Wiley

“When you hear the name grime, I am the meaning”, brags Wiley, but for once, the puffed chest is justified. He invented grime after all – and then, instead of pursuing the pop folly of Roll Deep’s ‘The Avenue’, he slunk underground, putting out mixtapes before announcing his retirement, like a ghetto Cantona. All Wiley’s motivations are laid bare on ‘Playtime Is Over’, essentially a love story between a man and the music scene he sired. It’s honest, intense, funny, furious, and on ‘Letter 2 Dizzee’ – an olive branch to his estranged protégé – tear-jerkingly poignant. Wiley uses his full arsenal of industrial beat-drops, belching bass and quivering synth-strings to wring maximum drama from his nimble diatribes. In doing so, he’s created the definitive grime document. Mighty. Sam Richards

8 out of 10