Godfather of grime Wiley, has been awarded an MBE. The MC, otherwise known as Richard Cowie has been acknowledged for his service to UK music in Her Majesty the Queen’s New Year Honours List. This win has come a at very significant time for Wiley who dropped two studio albums in 2017, God Father and God Father II, as well as his autobiography titled “EskiBoy” which has been described as the bible of grime.
According to the Press Association, Wiley stated: “It feels like the school grade I wanted but didn’t get but now I’m finally there”.
The east Londoner was one of the very first pioneers for grime in the early 2000’s and was a witness to its very early days and as many would agree, decline. Wiley’s consistency and prolific work rate over the years lead him onto mentoring and working with some of the most well recognised names in grime today such as Skepta, Chipmunk, Dizzee Rascal, Ice Kid, only to name a few.
In the last few years, Grime has received a compelling amount of exposure, more than than it has ever received and is now considered a global phenomenon. Some of the biggest songs of last year stemmed straight from UK grime culture and we were blessed with some of the most influential collaborations the UK have ever seen.
Wiley will be joining a few familiar names on this New Year Honours List, with the likes of Barry Gibb and Ringo Starr all set to receive their knighthood for their contribution to the entertainment industry. Wiley has been shown a huge amount of appreciation across social media since the list was released and his fans and fellow artists in the industry could not be happier to support him through this milestone.
Article By Jaisha Thomas.
He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.