Source: Joseph Okpako / Getty
Grime pioneer MC Wiley has taken to Twitter to call out Drake for “sh*t deals” when it comes to artists signed to OVO, again.
On Wednesday (Sept 11), the British rapper, whose rivalry with Drake has been ongoing ever since he called the OVO cappo a “culture vulture” and branded them “pagans.”
While it’s relatively unclear as to what triggered the one-sided bombardment, it seems Wiley has been increasingly irritated with OVO’s “sh*t record deals,” specifically in relation to the clearance of vocals on a song he did alongside dancehall artist and OVO-signed artist Popcaan as well as Nicki Minaj.
“I’m being held back cos @Drake obviously ain’t clearing @PopcaanMusic and @NICKIMINAJ is going to start her family… it’s a dead-end,” Wiley wrote [then deleted] on Twitter.
Wiley also criticized Drake for showing up at the concerts of numerous UK rappers, including J Hus and Dave, as well as inviting them to join him on his own tour. “@Drake suck ya mum don’t come back to England,” Wiley wrote, before claiming that OVO will “give you sh*t record deals and you’re only there to help Drake with songs to keep him up and you down.”
Drake, who has previously called Wiley “goofy”, responded to his criticism earlier this year, saying: “I see a lot and I’ll never understand how supporting somebody’s song or even going a step further and giving somebody a song or linking up… how that’s not viewed as something admirable?”
He continued, “But I guess people have their own outlook on [that].”
Despite the criticism from Wiley, Drake and his OVO camp are slated to release an album inspired by the Netflix reboot of Top Boy, a British based crime drama that hones in on East London’s tumultuous relationship with drugs and street gangs. Some fans speculate that Drake’s announcement of his inspiration from the U.K. based drama is what fueled Wiley’s tangent.
Since his Twitter rant, Wiley has revealed his reason for taking shots at Drake. During an interview with 1Xtra Breakfast Show With Dotty on Thursday, Wiley states that it’s Drake’s selfishness in business that has led to his disdain with Toronto rapper.
“I didn’t need Drake to let me know that Top Boy is sick,” Wiley said. “They didn’t come to us” when asked why he and other grime pioneers didn’t step in to revive the series themselves. Can’t you see what people do out here? The truth is he’s just a pagan. He knows it. And if I say it, he can’t say nothing to me because it’s the truth . . . He’s not embracing the scene, he’s doing it for himself.”
Listen to the interview in full here.
