{"id":9445,"date":"2012-07-03T11:40:30","date_gmt":"2012-07-03T11:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=9445"},"modified":"2012-08-16T11:36:10","modified_gmt":"2012-08-16T11:36:10","slug":"wiley-heatwave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2012\/07\/03\/wiley-heatwave\/","title":{"rendered":"WILEY: Heatwave"},"content":{"rendered":"

A founding member of the Roll Deep Crew, Wiley was a founding member of the grime movement that transformed British music, helping to nurture big-name hitters including Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder. With a string of top 10 hits now under his belt, Wonderland caught up with the ‘Godfather of grime’ as he’s just about to unleash his summer anthem ‘Heatwave’.<\/p>\n

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When was the first time you realised that you had a passion for writing and recording?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was when I was about 11, ‘cos I actually started to do it without being with my dad anymore or being at home. I was in school, just thinking of it. So I think 1991.<\/p>\n

Would you say that you use your status as a platform to alter people\u2019s perceptions of youth\/gang culture alongside the grime genre?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not really. Grime is not the main thing in English youth\/gang culture. It\u2019s rap and all different other stuff. So wherever the party\u2019s at, and wherever that does occur, in whichever areas it occurs, that\u2019s gonna happen or it\u2019s not. Sometimes I think they put that on us a bit, the gang\/grime culture. No one from grime is in a gang.<\/p>\n

You have successfully made the difficult transition from underground artist into the mainstream. Do you still remain true to your original ethos?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I still remain true, but in the underground you can be quite self-centred. Some people are always boasting about how good they are. In the ‘overground’, it\u2019s not about that, really. Your attitude has to change. What you gotta do is be more open-minded and just find the balance that\u2019s comfortable and that\u2019s winning. You gotta go forward with that. So I don\u2019t think you can have the same mind-frame. You gotta be able to adapt to which zone you\u2019re in.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve had numerous top 20 hits and the new single \u2018Heatwave\u2019 is being hailed as a \u201csummer anthem\u201d. Tell us a little bit more about this song.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well the producer sent me a beat called \u2018Numb Beyond Belief\u2019 and it was just sitting there for ages, but then it was like \u2018Rolex\u2019 again. When I heard it I knew what could happen, I just thought \u201cit\u2019s not built-up enough, it\u2019s not loud enough\u201d. But one day I just did it. <\/p>\n

You collaborate with a lot of other artists. If you could have any vocalist feature on a Wiley track, who would be your first choice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would love to do a song with Lil Wayne or someone like that. <\/p>\n

What music were you listening to when you were growing up and what inspired your creativity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dancehall music was the first one, and then I think it just turned into soul and stuff. But dancehall is the main reason, I think.<\/p>\n