''The Ascent'' is the ninth studio album by English rapper and producer
Wiley
Wiley may refer to:
Locations
* Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town
*Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S.
* Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany
People
* Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer
* Wiley Mill ...
. The album was released on 1 April 2013, by
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
and
Boy Better Know
Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme, and Skepta ...
, after being delayed twice. ''The Ascent'' succeeds ''
Evolve or Be Extinct'' which was released in January 2012. The album features a variety of experimental genres, varying from
dance pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
to
grime
Grime may refer to:
* Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust
* Grime (music genre), a genre of music
* ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity
* ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game
* "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...
.
The lead single "
Heatwave
A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
", featuring
Ms D
Dayo Olatunji, known professionally as Dyo (formerly Ms D), is an British people, English singer-songwriter.
Early life
Dyo grew up in East Ham, East London. Her mother was born in the United Kingdom, and her father was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
...
, peaking at number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, becoming Wiley's first number 1 as a solo artist. This was followed by "
Can You Hear Me? (Ayayaya)" featuring
Skepta
Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...
,
JME and
Ms D
Dayo Olatunji, known professionally as Dyo (formerly Ms D), is an British people, English singer-songwriter.
Early life
Dyo grew up in East Ham, East London. Her mother was born in the United Kingdom, and her father was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
...
, "
Reload" featuring
Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genomi ...
and Ms D, all of which peaked in the top 10.
Critical reception
The album received positive to mixed reviews from music critics and entered the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
at number 26 which became his highest-charting solo studio album until ''
Godfather'' (2017) reached the top 10, yet is his first top 40 album entry. The album has spawned four top ten hits in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
including the number one single "Heatwave" which also charted in Australia.
Background
The name of the album was first confirmed by
Wiley
Wiley may refer to:
Locations
* Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town
*Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S.
* Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany
People
* Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer
* Wiley Mill ...
on 27 September 2012, via his official
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account. Wiley also confirmed that his friend
Meryl Fernandes
Meryl Glynis Fernandes (born 1983) is an English actress and presenter. She played Afia Masood, a love interest for Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', originally making a guest appearance between 29 December 2009 ...
, who portrayed
Afia Masood
Afia Masood (also Khan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Meryl Fernandes.
Afia appeared in five episodes between 29 December 2009 and 5 January 2010, and returned on 18 November 2010. This is Fernand ...
in British soap opera
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
named his album. The album's track list was later revealed on 11 October 2012, detailing sixteen tracks. However, in January 2013, the track list was revised. "Walking Through Fire", "Stay Here", "Common Ground" (featuring Ryan Keen), and "Drink My Pain Away" (featuring
Stacy Barthe
Stacy or Stacey may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Stacy, California, an unincorporated community
* Stacy, Kentucky
* Stacy, Minnesota, a city
* Stacy, Virginia, a village
People
* Stacy (given name)
* Stacy (singer) (born 199 ...
) were removed from the album; while "Ninja" was demoted to the deluxe edition, and "So Alive", "Tomorrow" and "Humble Pie" were added to the standard edition, while "Rubicon" and "Broken Thoughts" were added to the deluxe edition. The album was originally due to be released on 4 February 2013, but was later delayed until 11 March 2013, in order for a third single to be released prior to the album. The album was once again delayed until 1 April 2013, to allow for final edits to be made on the album. "Ninja" was previously released as an official free download. Wiley collaborated with an extensive number of artists for the album, with featured guest appearances including
Far East Movement
Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and as of August 2018 consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), DJ Virman (Vi ...
,
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
* Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
**Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
,
Skepta
Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...
,
JME,
Ghetts
Justin Clarke, better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100, BBC Asian Network, and BBC Radio 1Xtra. Cur ...
, Griminal, Manga, Frisco, Big Shizz, Double S,
Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genomi ...
, Wrigz, J2K, Ice Kid and Megaman,
Tulisa
Tula Paulinea Contostavlos (Greek: Τούλα Παυλίνα 'Τουλίσα' Κοντόσταυλου; born 13 July 1988) professionally known as Tulisa, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. As a part of the ...
,
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
and
Emeli Sandé
Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian fathe ...
.
Singles
"
Heatwave
A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
", featuring
Ms D
Dayo Olatunji, known professionally as Dyo (formerly Ms D), is an British people, English singer-songwriter.
Early life
Dyo grew up in East Ham, East London. Her mother was born in the United Kingdom, and her father was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
...
, was released as the album's lead single, debuting at number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on 5 August 2012, selling over 114,000 copies in its first week, becoming Wiley's first ever solo number one. "
Can You Hear Me? (Ayayaya)", featuring
Skepta
Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...
,
JME &
Ms D
Dayo Olatunji, known professionally as Dyo (formerly Ms D), is an British people, English singer-songwriter.
Early life
Dyo grew up in East Ham, East London. Her mother was born in the United Kingdom, and her father was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
...
, was released as the album's second single on 28 October 2012. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 75,000 copies.
"
Reload", featuring
Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genomi ...
&
Ms D
Dayo Olatunji, known professionally as Dyo (formerly Ms D), is an British people, English singer-songwriter.
Early life
Dyo grew up in East Ham, East London. Her mother was born in the United Kingdom, and her father was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
...
, was released as the album's third single on 24 February 2013. It entered the top ten of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on the week ending 3 March 2013 at number 9. "
Lights On", featuring
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
and
Tinchy Stryder
Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), known by the stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a Ghanaian British, Ghanaian-British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor.
Stryder has released three solo (music), solo studio al ...
, was released as the album's fourth single on 7 June 2013. It also entered the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number 9.
Track listing
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascent, The
2013 albums
Wiley (musician) albums