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As Boy Better Know’s Jme prepares to take to the stage at Afropunk festival this weekend, we salute the London grime hero.
1. First off, look at him: he’s a babe!
There aren’t too many men (too many many men) who could pull off a do-rag the way that this 32-year-old London grime MC can. But the founding member of BBK is straight-up pretty, with cheekbones that could cut glass.
2. He’s part of a musical dynasty
Jme’s good looks aren’t surprising – he’s a part of the genetically-blessed Adenuga family. The Adenugas are music’s answer to the Dimblebys; aside from Jme, there’s big bro Joe, aka Mercury Prize-winning Skepta (pictured below), and sister Julie, who DJs for Beats 1 and shares equally enviable cheekbones as her brother.
3. His interests are frankly
fascinating
Park every preconception you have of grime MCs. Jme is his own guy. He loves Pokémon to bits, is teetotal, vegan (and like many vegans he never ever talks about it), and bakes croissants (vegan, obvs). He has a degree in 3D Digital Design but according to 2006’s ‘96 Bars of Jme’, JavaScript makes him want to ‘swear like Plan B’. Also, he’s more into keeping fit than Rosemary Conley – see the video for ‘Rari Workout’ with the famously dench Lethal Bizzle.
4. He’s grime’s most political
presence
And he helped to garner the youth vote in a big way. A vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, he interviewed the Labour leader for i-D. He also encouraged his fans to register to vote and then go out and vote for whoever they saw fit, much to the chagrin of seasoned grime followers the Daily Mail.
5. He has lovely manners
Watch a few of the videos on his YouTube channel and you’ll see that because he drives nice cars, the police like to pull him over a lot. Despite the tedious regularity of the checks of his insurance documents, he remains cool, calm, collected and polite. He’s clearly been well brought up – Mrs Adenuga, we salute you.
6. Most importantly, he’s a fucking great MC
Jme is a fiercely independent grime artist, releasing albums via Boy Better Know and playing shows entirely under his own steam. Is he going to be as big as his big brother? Here’s hoping – he’s certainly talented enough, and if there’s one thing we have learnt from the phenomenal success of Skepta and Stormzy, it’s that the world is crying out for more grime.
Afropunk Festival is on Sat Jul 22 and Sun Jul 23 at The Printworks. Tickets are £56.50 and still available for both days.