Dark Ops Feat. Wiley (UK)

Dark Ops (Dark Riddims and The Operatives) return with the Key player in U.K. grime, often referred to as the Godfather of the genre, the Don, Wiley.

Support from FRAKSHA, Scotty Hinds Music, Hijack, Lady Banton and Exit99

His particular style”Eski” or “Eskibeat” marked the move from UK Garage that once dominated the London Underground to a new, MC-led style that first dominated pirate radio and later took the UK by storm. “Wiley conceived the raw mechanics of grime—choppy, icy strings, hollow basslines, two-step beats, punchy bars—before stretching the genre to its creative and commercial limits in the time it took most MCs to get a record out.

Always one to start trends rather than follow them, he was releasing full blown pop tracks before Dizzee, Tinchy, and Chip in the mid-00s, and he was going back to basics way before Skepta. Make no mistake: if the last few years of grime have taught us anything, it’s that Wiley’s original formula never lost its potency” (Noisey,17) Let’s take it back to the roots.

Tix on Sale Thursday 16th Nov 9am.