'Godfather of Grime' Wiley to receive Outstanding Contribution to Music Award

NME have announced that Wiley will receive this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.

Wiley started his career in UK garage crew Pay As You Go Cartel a decade and a half ago. He then went on to find the influential grime crew Roll Deep in the mid 2000s. In 2008, he found mainstream success with breakthrough track ‘Wearing My Rolex’, and later on with ‘Heatwave’ which topped the UK charts.

The award follows the release of his 11th album Godfather, that NME heralded as a “statement of intent” and “sees Wiley come to reclaim the genre that he helped to create”.

Wiley said: “Thank you for everyone’s support and thank you NME for this award. It’s because of the fans support that I am here, and my family and friends who’ve been behind me from day one. This for all the massive and the crew.”

NME editor-in-chief Mike Williams added: “Wiley isn’t just the Godfather of grime, he’s the inventor of it too. He’s the man the rest of the scene looks up to, and the figurehead of the most exciting musical movement in a generation.

“Without Wiley, the entire landscape of British music would look very different, so it’s a huge honour to recognise his influence and talents by awarding him NME’s Outstanding Contribution to Music.”

As well as receiving this award, Wiley will also attend the ceremony and perform live at the event. Huw Stephens will be presenting the event once again, and Bastille and Dua Lipa will be performing too.

Tickets for the VO5 NME Awards 2017 are available here.