Ascent

The godfather of grime Wiley is currently enjoying the most successful chapter in his highly influential career following the smash hit singles 'Heatwave' (#1) and 'Can You Hear Me? (Ayayaya)' (#3) which have sold almost 650,000 copies between them. Wiley's unstoppable progression now looks set to continue with the release of his new album 'The Ascent' (One More Tune / Warner Bros. Records) which will be released digitally on March 11th. In addition to the two hit singles which both featured guest vocalist Ms D, 'The Ascent' features ten new tracks which often find Wiley collaborating with a diverse array of artists including a List, Far East Movement, Kano, Emeli Sand, Angel and Chip. Wiley will follow the album's release by hitting the road for the 'Boy Better Know presents' tour alongside Skepta and JME. The tour, scheduled below, follows their recent triumph at the 2012 Red Bull Culture Clash which was held at Wembley Arena. Calling on the help of special guests Lethal Bizzle and Chip, the Boy Better Know crew's victory featured scintillating freestyles and dubplates that were custom made for the event. While Wiley has always demonstrated an ability to produce tracks which infiltrate the mainstream while maintaining his longstanding underground credibility with singles as 'Wearing My Rolex' (#2), 'Never Be Your Woman' (#8), 'Cash in My Pocket' (#19) and 'Take That' (#20), the combination of 'Heatwave' and 'Can You Hear Me?' saw him deliver two huge consecutive crossover hits for the first time in his career. His recent high profile has included major festival sets at V and Bestial, an appearance in a Radio 1 TV advert alongside the likes of Cheryl Cole, Rita Ora and One Direction's Harry Styles, and two nominations (Best UK Male and Best Hip-Hop / Grime) at the recent MOBO Awards.