Richard Kylea Cowie (born 19 January 1979), better known by his stage name
Wiley and in his early career
Wiley Kat, is an
English grime MC, songwriter, and record producer with
Caribbean roots from
Trinidad and
Antigua, originating from
Bow,
East London. He first tasted success as a member of
UK garage crew
Pay As U Go, with whom he had a top 40 hit
Champagne Dance in 2001. In the early 2000s he independently released a series of highly influential
eskibeat instrumentals on white label vinyl most notably the first in the series
Eskimo and rose to fame as a
grime MC both for his solo work and for material released with his crew
Roll Deep.