Wiley Flow

"Wiley Flow" is a song by English rapper Stormzy, released on 15 September 2019 through #Merky and Atlantic Records as the third single from his second studio album, Heavy Is the Head. The song is a homage to British grime MC Wiley that interpolates flows from his tracks "Bad 'Em Up" and "Nightbus Dubplate".[1] The cover art also mirrors his mixtape, Tunnel Vision Vol 1 (2007).[2]

"Wiley Flow"
Single by Stormzy
from the album Heavy Is the Head
Released15 September 2019 (2019-09-15)
Format
Length3:27
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Michael Omari
  • Eyobed Getachew
  • Richard Kylea Cowie Jr.
Producer(s)
Stormzy singles chronology
"Sounds of the Skeng"
(2019)		 "Wiley Flow"
(2019)		 "Own It"
(2019)
Music video
"Wiley Flow" on YouTube

Critical reception

Writing for Fact, Henry Bruce-Jones called it a salute to the "godfather of grime" on which Stormzy "cribs flows" from Wiley and "go[es] in on" over a "murky instrumental".[1] Karen Gwee of NME labelled it "hard-hitting",[3] while Sajae Elder of The Fader described it as Stormzy "racing through a series of number and OG checks ("If you can't do 10K first week then I don't wanna hear no chat about numbers')".[4]

Music video

The music video features Stormzy rapping the song while "surrounded by his friends in a gloomy basement".[3]

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[5] 30
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[6] 21
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[7] 59
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8] 22
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[9] 25

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Silver 200,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Bruce-Jones, Henry (16 September 2019). "Stormzy salutes the grandfather of grime on 'Wiley Flow'". Fact. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  2. "Stormzy Pays Homage To Wiley With Merky New Track "Wiley Flow"". trenchtrenchtrench.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  3. Gwee, Karen (16 September 2019). "Hear Stormzy's hard-hitting new track, 'Wiley Flow'". NME. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  4. Elder, Sajae (15 September 2019). "Stormzy drops 'Wiley Flow'". The Fader. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  5. White, Jack (27 September 2019). "Tones & I makes it five weeks at Number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart with Dance Monkey". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  6. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  7. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  9. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  10. "British single certifications – Stormzy – Wiley Flow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 31 January 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Wiley Flow in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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