It is, without doubt, one of grime’s most famous clashes. In 2004, Wiley and Kano met on the steps of Jammer’s basement and battled it out on the first incarnation of Lord of the Mics in aclassic battle of one-upmanship. At the time, both men were standout stars of their respective crews [Wiley the leader of Roll Deep and Kano as N.A.S.T.Y Crew’s most dangerous], and the clash solidifed both MCs as two legends in the grime scene. Who actually won is still something contentiously argued amongst fans and critics alike.
Now, 11 years on, it seems that we could have the rematch we have all been waiting for but assumed we would never see. LOTM founder Jammer yesterday uploaded a picture on Instagram of a text he had recieved from the E3 rapper asking for a rematch with KA as part of Lord of the Mics 8, which is due to be held next year. In the posts [which can be seen below], Wiley asks for the rematch with some firm conditions [“Not a disrespect war, just a rematch”, “3 16’s per round”] and tells Jammer to call out Kano publicly. It seems like Jammer echoes Wiley’s sentiments concerning a respectful clash, writing on his Instagram post: “Wiley wants a respectable rematch with @therealkano the reasons these clashes was good is the artist both respect each other!!!! It’s not a hate clash it’s a clash about skills and the art-form of battle”.
It’s clear that both men dont need the exposure, the last few months have seen both drop new and successful tracks [Wiley with “25 MCs” and Kano with “Garage Skank“] and have received prestigious awards [Wiley picked up the ‘Paving The Way’ award at this years MOBOs while Kano received the ‘Legacy award’ at the GRM Rated Awards]. But over the past 12 months, there has been a throwback to the “golden age” of beef – with Chip and Bugzy sending diss tracks back and forth, Skepta reigniting his feud with Devilman and LOTM7 playing host to some of the best battles in a number of years. If this could happen (and this is a very BIG if), who wouldn’t want to see two of the scene’s leaders go at it again, both at a much higher level then when they met back in 2004.
Make it happen Jammer, make it happen…
