The grime master AKA Eskiboy AKA Wiley moves away from his much loved forte in what appears to be an attempt to make electro-house listenable again. The results are surprising. In fact, it may be an extremely clever marketing ploy from the British MC. With a new album Grime Wave about to be released, this commercially accessible tune may open him up to a whole new set of listeners.

The song itself is a throw-back to the dance production of old: grab an interesting loop from an old song (*DSK*’s What Would We Do), add a loop from the popular dance music at the time (electro house) and throw in some vocals for good measure (courtesy of Wiley himself). Voila – a dance hit! Wearing My Rolex has already charted extremely well in the UK and Triple J have been playing it the past few weeks, so by all accounts, the formula seems to be working. While it’s hard for me to admit it, this is an amazingly catchy tune, one that makes you want to dance and sing along to the East London vocals spitting incredibly inane lyrics about picking up a girl in a club: “Next thing she’s wearing my Rolex!”

Admittedly, the shelf life of this tune is not long, but for some instant short-term gratification, it’s hard to beat. While some fans of Wiley will see this song as a sell out, I’m leaning towards the view that it is a one off mash-up to spark interest in the new album; let’s hope Grime Wave produces more street, less throw-away pop.