Wiley Flow

"Wiley Flow" is a song by English rapper Stormzy, released on 15 September 2019 through #Merky and Atlantic Records as the third single from his second studio album, Heavy Is the Head. The song is a homage to British grime MC Wiley that interpolates flows from his tracks "Bad 'Em Up" and "Nightbus Dubplate".^[1] The cover art also mirrors his mixtape, Tunnel Vision Vol 1 (2007).^[2]

"Wiley Flow"
Single by Stormzy
from the album Heavy Is the Head
Released	15 September 2019 (2019-09-15)
Length	3:27
Label	#Merky Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Michael Omari Eyobed Getachew Richard Kylea Cowie Jr.
Producer(s)	EY AdotSkitz Illmind
Stormzy singles chronology
"Sounds of the Skeng" (2019) "Wiley Flow" (2019) "Own It" (2019)
Music video
"Wiley Flow" on YouTube

Critical reception

Writing for Fact, Henry Bruce-Jones called it a salute to the "godfather of grime" on which Stormzy "cribs flows" from Wiley and "go[es] in on" over a "murky instrumental".^[1] Karen Gwee of NME labelled it "hard-hitting",^[3] while Sajae Elder of The Fader described it as Stormzy "racing through a series of number and OG checks ("If you can't do 10K first week then I don't wanna hear no chat about numbers')".^[4]

Music video

The music video features Stormzy rapping the song while "surrounded by his friends in a gloomy basement".^[3]

Charts

Chart performance for "Wiley Flow"

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)[5]	30
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[6]	21
Scotland (OCC)[7]	59
UK Singles (OCC)[8]	22
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[9]	25

Certifications

Certifications for "Wiley Flow"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[10]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[11]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.