Wiley – 100% Publishing

Wiley’s second album for Big Dada sees the rapper hedging his musical bets. A combination of the hardest, sickest underground grime rhythms and more commercial, pop-oriented melodies, the highlights are equal to his best tracks from his 2004 debut and 2007's Playtime Is Over, but some of the more commercial experiments fail to pay off.

His wry, funny lyrics on Information Age (“Sometimes I’m askin’ God, but the internet’s quicker...”) display classic Wiley wit, and the insane, high-pitch synths of the title track and Boom Boom Da Na are a welcome return to the old-school grime sounds of Treddin'. I Just Woke Up is classic rapper-as-storyteller; a tried and tested formula that Wiley absolutely owns. Wise Man and His Words shows a more reflective side, but the R&B stylings of Talk About Life, Pink Lady and other tracks feel half-baked and pointless. Wiley is the king of grime – he should stick to that, and leave bland mainstream pandering to the hollow, played-out likes of Tinie Tempah. [Bram Gieben]