ALEX WILEY – VILLAGE PARTY

June 2014

Closed Sessions

I’ll be honest. Until recently, I didn’t really know who Alex Wiley was. The Chicago native released the follow-up to his debut project, “Club Wiley” (available here) on June 5th after accidentally tweeting the link early that was intended for private consumption. Again, I’ll be honest – that didn’t give me much hope. However, the album cover for “Village Party” made me think that at the very least I would be getting something interesting.

For those unaware, Alex Wiley is essentially a light-skinned Jonah Hill/SchoolBoy Q spawned rapper affiliated with the SaveMoney crew, a Chicago-based hip hop collective who are most well know through members Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa. Whilst he is not a member of SaveMoney, their influence is made obvious on tracks such as “#takeoff #takeoff” and “Yung San Diego” where Wiley’s surprisingly versatile voice mimics an almost flawless version of Chance’s shrill vocals and Mensa’s fast-paced flow.

And really, Wiley’s voice is incredibly multi-faceted. The aptly titled “Intro” leads in a breathy-vocal styled track that resembles Mac Miller’s pseudo-intelligent stoner rap, and set my expectations to follow this pattern. However, track 3,“Ideas” is the most polarizing one on the tape – an incongruous banger packed with thrusting synths and a hard hitting kick pattern that dramatically contrasts with the spacey instrumentals prevalent elsewhere. “Yung San Diego” provides yet more contrast just one track later, with a guitar-sample dominating the beat and hinting at an indie rock influence that defies any preconceptions “Ideas” has just given the listener.

The two features on the album, Mick Jenkins on “Forever” and Kembe X (a fellow member of hip-hop group the Village) on “#takeoff #takeoff” and “Know Normal” easily hold their own against the versatility of Wiley – again shown on the two singles of the tape, “Vibration” and “Ova”. Each is stuffed with catchy hooks and solid verses, and despite the questionable usage of autotune on “Vibration”, each would be suitable for more mainstream play. Overall, it’s an impressive showing, and while lacking an overarching trend, the tape is a hopeful hint of Alex Wiley’s future.

7.5/10

Download it here.

Standout tracks:

Ideas

#takeoff #takeoff

Vibration

Know Normal

Village Party II Intro

by Shining