Godfather (Wiley album)

For 2012 A. R. Rahman album, see Godfather (soundtrack).

Godfather
Studio album by
Wiley
Released13 January 2017
Recorded2015–September 2016
GenreGrime
Length57:45
LabelCTA Records
Producer
Wiley chronology
Snakes & Ladders
(2014) 		Godfather
(2017) 		Godfather II
(2018)
Singles from Godfather
  1. "Can't Go Wrong"
    Released: 15 September 2016
  2. "Bring Them All / Holy Grime"
    Released: 13 October 2016
  3. "U Were Always, Pt. 2"
    Released: 25 November 2016
  4. "Speakerbox"
    Released: 6 January 2017

Godfather is the eleventh studio album by English grime MC Wiley. It was released on 13 January 2017 through CTA Records, a record label venture between Wiley and Logan Sama and is distributed by Warner Music Group. It succeeds the album Snakes & Ladders (2014), originally announced as Wiley's final album.

The album features guest appearances from numerous MCs, including Skepta, Devlin, Jme, Ghetts, Chip, P Money, Lethal Bizzle, among others. Production derives from Wiley himself, Preditah, Swifta Beater, Rude Kid, Darq E Freaker and Teeza. It was originally slated to be Wiley's last solo album to be released until he announced on 3 November 2017 the release of a new album called Godfather II on 27 April 2018.

The album was supported by four singles: "Can't Go Wrong", "Bring Them All / Holy Grime" featuring Devlin, "U Were Always, Pt. 2" featuring Skepta and Belly, and "Speakerbox". The album received critical acclaim from critics, while peaking at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart. It became Wiley's highest-charting album of his career after succeeding the peak of The Ascent (2013).

Background

The album was announced in March 2016 via Twitter, along with a release date of September 2. However, the album was delayed to early 2017 after being cancelled altogether. The album name is a reference to the media title of Wiley as the "Godfather of Grime", a title that he has been reluctant to adopt until Godfather: "I was battling [the title of Godfather] for ages. I didn't want to take it on. But you know what, one day I woke up and I said: 'this title actually means a lot and I need to actually put some respect on its name, stop trying to push it away.'"[1][2]

Godfather was originally dubbed as Wiley's last solo studio album release, claiming that "This is the end of my career, in terms of proving anything. After this, I don't have to prove anything to anybody. It's not my job any more to jump around and try being the number one guy, up in everyone’s faces at Rinse FM, at Radar Radio. It's the next generation's job."[3] However, on 3 November 2017, he announced that he had a change of heart and will now release a new album, titled Godfather II, on 27 April 2018.[4][5]

Composition

Godfather serves as a complete return to grime for Wiley for a high-profiled release. NME described the album's sound as "a pop-free rampage through ‘Eskimo’-era beats, monstrous, gnarled bass and even the odd spot of smooth, loverman Rhythm N Grime."[1][6]

Promotion

In December 2015, the song "P Money" was released online via a music video. The song was later remixed featuring the artist the song title references, P Money, and included as a bonus track on Godfather.

The lead single, "Can't Go Wrong", was released on 15 September 2016.[7] The second single, "Bring Them All / Holy Grime" featuring Devlin was released on 13 October 2016.[8] The third single, "U Were Always, Pt. 2" featuring Skepta and Belly, was released on 25 November 2016.[9] The album's fourth single, "Speakerbox", was released on 6 January 2017.[10]

Two non-album promotional singles were released that were originally on the album: "6 in the Morning", released on 9 December 2016, and "Handle Ya Business", released on the album's release day.[11][12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[13]
Metacritic84/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Clash8/10[16]
Exclaim!6/10[17]
Financial Times[18]
The Guardian[19]
The Irish Times[20]
NME[21]
The Observer[22]
Pitchfork7.4/10[23]
Q[24]

Godfather received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 11 reviews. Jordan Bassett of NME stated that "It’s a statement of intent: Wiley has come to reclaim the genre that he helped to create more than a decade ago".[21] Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian commented that "his demeanor on this blockbuster album is of a foreman nodding with satisfaction as he looks across a building site".[19] Nathan Fisher of The 405 commented: "The energy generated throughout Godfather is evocative of the genre’s prime years, as Wiley, with assistance from a multitude of producers (JME, Preditah, Rude Kid & Kid D, to name just a few), astutely bridge the gap between Grime’s generations. The smooth, seamless combination of the conventional Grime sounds (‘Speakerbox’, ‘Bang’ and ‘On This’) with the modern, popular Trap sound (‘Joe Bloggs’), results in tracks like ‘Birds n Bars’ bringing a successful balance between the two. If Grime’s resurgence was missing anything, Godfather has gone some way to being the final ingredient by evoking the limitless energy that the genre was built on. Wiley has curated a project that binds the generations of Grime and acts as the final confirmation of the genre’s return."[25]

