Wiley

Wiley's Biography

Richard Kylea Cowie was born on the 19th of January 1979 and is known by his stage name, Wiley. Wiley is an English Music producer, MC and recording artist. Wiley has been a pioneer in the underground scene for a long time and has accumilated 10 top crossover hits.

His earliest recording dates back to 1997 when he played on a pirate radio stations rapping over Jungle beats. In 2000 Wiley joined 'The Hit Squad' which was a garage crew consisted of two of his other School friends DJ Target and MC Maxwell D.

The Hit Squad achieved some success in the Garage Scene however they decided to combine with another Rival crew who went by the name of 'Pay As U Go' in an attempt to become a supergroup.

In 2002 they achieved a top 40 hit titled 'Champagne Dance' but shortly after disbanded, Wiley went on then to form the well known group 'Roll Deep Collective' which also included Dizzee Rascal.

Roll Deep decided to move away from traditional UK Garage and soon
found themselves creating a whole new genre known as Grime. 2001 and onwards Wiley began to produce intrumental singles on his WileyKitKat Record label, his most famous instrumentals are
'Eskimo', 'Avalanche' and 'Ice Rink' which led to Wiley signing a solo record deal with XL Recordings.

In 2004 Wiley released his debut album which was titled 'Treddin' on Thin Ice' on the XL Recordings label.

Albums

Wiley

Evolve or Be Extinct

Chill Out Zone

100 Publishing

Playtime Is Over