Wiley – New Album ‘The Acsent’
The godfather of grime Wiley is currently enjoying the most successful chapter in his highly influential career following the smash hit singles ‘Heatwave’ (#1) and ‘Can You Hear Me? (Ayayaya)’ (#3) which have sold just under 700,000 copies between them. Wiley’s unstoppable progression now looks set to continue with the release of his new album ‘The Ascent’ (One More Tune / Warner Bros. Records) which will be released on April 1st.
In addition to the two hit singles which both featured guest vocalist Ms D, ‘The Ascent’ features ten new tracks which often find Wiley collaborating with a diverse array of artists including A List, Far East Movement, Kano, Emeli Sandé, Angel and Chip .
Wiley will follow the album’s release by hitting the road for the ‘Boy Better Know presents’ tour alongside Skepta and JME. The tour, scheduled below, follows their recent triumph at the 2012 Red Bull Culture Clash which was held at Wembley Arena. Calling on the help of special guests Lethal Bizzle and Chip, the Boy Better Know crew’s victory featured scintillating freestyles and dubplates that were custom made for the event.
April
18th – Norwich, UEA
19th – Birmingham, The Library @ HMV Institute
20th – London, HMV Forum
22nd – Manchester, HMV Ritz
23rd – Bristol, O2 Academy
Remaining tickets available at a price of £14.50 for London and £12.50 for all regional dates.
While Wiley has always demonstrated an ability to produce tracks which infiltrate the mainstream while maintaining his longstanding underground credibility with singles as ‘Wearing My Rolex’ (#2), ‘Never Be Your Woman’ (#8), ‘Cash In My Pocket’ (#19) and ‘ Take That’ (#20), the combination of ‘Heatwave’ and ‘Can You Hear Me?’ saw him deliver two huge consecutive crossover hits for the first time in his career.
His recent high profile has included major festival sets at V and Bestival, an appearance in a Radio 1 TV advert alongside the likes of Cheryl Cole, Rita Ora and One Direction’sHarry Styles, and two nominations (Best UK Male and Best Hip-Hop / Grime) at the recent MOBO Awards.