Commercial performance

Godfather entered and peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart for chart week 20 January 2017. It became Wiley's highest-charting album of his career, and second top 40 album, surpassing the peak of The Ascent (2013) which peaked at number 26. However, Godfather charted at number 1 on the UK R&B Chart and number 3 on the UK Independent Chart.[26]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Birds n Bars"Cowie
  • Wiley
  • Teeza
  • Preditah
6:30
2."Bring Them All / Holy Grime" (featuring Devlin)
  • Cowie
  • James Devlin
  • Matthew Virgo
  • Mr Virgo
3:17
3."Name Brand" (featuring Jme, Frisco & J2K)
  • Cowie
  • Jamie Adenuga
  • Deshane Cornwall
  • Jason Black
Jme3:42
4."Speakerbox"Cowie
  • Mucky
  • NoizBoiz
3:12
5."Back with a Banger"CowiePreditah3:03
6."Joe Bloggs" (featuring Newham Generals & President T)
  • Cowie
  • Darren Dixon
  • Daniel Carnegie
  • President T
Rude Kid3:27
7."Pattern Up Properly" (featuring Flowdan & Jamakabi)
  • Cowie
  • Marc Veira
  • Anthony Harris
Teddy2:47
8."Can't Go Wrong"CowieDarq E Freaker3:04
9."Bang" (featuring Ghetts)
  • Cowie
  • Justin Clarke
Maniac2:59
10."U Were Always, Pt. 2" (featuring Skepta & Belly)
  • Cowie
  • Joseph Adenuga
  • Belly
Kid D3:36
11."On This" (featuring Chip, Ice Kid & Little D)
  • Cowie
  • Jahmaal Fyffe
  • Ice Kid
  • Dean Douglas
CJ Beats3:40
12."Bait Face" (featuring Scratchy)
  • Cowie
  • Scratchy
  • Scratchy
  • Wiley
2:47
13."My Direction" (featuring Lethal Bizzle)
  • Cowie
  • Maxwell Ansah
JLSXND7RS2:46
14."Like It or Not" (featuring Breeze)
  • Cowie
  • Breeze
Swifta Beater3:06
15."Lucid"CowieZeph Ellis3:40
16."Laptop" (featuring Manga)
  • Cowie
  • Matthew Reid
Morfius2:58
17."P Money (Remix)" (featuring P Money) (bonus track)
  • Cowie
  • Paris Moore-Williams
Teeza3:01
Total length:57:45

Notes

  • The bonus track "P Money (Remix)" appears on all versions of the album.
  • The track "Bring Them All" appears on the first track after "Birds n Bars", and not at the beginning of the second track as listed on all versions of the tracklisting.

Sample credits

  • "U Were Always, Pt. 2" contains a sample of "Fine Time", performed by SWV.

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[27] 3
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 53
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[29] 3
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[30] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 9

Release history

Country Date Label Format
United Kingdom 13 January 2017 Chasing the Art
United States 27 January 2017

References

  1. ^ a b "Wiley: The godfather of grime on making his last ever album". NME. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Wiley finally accepts he is the 'Godfather of Grime'". BBC. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  3. ^ "How Wiley Finally Learned to Accept His Role as The Godfather of Grime". Fader. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Wiley announces new album 'Godfather II' and shares new JME-featuring single 'I Call The Shots'". NME. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Godfather II by Wiley on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Wiley - Godfather". Death Kiss Media. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Can't Go Wrong". Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via Amazon.
  8. ^ "Bring Them All / Holy Grime". Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via Amazon.
  9. ^ "U Were Always, Pt.2". Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via Amazon.
  10. ^ "Speakerbox". Retrieved 14 January 2017 – via Amazon.
  11. ^ "Amazon - 6 in the Morning [Explicit]: Wiley". Amazon. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  12. ^ "iTunes - Handle Ya Business - Single by Wiley". iTunes. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Godfather by Wiley reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  14. ^ "Reviews for Godfather by Wiley". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  15. ^ Simpson, Paul. "Godfather – Wiley". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  16. ^ Kilpin, James (19 January 2017). "Wiley – Godfather". Clash. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  17. ^ Harmony, A. (13 January 2017). "Wiley: Godfather". Exclaim!. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  18. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (21 January 2017). "Wiley: Godfather — 'tribute to grime'". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  19. ^ a b Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (12 January 2017). "Wiley: The Godfather review – grime originator delivers a blockbuster". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  20. ^ Carroll, Jim (25 January 2017). "Wiley – Godfather album review: He's lost none of his bite, energy or innovation". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  21. ^ a b Bassett, Jordan (13 January 2017). "Wiley – 'Godfather' Review". NME. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  22. ^ Empire, Kitty (15 January 2017). "Wiley: The Godfather review – he's back with a banger". The Observer. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  23. ^ Jayasuriya, Mehan (31 January 2017). "Wiley: Godfather". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  24. ^ Garner, George (March 2017). "Hail to the Chief". Q (369): 110.
  25. ^ "Wiley provides an infectious atmosphere on new album Godfather". The 405. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  26. ^ "The xx's I See You earns the band their second Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart". Official Charts. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  27. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  30. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2017.