Eskiboy

by Wiley

‘Wiley is Wiley, and if you don’t know me, you don’t know much.’

*Winner of the NME Best Music Book Award 2018*

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR

'The greatest UK MC of all time' Noisey

Wiley. Godfather of grime. He's one of Britain's most innovative musicians – and the movement he started in east London in the early 2000s is taking over the world.

This is his story. This is ESKIBOY.

Genres: Music, Memoir, Biography, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2017

Reviews

[Edmole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stream of consciousness with an absence of conscience and a preponderance of nonsense. Definitely a genius, but definitely in that genus of genius who you wouldn't necessarily want in your life, but you do want on your music player.

[Amar Pai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for Wiley.

I find it endearing how upfront he is about his failures in his songs. Wiley talking about album reviews on “Yonge Street”:

Said I got an eight, I was happy with a three
After that I got a two, then I got another three

A lot of the Wiley songs that I like the most (I Was Lost, Yonge Street, Fuck It, Can’t Go Wrong) are about him coming to terms with not being a superstar, and just keepin it movin creatively while being true to himself.

If buying this memoir puts a few Euros in Wiley’s pockets, I’m happy to do it.

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

2/3 biographical, 1/3 begging Dizzee to speak to him again

[Kelvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not quite four stars as some of the content felt a bit repetitive, but overall a good insight into the mind of the Godfather.

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Introduction I hate bullshit books. I’ve read a lot of biographies. Most of them are boring. I don’t want to put out the same old story: ‘Oh I grew up on an east London estate, mans was getting shot every week, rah rah rah.’

Sadly, I almost wish this book would have taken notes from prior autobiographies. If it really is an autobiography, it's so hagiographic that Wiley has actually interviewed family, friends, and others to create a picture of himself as a boy-from-the-ghetto-fought-up-got-fame person.

Some of the stuff in this book is lovely, e.g.:

Back then, it was all about the scene. There was a proper scene, and we were all trying to get into it. But we were all kids, really. We loved it, and they obviously showed appreciation to us for loving it, but we weren’t really in it. Jungle kept it tight. Like they didn’t care about major labels, they don’t jump up for man, they weren’t gassed about anything. They were feet-on-the-floor people. You can’t just go in jungle and bust one tune then go clear. It didn’t really work like that. You had to keep going and keep going. I respected them for that. Most other scenes are really disposable. That was the start, in a way. It was the first time I realised that we could do this. We didn’t really need anybody else. We had decks, we had the mic, we had the radio. Didn’t need to wait for anyone, impress anyone, push anyone. Just us.

Wiley's style is interesting, mainly because of his storytelling ease, which does get grating at times as it's spoken well, but does not look good on the page:

People got kidnapped, held for two weeks under the bed. People getting carjacked, people getting chased down the street. It’s just street stuff. Things like that were going on all the time. That world is a bit dark. It can happen for any reason. This one doesn’t like that one. If you associate with someone that someone else doesn’t like, you can get dragged in. A lot of that happens. The streets are crazy. No matter how bad you are, you can’t avoid it. There are no rules. There’s no ring, no boxing gloves. It’s more dangerous than anything. You can get rushed by ten man, twenty man, thirty man. You can get shot, stabbed, hit with a hammer. Anything. Not just London, either. Anywhere.

Also, the sheer level of braggadocio that goes into nearly every page is tiring, and it doesn't matter that he's not saying that himself. If I were to release an autobiography, and it'd not be marked by humility, that would definitely be a bad thing. Here's a quote from someone in his book:

He always had a drive and vision. He’s a good organiser. He can see the end product. That’s the similarity we have. Even if someone’s in the room and they’re being negative, it’s not about that person’s negativity. It’s about the end product. It’s seeing the end product, and putting in the work to make it happen. You can say it’s a gift, but in a way, it’s kind of spiritual. It’s like a connection you can make with someone. He played a big part in forming those crews. He could hear someone, and know whether that person would fit. We’re going back to a time when there were more crews than individuals. It was about having four, five, six MCs in your crews. What voices could fit. And he was encouraging in terms of helping people write bars. He never wasted time in the studio.

Also, a lot of simple lines like this one just add to the bad taste:

‘Champagne Dance’ was everywhere in 2001, from the roads to the raves. And my verse made me an icon.

Granted, it's an interesting read at times, but just pick up another musician's tome, like U-God's "RAW: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang" or Thomas Hauser's brilliant book on Muhammad Ali, which I'd have recommended Wiley to read before writing this book. More humility equals a better book, regardless of your past.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book , a very quick read and written in a very nice conversational tone which felt very real. Obviously my interest in Grime helped with the overall enjoyment of the book I liked all the different contributors . it was nice to get to know the man behind the music from all different angles and based on his personality that came out throughout the book, I am not at all surprised how the book came out,

The book was largely unedited, some of the chapters were quite repetitive and could of been omited and he could of focused on some topics he just skirted over. like how he became involved with BBK, Maybe elaborated more about how he met his children's Mother, But it was nice to see how he transitioned into fatherhood and how it made him more responsible, and it was evident he had a great relationship with his sister.

Anyway overall if he had of been less impulsive and more patient with releasing and editing the book could of possibly been a 5 star autobiography. But I guess that's not him.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always been a fan of Wiley’s music and of course I’m aware of his reputation as the godfather of grime. I didn’t really know much about him personally however.

The book is incredibly disjointed and jumps between points of view and narrative - sometimes coming from the memory of different authors such as family members. It can be distracting but I persevered and I’m glad I did.

In all I’m glad I read it - it’s emotional at times as Wiley has clearly grown to recognise lost friends and also mistakes he’s made to cause issues.

[bojana · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a fun, quick read. his story told from his and his family's (sister and dad) point of view, with some other artists chipping in. out of those, enjoyed wrtech 32's "chapters" the most, hoped for something from jme :( i wish there was more about the roll deep days, surprised about how much he talkes about dizzy. it's clear that it is still torchuring him. i wish they sort it out.
anyway, good story aboutthe journey of the godfather of grime.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting format, if not super chronological

I thought *some* of the non-Wiley's who contributed added a lot, while others added a bit less

I think it wouldn't be a very good Wiley autobiography if it wasn't a bit all over the place, but that doesn't necessarily make it a great read

that being said, the good elements were good and added to my understanding of Wiley

shame about his opinions post-book 😬

[Armani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eskiboy!
This book is absolutely amazing!
I was so intrigued by the mindset of Wiley over the years.
After reading this book I feel highly inspired! I will now focus a lot more on my musical journey.

Thank you Wiley!

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scatterbrained

For those of you looking for insight into Grime's biggest clashes, most of which Wiley was involved in, this is not the book for you.

[Kojo Baffoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. It felt like one was sitting across from Wiley with him reflecting on the journey, with input from some around him. Read it with Wiley’s discography on shuffle.

[Pete Judge · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good short book about an interesting man. the second half was quite rambling hence only three stars. but recommended to fans of his

[Adrian Bloxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story and has made me want another pile of music

[Jack Kerkham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mainly rambling on

[Lisa-Jaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wiley follows a different format for his Autobiography with his friends and family adding chapters on him. A fascinating insight into the Grime movement from the "Godfather".