ALBUM REVIEW :: WILEY - PLAYTIME IS OVER

Current mood: LOCAL
Category: LOCAL Music

Right, I figured the best way to review and understand this LP was to walk the area of London from which Wiley and Grime compatriots such as Mr Dizzee Rascal descend...

Yes boss, I listened to Playtime Is Over on my walkman phone in and around Bow, E3

Blimey! Is this a sign Paul Giovanni's to stop talking nonsense to women all day and buckle down to a complete and absolute dedication to his music reviewing job??

Hell no, Giovanni lives in Bow E3.

So all i needed to do was open the front door, lock it (check it's locked) walk down the stairs, go out of the security gate, shut the security gate (check it's locked) walk through the car park (Did i turn the hob off? What about the doors? Did i definately lock them?? Have I got my keys?? Where's my money?? Do I have any money?? Is that all the money I have??) and go through the second security gate (check it's locked) and I was in Bow E3 - the very hood that's given birth to the only credible form of Hip Hop the UK has produced......

Now, this isn't some kind of mean boast or special claim that I'm, down with the UK hip hop kids.

No, I can confrim that I've never cruised around this here hood on my mountain bike with a sheath knife selling blow. I instead live in a yuppie flat in a new media prison behind two big FUCK OFF metal gates and a 24 hour secutiy guard, all of which are designed to keep the locals most definately OUT.

I do however love Bow E3, and so it seems does Wiley...

Yes boss, so much does Wiley love Bow E3, that track no2 of this LP is called Bow E3. And as i was walking around listening to it, I felt even more at home than normal: Roman Road, St Stephens, Devons Row ..It was like walking around town with an audio guidebook

So what?

Well for my limited money, Grime/Eskibeat or whatever you care to call it is
being very seriously underappreciated because it's a little hardcore, because the trendmakers and PR record bizz goonshits STILL can't get over the four white boys in a band thing AND because these folk are shit scarred they'll get stabbed if they come anywhere near Wileys version of Bow E3.

Sure such shits'll turn up to a REAL EASTEND PUB to take some pictures of the graffiti and sample the traditional Belgian Beer, but nothing more, and as a result an exciting and dynamic musical movement remains more or less underground...

And this is a shame because Bow E3 is where it's at for Grime. All the prime movers live in or around the Stratford/Bow/Limehouse/Bromley-By-Bow area and the sharp, taught aggresive rap style and hammer blasting screw fuck jacking beats are unique, and something I believe to be very special that's happening right now...

For me, the great thing about this particular LP is that it reflects the general atmosphere of Bow E3, not just the crime and violence that occasionally occurs and that Grime is tarred with being completely embroiled in..

That's not to say that Bow is a calm neighbourhood. E3 can be a pretty hardcore place to love and live. A new corner shop recently opened and a week later, the front was defaced with paint (apparent turf wars). Then last week it was robbed at gunpoint. Then there was the discovery of somekind of real life torture dungeon, and there was the time I saw an early teenager pull a hammer on his mate and these are just 4 or 5 incidents off the top of my head...

But to only see this rough and ready side to Bow E3 and Grime is to ignore the love, warmth and real and proper people that make Bow E3 and Grime a good place to be hearing and living...

So the LP...

Well Playtime Is Over is a strong, but beautiful beast of an album.
The production is fast, clean and heavy. The lyrical delivery dynamic, hard and at times viciously visceral. There are however plenty more mellow, warm, soulful and caring moments..

Tracks like Baby Girl, Come Lay With Me and Nothing About Me almost lean towards R'N'B and map out the far greater complexity to both the Grime sound and it's creators own lives and times...

So, in short, this is a quality, clever and strong listen and one more than worthy of your full and complete concentration...

Currently listening : Playtime Is Over By Wiley Release date: By 15 June, 2007

05:48 - 6 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Madeleine	top stuff, even if you dont like proudhon, it made me want to listen to the record and i guess thats the main point, that and it made me wonder if everyone does that thing with the keys and the stove or whether thats just something nutters do. not casting aspersions i do the keys the gas the iron thing too. Posted by Madeleine on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 11:53 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...	I do all those checks about trebble as spelt out in the piece here... Thing is, i once did leave my hob on for 4 days - it was lucky the landlord was responsible for paying the bill... Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 12:02 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Paloma Pirate	Are we on speaking terms again? Good Review. Good to see a review. Posted by Paloma Pirate on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 17:19 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...	Yes...I think we've taken the video talk to it's natural conclusion.. Thanks...I'm not 100% happy with it just yet, but it's getting there...I'll spin it over a few more times before sending it to the country..:+) Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... on Sunday, June 10, 2007 at 19:10 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	mark	i had a really good kebab the last time i was in bow, sorry i have no music related facts about the area, although the docklands railway was hitting notes that were remanicent of 1970's jazz Posted by mark on Monday, June 11, 2007 at 23:30 [Remove] [Reply to this]

The Paul Giovanni Music Blog...

The DLR does produce some interesting noise. However, the best sounds i've ever heard coming from public transport have been from slow continental trains. The best was in Northern France I think. I'd not slept and was terribly over sensitive and this fucking train was sounding like 3 John Cage records playing all at once.... I've never had a kebab in Bow tho. I had one in Highbury a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't finish it... Posted by The Paul Giovanni Music Blog... on Monday, June 11, 2007 at 23:51 [Remove] [Reply to this]