Wiley: Grime Ambassador

In conversation Wiley is very like his rhymes - rarely pausing for breath, full of enthusiasm and insight. Regarded as both a founder and a pioneer in the grime scene, his recent signing to Big Dada was tempered by the announcement that he intended to retire, and that his new album Playtime Is Over would be his last. The first question that occurred to most Wiley fans was: 'Are you doing a Jay-Z?' I put this to him as he spoke from his London studio, and it quickly became apparent that his 'retirement' not as simple as it first appeared.

"The grime scene is a place where the average age to become involved is like from thirteen to fourteen and up to 21," explains Wiley. "That's the prime time. I'm fast approaching 30, and I just felt that I didn't want to be in the grime scene struggling at that age. So I decided to come out two years before I'm 30, so by the time I'm 30, I'll have come away from their scene - let them have it, 'cos they're younger than me - let them have their day, and then I'll be in different parts, spreading the word of grime. I can go all around the world, and spread the word. I'll tour England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the rest of the world, until I drop, y'know?"

So his retirement is from the insular and competitive London grime scene, not from the music industry. But he isn't departing the scene because he's lost faith in it - quite the opposite. He sees himself as something of an ambassador of grime - and at 28, its first elder statesman. He talks of wanting to produce for American R&B stars, citing Timbaland's moves into the mainstream with vital, underground productions. "I don't believe in bashing people's heads: you've got to try and sneak it in and get accepted, and that's why the vocal side of it will help. People will accept grime more if there's singing on it."

On the subject of his former protege Dizzee Rascal, Wiley is amicable. Their LPs both drop on 4 June, but he refuses to say whether his school-related title is a response to Dizzee's own Maths & English. Is he looking forward to the press hype? "Yeah mate, definitely! I think I'm gonna do well this time. I just got to keep doing the work and all the press, keep that side of it up."

Among the best tracks on Playtime... is 50/50, a tribute to Big Dada's unique artist deal, with an equal profit share. The move to Big Dada was not financial however: "It was more about longevity. It'll be better for me as an artist to have done it at this level, rather than getting a hundred grand from a major. With the fifty-fifty deal, it depends on what I do. If I work hard, seriously work, then I can't moan. At the other end, it will be healthy. Whereas if I didn't do any work and sat on the advance, that would mean I wouldn't be able to progress."

As he says in the lyrics to I've Got Bars, Wiley still feels he can: "... keep spitting the bars and never run out." His retirement is a move to consolidate not just his own career, but the future of the UK's most significant emerging musical movement in twenty years. "Do you know the truth? I feel like I've got so much more to offer, but the thing is, I can't just do it here in London," he confesses. "London isn't big enough. I've got to spread it around, what I've got to offer. Grime has to spread. I've been around a little bit, and it is happening, man. It's happening in Russia. Other people are doing it - other people are spreading the word. I'm part of it, and I've got the right to spread the word. I'm not going to change how dark or how gritty the music is, I'm just going to do it. Show the world. If they like it, they like it. First time round, they might not like it, second time round they might. I might have to keep doing it again and again, but I'm going to do it." In other words, it's going to be a while before he applies for a free bus pass and hangs up his mic. Happy days.