Ed Sheeran Shares Open Letter To Wiley Over “Culture Vulture” Accusations

Wiley hasn’t held his tongue this year. The Godfather of Grime has watched the genre and culture make its way from pirate radio stations to make it to the top of the UK charts. It’s arguably due in part to the spotlight mainstream artists such as Drake and Ed Sheeran shed on it. But that even came with some criticism. Wiley accused both Drake and Ed Sheeran of essentially exploiting a culture that he helped build up for 15+ years.

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While Drake responded, Sheeran has remained relatively quiet. That is, until now. Sheeran took to Instagram to share an open letter to Wiley, shutting down claims that he turned down a collaboration. The two worked together on two separate occasions — once on a Wiley song, the other for Ed’s album. Ed clarified that he didn’t stop a song from being released, rather asked Wiley if they could push it back a week since his debut single was on the way.

Sheeran also clarified that he wasn’t taking aim at Wiley on the song, “You Need Me I Don’t Need You” which Wiley recently claimed was targeted at him.

“I have a deep love and respect for the scene, and for you. I look forward to Godfather 3, excited to hear it,” he wrote.

The timing of the post is interesting since Stormzy, was defended Ed against the “culture vulture” remarks, recently dropped off a new song paying homage to Wiley, aptly titled, “Wiley Flow.”

Peep Ed Sheeran’s message below.