Kylea Cowie
Born	19 January 1979 (1979-01-19) (age 30)
Origin	Bow, London
Genre(s)	Grime, eskibeat
Occupation(s)	MC / Producer / DJ / Record Label owner
Years active	1994 - present

Richard Kylea Cowie (born 19 January 1979), better known by his stage name Wiley ^[1] (named after TV cartoon Thundercats) is a British music producer and MC who was one of the original founders of the Roll Deep Crew. Wiley has been active in the fields of Drum & Bass and UK Garage music, but is best known for being one of the pioneers of Grime. Wiley was born in Bow, an area in East London, England. He is of Trinidadian and Antiguan descent.^[2][3]. His musical career began as a Drum & Bass MC, before becoming involved in UK Garage music. He was a founding member of the group Roll Deep, producing and contributing vocals, with whom he pioneered a style of music that came to be known as Grime. 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.^[4] The performer announced his retirement in 2007 but quickly ended it to continue recording. ^[5] He has collaborated with various artists over the years, including Kano and Dizzee Rascal. Wiley has pioneered the Grime, as both a record producer and an MC, though he sometimes refers to his music as "Eski" short for Eskimo^[1]. Wiley releases all of his mixtapes under the name "Eskiboy". 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.^[6] 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."^[7] Many of Wiley's early vinyl releases, such as 'Eskimo', were released under the alias "Wiley Kat", this name was derived from a character in the cartoon Thundercats. However the 'Kat' is never officially used by Wiley anymore, only mentioned loosely in some of his songs. In 2006, it was rumoured Wiley had died after being stabbed by Abbo.

Contents 1 Mainstream success 2 Death hoax 3 Discography 3.1 Studio Albums 3.2 Street Albums 3.3 Mixtapes 3.4 Commercial Singles 3.5 Vinyl EPs 3.6 Underground Releases 3.7 Myspace Songs 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Mainstream success

In the past Wiley has vowed that he would never change his origin to break into the mainstream, although his hit "Wearing My Rolex" has become very popular in the mainstream, and because of the instrumentation (such as the slower, house style beat and lack of sub bass), is not considered true grime music. ^[8]

Wiley is collaborating with two members of N-Dubz, he has revealed.

The grime star is planning to hit the studio with 21-year-old vocalist Tulisa, as he tells the Daily Star: "I'm going to be doing a new track with Tulisa from N-Dubz."

"I want to do a little stylee with her like 'Tell Me' by P Diddy featuring Christina Aguilera." Wiley explains. "It should definitely be happening and my lawyers have approached her lawyers."

"We are just trying to find some free time where we can get in the studio."

Speaking on the collaboration, Tulisa herself confirmed they are planning to work together, as she adds: "I'm not sure if it's going to be a single as yet but it'll be a big underground anthem no matter what."

Wiley also revealed he's already worked with Tulisa's band mate Dappy - who recently assisted Tinchy Stryder on his hit single 'Number One'.

[edit] Death hoax

On November 2 2008 a fake BBC News Report was created and spread around the internet claiming that Wiley had been stabbed in an alleyway in Hackney. This rumour turned out to be false as on November 3 2008, Wiley's MySpace display name was 'I AM NOT DEAD'. Wiley spoke about the matter through a phone call on Tim Westwood's radio show.^{[9] [10]}

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio Albums

• Treddin' On Thin Ice (2004) (#44 UK)
• Da 2nd Phaze* (2006)
• Playtime Is Over (2007) (#71 UK)
• See Clear Now (2008) (#139 UK^[11])
• Race Against Time (2009)(# peak iTunes 48 UK)
• The Illusive (2009)(# Out September 21st )

[edit] Street Albums

• Grime Wave (2008) (#176 UK^[12])

[edit] Mixtapes

• Tunnel Vision Vol. 1 - 7 (2006-2007)
• Umbrella Vol. 1 (2008)

[edit] Commercial Singles

Year	Song	Chart	Album
		UK[13][14]
2004	"Wot Do U Call It"	31	Treddin' On Thin Ice
	"Pies"	45
2007	"50/50"	—	Playtime Is Over
2007	"My Mistakes" (featuring Manga and Little Dee)	18
2008	"Wearing My Rolex"	2	See Clear Now
	"Summertime"	45
	"Cash In My Pocket" (featuring Daniel Merriweather)	18
2009	"She's Glowin'"	—	Race Against Time
	"Too Many Man" (as part of Boy Better Know)	79	Microphone Champion & Race Against Time

[edit] Vinyl EPs

• Carnival EP
• Fire Fly EP
• Flame Grilled Whopper EP
• Ground Zero EP
• Shut Your Mouth Records EP
• So Amazing EP
• Southside Recordings Vinyl
• Together As One Volume 1 EP
• Together As One Volume 2 EP
• Robinho Like Lyrical Tricks EP
• Wot U Call It EP
• Your Not Real EP
• Ice Rink Vocal EP

[edit] Underground Releases

• I should have known - 1999
• I know - 1999
• Know We (Pay As You Go) - 2000
• I Will Not Lose - 2001
• Snowman - 2002
• Only Fools & Horses - 2002
• They Should Know - 2002
• Dirty Cash RMX - 2002
• We're Ready, Devils Mix - 2003
• In da Club Eski Mainia - 2003
• Sky Diver - 2003
• Sunny Weather - 2003
• City Under water - 2003
• Freeze / Bird Tune 2003
• Blizzard - 2003
• Eskimo - 2003
• Eskimo 2 - 2003
• Eskimo 3 - 2003
• Eskimo 4 - 2003
• Frost Bite - 2003
• Snow Kat - 2003
• Water Kat - 2003
• Ice Rink - 2003
• River man - 2003
• Floor walker - 2003
• The Office - 2003
• Blue Rizla - 2003
• Ground Zero - 2003
• Donkey Kick - 2003
• Colder - 2004
• Ice Cream Men / Fire Hydrant - 2004
• Sidewinder - 2005
• Jam Pie - 2005
• Rubarb Crumble - 2005
• Morgue - 2005
• Ice Pole RMX / New Era - 2005
• Carnival - 2006
• So Amazing - 2006
• 16 Bar / Stormy Weather - 2006
• Crook / Babylon Burner - 2006
• It's The Summer, UK - 2009

[edit] Myspace Songs

• Myspace Beat - 2009

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Wiley at MySpace
• Wiley on the Grimepedia
• http://www.rwdmag.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105344