Last November, London grime star Jme released his fourth studio LP Grime MC, electing to keep the album completely off of streaming services in favor of hard sales. Despite the shunning of current platforms, the Boy Better Know general still scored a top 40 spot on the UK albums chart during its first week of release, proving that he still maintains the star power that has kept him and his crew at the top of their genre for over a decade.
Beginning last month, Jme began delivering singles from Grime MC to streaming, along with matching visuals for each. Following the self-produced album opener “96 Of My Life” and the Lewi B-produced “Issmad” comes a new clip for “You Watch Me,” which features production from S-X and sees the artist flexing for listeners and unloading certain frustrations in regards to fame:
“I can’t take these sly Snapchatters, camera flashers, amateur pappers’/
Camera phone upright aimed at me, but they’re looking to the side, “What you looking at?”-ers, don’t wanna chat-ers/
You’re acting weird, the internet age has fucked your brain fam, why you scared?/
I’m sat with open body language, holding a sandwich, come over here and talk/
Bookey is the new black, man see me and don’t know how to act…/”
The accompanying visual starts with Jme balking at his interrogators. He can then be seen on various monitors, acting as a museum exhibit, on stage as fans record him, and even walking through the streets as passersby are spotted looking on in amazement.
As a part of Boy Better Know, Jme — alongside brother Skepta, Shorty, Jammer, Frisco and Shorty — have delivered timeless classics in the UK and beyond, helping to make Grime and urban music in general a commercial viable artform for the culture. Together and as solo artists, it’s hopeful to see even more from BBK in the years to come.
You can press play on “You Watch Me” — and, if you missed them, “96 Of My Life” and “Issmad” — below.