Wiley vs. Ed Sheeran and Drake

In a recent BBC 1xtra radio interview the Godfather of Grime Wiley has accused Ed Sheeran and Drake of being 'Culture Vultures' who exploit the UK Grime scene.

This all comes after Ed Sheeran released a grime remix of his song 'Take me Back to London' featuring Stormzy. In the interview, Wiley accused Sheeran of using Grime in order to increase his sales and stated that Sheeran is allowed to access grime and make money off of it but grime is not allowed to access Sheeran and make money off of him.

The Godfather of Grime has not always had this disdain for Ed. In the interview he explained it stemmed from a favour exchange he had with Sheeran that went wrong. Wiley featured on a Sheeran song called 'You' back in 2011 when Sheeran was still building his name as a fairly new artist. However, a few years later, when the favour was to be returned and Sheeran was asked to feature on a song he had, Sheeran and his management declined and refused to participate. Wiley explained he saw this as a betrayal and that was what turned their relationship sour.

Wiley divulged making the point that already established grime artists uplifted Sheeran and embraced him before his worldwide fame and success and expressed since the fame and success Sheeran has done nothing to uplift or promote anyone in the scene that gave propelled his career so why should the scene help him. He frequently referred to Sheeran as a pagan expressed his unwillingness to further communicate with him.

Wiley's opinion on Drake is something that is very familiar to his fans. Drake's name always seems to crop up in his tweets and social media posts and usually in a negative way. However, in this interview, Wiley took it to the next level. Recently, Drake has been in the spotlight for reviving the TV series 'Top Boy'. Over the past 5 years the UK music scene has received a lot of praise from the Canadian rapper and he has involved a mixture of UK artists in his projects and shows. From performing with J Hus and Section Boys to collaborating with Giggs, Skepta and Dave, Drake has been highly supportive of UK artists, however Wiley claims it is all a stunt.

During the interview Wiley expressed that he felt the rapper has ulterior motives and that the rapper has been trying to further appeal to his UK fanbase by cashing in on the resurgence of grime and lack of investment in black culture in the UK. He insists in the interview that the rappers actions are calculated and that he is trying to change fan perception by lowering himself from a multi-grammy winning millionaire superstar to a regular person who watches and cares about British TV shows. Wiley retracted the apology he made to Drake earlier in the year and reassured listeners he thinks Drake is a 'Culture Vulture' along with Ed Sheeran.

Take a listen to the interview:

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