Wiley - 'Summertime'
I think I'm going to start a campaign for popstars to release season-sensitive songs at the correct time. It seems all the summer-y songs just designed for lying with your window open trying to find some air and stop sweating for five seconds spend their time building up a reaction over the appropriate period and then actually see a release at the point when frosts start happening.
Wiley, here, has managed to release this about two months too late for actual seasonality, unless you believe (and really, who wouldn't?) but maybe it's more suitable for reminiscing about the summer than being an actual hit then. It does, after all, sample 'Aerodynamic' by Daft Punk, which is one of the most wintry sounding songs ever, in my opinion, with its tolling bell at the start and excited bubbling it sounds incredibly Christmassy. Look:
And maybe 'tis the season for Daft Punk sampling; 'Stronger' by Kanye West was big around this time last year, although that leads to inevitable comparison, too. So, Kanye West did Daft Punk sampling. So it was established that even with someone with a star of Kanye's magnitude, it's very hard to hear anything other than Daft Punk as soon as you let them into your song.
This year, though, it's Wiley. Unlike Kanye he's not a massive international star, regardless of the success 'Wearin' My Rolex' had but he is a cult hero; the sort of person who can get away with playful sampling and completely own it. There's something about this song that just feels really natural; despite the fact 'Aerodynamic' is instantly recognisable, Wiley's flow makes it seem like he's almost freestyling, bubbling over with excitement following the success of 'Wearin' My Rolex.'
The riotously-coloured, bouncing video only contributes further to the sense of sheer joy about the song, like it's just finished its exams and it reckons it might have even aced a few and now it's gloriously FREE! Just listening to it puts a bit grin on my face, because it's cheeky and fun and it's Wiley, who seems to generally be a jolly good bloke with whom you could have an absolutely ace night out so you can't really hold any of that against him.
The only really annoying thing, in fact, is that Gym Class Heroes have just got big and suddenly the witty sort of MCing that's been going on in grime for years is suddenly popular but the man himself seems not to be bitter about the situation, so hopefully it just really is Wiley's time.
Download: Out now
CD Released: October 13th
(Hazel Robinson)
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