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Wiley's great grime giveaway

http%253A%252F%252Fstatic.guim.co.uk%252Fsys-images%252FMusic%252FPix%252Fpictures%252F2010%252F6%252F18%252F1276874899537%252FWiley-006.jpgPhotograph: Per Crepin/PR

Grime spree ... Wiley has uploaded more than 80 tracks to Twitter. Photograph: Per Crepin

Dan Hancox

guardian.co.uk Blogposts Fri 9 Jul 2010 13:20 BST

When he sacked his manager on Twitter last night, Wiley fans probably thought they'd seen it all before. Then he started uploading zip files containing mountains of unreleased music ...

If there's one thing world-weary Wileyoligists have learned, it's to never be surprised by anything he does. Ever. Which is why his Twitter hissyfit yesterday, slating and then sacking his manager John Woolf, was less melodramatic than it might seem. He's even thrown this kind of tantrum before – 18 months ago, when he publicly dissed Woolf for the travesty that was Cash in My Pocket: "If You Knew How Mad I Am Right Now Watch The Video For The 1st Time And Its That sh*t Version Of The Tune John Woolf I Am Gonna Get You I Promise 1 Day You Will Pay For This You Tramp I Hate You."

But then yesterday evening, in a fit of pique, Wiley found a new way to surprise us: he embarked on the sudden and cathartic process of giving away what appears to be 11 zip files of finished tracks, freestyles and demos, recorded mostly in the last year. The zip files giveaway is still going on as I type, and is being archived in this gargantuan thread on Grimeforum.com.

Wiley has spent most of the past year referring to himself as The Elusive, also the name of the album for Island he has just wilfully scuppered. As a nom de guerre it perfectly describes the impossibility of ever working with – or working out – the man also known as Richard Cowie. As I recounted in my Ten Essential Wiley Tracks for Fact magazine, he's had beefs, fall-outs, and tantrums galore, been stabbed 14 times, retired at least twice, and never released an album without denouncing it. The word incorrigible springs to mind.

In the stream of consciousness that has spewed forth from his Twitter feed in the last 24 hours, one truth stood out: "I jus want everyone to know I make music day and night." Full analysis will take a while longer, but for demos and cast-offs, the quality seems astonishingly high, moving through the 80-odd tracks that have been uploaded so far. As one Grimeforum.com user suggested, there are (or rather, were) a few top 10 hits in there.

In contrast to the electro-schlock of some of his recent chart singles, tracks such as Elusive Intro and Playground Freestyle demonstrate Wiley is still capable of the breathtakingly forward-thinking beats that made his name in 2003. And lyrically, he's lost none of his old fire – delivering the same winning mix of hazy metaphor and gut-churning honesty, self-doubt and head-strong confidence. "Can't kill Bill you are not Uma Thurman … It's all about passport travel / Especially when you came from the gravel / Kids know my lyrics like Christmas carols," he spits on Aim High, perhaps the highlight so far.

One stoical soul who has been working with Wiley in recent years told me he once received a phonecall on Christmas morning, while opening presents with family.

"I've got some more finished tunes for you, if I send them over now can you check them out please?"

"Wiley," he said. "You do realise it's Christmas don't you? Aren't you going to take a day off?" The grime legend reeled, apologised, and hung up. The idea of a day off from music didn't even figure in his thinking. Never mind The Elusive, Wiley is The Compulsive.

Wiley>>>>>

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