The last time grime godfather Wiley put out an album on Big Dada, 2007's Playtime Is Over, he was dropping vague hints about the release being his last solo record. Then "Wearing My Rolex" blew up. Everything since has been a jumble of pop moves, renunciations of said pop moves, double-reverse crossovers, beefs, mixtapes, label changes, and that one time last year the UK rapper/producer just up and released eleven zip files of unreleased beats for free. But Wiley also found the time to put together a completely self-contained, no-interference album, give it the autonomy-flaunting title 100% Publishing, and get Big Dada to distribute it. It's almost like he just wanted to pick up where he left off before his chart bid.
Wiley's latest succeeds admirably as a figurative reset button, even as it's run through with the embattled energy and strident confidence of a creator intent on rejecting the sellout accusations that forced a stylistic reboot in the first place. 100% Publishing bristles with the reflexive jabs and on-the-spot opinions that tend to come during long-distance sparring sessions with the nebulous @-flogging masses. The single-minded focus on wrangling a complicated commercial-vs.-underground reputation can feel exhausting at times, but the album's musicality makes up for it, with an improved vocal delivery and a collection of beats that expand on what drew attention to Wiley's production at grime's onset.
"Some days I'm asking God, but then the Internet is quicker," Wiley says on opener "Information Age". The album's distinctly online-borne attitude leads to a lot of defensive boasts. The title track reasserts Wiley's original DIY success story, and "Your Intuition" makes admitting past diversions and future changes into a sign of strength, while "Wise Man and His Words" stands up for the rapper's "dual core" fanbase. Hints of frustration still bubble under the surface; "One Hit Wonder" and "Yonge Street (1,178 Miles Long)" thrive on the tension between braggadocio and insecurity. But the main mood is one of defiant optimism. Single "Numbers in Action" says it best: "I reinvent, I'm like a brand new signing."
Musically, the title track and "One Hit Wonder" boost Wiley's vintage "eskibeat" style with busier melodies and suppler drums. The stripped-down boom-clap beats for "Numbers in Action" and "Yonge Street" nod toward retro-modern club rap without all the Eurobeat bombast. Even the more unusual flourishes-- the having-a-larf circus melody of "Boom Boom Da Na", or the melancholy piano line of "Wise Man and His Words"-- have dead-serious rhythmic pulses beneath them. Chirpy shuffle-step love track "Pink Lady" and instrospective, R&B-tinged "Talk About Life" seem like they'd work better in the context of "rhythm & grime" project Chill Out Zone, but these pop-oriented cuts are the exceptions.
100% Publishing benefits from a deeper focus on the other side of the boards, too. Wiley wasn't always the slickest-flowing rapper, but if there's one part of his game that's really stepped up, it's his relationship with his own beats. He's so locked in that even his playful lyrical moments ("Make a silly move, career-ending/ I'm an Avatar when I'm Airbending") stand up to the bass the voice nimbly ricochets off. It might be hasty to applaud a return to form for an artist who's spent the past few years coming to terms with what that form's supposed to even mean. But it's still great to hear what Wiley can do when left to his own devices.
