Wiley - Godfather II

The Guardian 60

(Chasing the Art)

If it’s anything like its cinematic namesake, this follow-up to Wiley’s 2017 album Godfather should be more complex and narratively ambitious than its predecessor. Unfortunately that doesn’t always turn out to be the case.

In terms of sequencing, it is very similar, with an opening salvo of crisp grime bangers segueing into broader experiments. Been a While’s pestering repetition of “Eskiboy” is an annoying bit of brand management, though I Call the Shots is exactly the kind of track that lets Wiley fly, its Chicago house-style bassline and spacious grime drum programming allowing his precise flow to scurry with ferrety energy. It’s a reminder that the pleasure of Wiley is more in this club PA dexterity than his lyrics. The tame likes of “BBK is the squad / without us, things’ll be odd” feel lacking sat next to neat JME guest bars such as “I make everybody fix up like Ofsted”.

Fri Apr 27 08:00:40 GMT 2018

The Guardian 60

(Warner)

Wiley’s previous album, Godfather, was supposed to be his last. His autobiography, published last November, felt like a line being drawn under the storied career of this grime producer and MC, at least as an artist (the paperback is out next month). He got an MBE in March.

But Wiley recently signed a new worldwide deal; an album called Godfather just begs for a sequel, and Wiley is trailing a third for 2020. There’s no sense that this mercurial character is slowing down verbally either – Bar finds him with MCs Scratchy and D Double E bouncing bars over computer game sounds at breakneck speed.

Sun Apr 29 06:59:36 GMT 2018