The events surrounding Wiley & Stormzy’s clash has had everyone talking over the past week. It gave us some amazing music, a gripping story-line and in it’s wake has re-sparked the interest in Grime music, while also raising a few questions about it’s future in the process. The story that lead us to where we are now and the role Dot Rotten, JayKae, Wiley and Stormzy played in the epic saga has now been well documented all over the internet. But the third and final act of the story had yet to be documented here on Watson Rose, and also seemed to be the most interesting, and important to tell.





After Stormzy dropped his second dub and public opinion was strongly suggesting that Stormzy had done a lot to win the clash. Wiley was trying to – on the face of it – stay in the fight in his uniquely humorous way…

What happened during this period that had social media lit up was Wiley’s brother Cadell coming out of the shadows to give his damning take on the series of events detailed by Stormzy in his second dub. The Cadell dub was widely overlooked, but not missed by the Grime hardcore who had unanimously positive response to the tune as whole and further reactions to it’s lyrics. The dub’s spaced out instrumental mixed with Cadell’s concise content, criticising Stormzys interpretation of the events involving himself, and his Dad, has left a lot of people questioning the integrity of the Number 1 charting artist.

Though you can make the argument that poetic license is at play in this incidence. If a man’s gunna fabricate a complete madness, considering he’s widely regarded as an artist who holds their integrity in high regard, this dub has definitely left a lot questions needing answered on the part Stormzy irrespective of the outcome of the clash.

After Cadell’s dub landed everything kinda simmered down, and it felt like it was as if we took a media break – a kinda half time vibe. The pundits were poppin’ with the plenty of podcasts talking about it and an abundance articles written about it. Everyone was talking about it, like everyone…

Peter Andre’s blunderous tweet was later deleted but that didn’t prevent the inevitable memes…

This point in the story marked a distinct change in the tone of the whole occasion. Entertained by Peter Andre’s eediyat move the day prior, everyone was still highly anticipating Wiley’s Eediyat war-dub. But with Stormzy celebrating his now Number 1 single and album, the toxicity of the events prior had some what dissipated. The air of animosity which was heightening the emotions of all involved had lifted and the world around us didn’t seem the same as it was the day before. We were fortunate enough to finally be fed the audio for Wiley’s 3rd send, and the 3rd peculiar phase of this epic saga began.

The ‘Eediyat Skengman 3’ dub didn’t have anywhere near the same contextual appeal of the two that proceeded it. The lyrics that laced the first two dubs were littered with the kind of insults you’d expect in a war. But this time things had noticeably changed.

What the dub did lack in the cussing department, he very much made up for in the venomous delivery and unrivaled energy in the vocal department. He stepped it up a gear in aggression, but dropped it down in content. You could tell the events that took place in between the first two dubs had changed the playing field somewhat. As soon as the ‘Eediyat Skengman 3’ landed the feelings towards the dub seemed to be shared, not among all, but among most. My guy Max Wheeler seemed to some it up the best in our little exchange.

Shoutout Wiley, he’s got a sense of humour…

“I told you lot to cut me out the Grime beef, and now you got me killin’ all these Grime neeks…” were the lyrics from an unknown Stormzy song that he adlib’d along on to in his insta-stories last Saturday. The tropical beat was the furthest thing from Grime and what I could imagine was an intentional statement about Big Mike’s attitudes towards the scene and a new track that will surely shed some light on his feelings towards everything that’s happened.

Stormzy isn’t shy of paying homage to the heritage and history of the Grime scene , but it comes across strongly that his affinity for the Grime music doesn’t extend towards any desire to be it’s ambassador. Though he made the fateful decision to jump in this clash with Wiley, in retrospect it can’t be taken as a decision that suggests anything more than smart marketing and a willingness to humour the broader Grime community and entertain his fans.

It’s unlikely Stormzy will return fire at Wiley in this particular way again. But, as a man who’s artistic integrity seemed to be a priority of his and based on what was said by Cadell – and what Stormzy later shared on Instagram – the events surrounding this clash will surely be informing some of Stormzy’s music going forward.

The war of words between Dot Rotten and everyone else has seemingly fizzled out too, with Dot declaring the end of “War Season” on his recent release ‘Checkmate’. The maverick musician who effectively started this whole madness has capitalised as much as he could. Consistently churning out a diverse selection of bangers on a daily basis for the last few weeks. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him, with his rogue status further enhancing to the aura of his new music.

The hysteria that kicked this year off has undoubtedly sparked more interest in Grime with young and old fans replaying their interpretation of the classics.. But what remains to be seen is how Grime will move into the next phase of it’s post-existence. The underlying theme of the older generation at odds with youth in Dot Vs JayKae and Wiley Vs Stormzy. So, the metaphorical triumph of young over old will hopefully be reflected in the music, with a more aggressive and innovative younger generation pushing the boundaries of Grime music going forward.

The events that kicked off the decade have undoubtedly pushed the conversation within the Grime scene and highlighted some home truths. We’ve learned that Grime clashing is something we all want to see more of. We’ve learned Grime music is something we want to hear more of in the future. The only thing that’s unclear is what Grime music should actually sound like…

To be continued…

Written by Timi Ben-Edigbe | @TIMI.WATSONROSE