What’s going on people? It’s been a while since I posted. Life has kind of been hectic and has left little opportunity for music. But I’m back. I wish it was not for this reason. A genre called Grime has really come through into the public awareness in the UK in the past few years but it’s been around starting as an underground movement since the early 2000s. It’s a uniquely British genre with a rough production sound and higher BPM than rap – with punchy powerful rhymes. One of the founders of the genre and still one of its most prolific producers (and MCs) is Wiley. He’s a man I’ve got a lot of respect for musically. And then last week he went off on a series of virulently anti-Semitic rants on social media. Really disgusting, nasty stuff. When it started I didn’t want to believe it. It’s hard to see someone you respect so much for their art come out with such nastiness – and even more so when it’s directed against you. But he persisted. He got a temporary ban from Twitter and then continued once it ended. He got banned again so he moved the vitriol to Instagram. And almost worse than seeing Wiley come out with this stuff was seeing people in the comments supporting and defending him and what he was saying. It was painful and terrifying and the worst of it has been taken down but a lot of it is still there. I felt like I couldn’t stay silent in such a situation. I was so angry. And I took that anger and put into a track where I call Wiley out. From writing to recording and mixing it was about 12 hours. We’ve left it rough around the edges just to get the message out as quickly as possible. Big thanks to Yuval for hacking a studio out of a sofa and blanket and for putting things together soundwise. Wiley challenged the Jewish community. So here I am. I’m standing up to be counted. What will you do?
Listen: Wiley is a Racist