British Rapper Wiley dropped by manager, distributor after anti-Semitic Twitter rant

UK rapper Wiley has been dropped by his manager, John Woolf, and distributor, ADA, after posting a series of anti-Semitic tweets.

Wiley, whose real name is Richard Kylea Cowie Jr., is known in Great Britain as the "Godfather of Grime," a gritty electronic music that originated in London in the early 2000s.

Among the comments Wiley made on July 24, he compared Jews to the Ku Klux Klan and claimed that "in prison jewish people get looked after differently too everyone else and hospitals and police stations."

The Metropolitan Police responded to Wiley's rant via social media writing, "We have received a number of reports relating to alleged anti-Semitic tweets posted on social media. The Met takes all reports of anti-Semitism extremely seriously. The relevant material is being assessed."

Woolf took to Twitter to confirm he had cut ties with Wiley saying, "Following Wileys anti-Semitic tweets today, we at @A_ListMGMT have cut all ties with him. There is no place in society for anti-Semitism."

Wiley hits include 'Wearing My Rolex', 'Never Be Your Woman' and 'Heatwave', which topped the UK charts. His albums are released and distributed by ADA, which also cut ties with the artist. As reported by Music Business Worldwide, an ADA spokesperson said: "We oppose antisemitism and any form of discrimination and racism. While Wiley controls and releases his music through his own label, he has a digital distribution agreement with ADA and we are terminating that agreement."

In 2018, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his contributions to music.

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