Boy Better Know Explained

Boy Better Know
Alias:BBK
Origin:London, England
Genre:Grime
Years Active:2005–present
Label:Boy Better Know
Current Members:
Past Members:

Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme and Skepta, respectively. The former also serves as a sole owner and director of an associated company, Boy Better Know Limited, incorporated in 2008.[1] All members of the collective use the record label as a means to publish their music, and is digitally distributed by The Orchard, a subsidiary of Sony Music.

History

In the early 2000s, Meridian Crew, consisting of MCs President T, Skepta, Jme, Big H, Bossman Birdie, Meridian Dan and Paper Pabs regularly appeared on pirate radio stations, including Heat FM and later on Déjà Vu FM.[2] In 2005, Meridian Crew dissolved after affiliates of the crew were convicted on attempted murder charges.[3] After this event, Jme founded Boy Better Know alongside his brother Skepta while other Meridian members reformed as Meridian Bloodline, known later simply as Bloodline.[4] [5]

In its early period, "Boy Better Know" was well known for its line of eponymous T-shirts. The crew also had a regular show on Rinse FM with DJ Maximum.[6] Jme's debut album, Famous?, was released on the label in 2008.[7] "Too Many Man", the first single from the album, was released on 25 May 2009.[8] The song is also featured on the Wiley and Skepta albums, Race Against Time and Microphone Champion, respectively. The song was written because of Skepta's annoyance over 'the lack of women in clubs'. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 6 June 2009 at number 97, reaching number 79 the next week.[9] The second single from the album V.I.P, titled "Goin' In", was released for download on iTunes on 13 December 2009.

Jme's second studio album, Blam!, was released on 4 October 2010. Three singles from this album were released; "Over Me", "Sidetracked", which features Wiley, and "CD is Dead" featuring UK grime artist Tempa T.

In 2008, Boy Better Know pioneered a short-lived dance fad called the "Rolex Sweep" which accompanied the song of the same name by Skepta.[10] [11]

In November 2011, Boy Better Know Mobile was established, a 3G network which leases network bandwidth from Hutchison 3G.[12] This venture was ended in mid-2013.

In October 2018, Wiley began a feud with Skepta and Dizzee Rascal over Skepta working with Dizzee on the track 'Money Right'.[13] [14] On 19 November Wiley released the track 'Flip the Table', where he refers to Dizzee as the 'Grime scene quitter'.[15]

Notable members

Musicians

Discography

Albums

^ = Released on CTA Records; not released via Boy Better Know Records

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
2009"Too Many Man"79V.I.P
2010"Goin' In"—
2018"Athlete"
(featuring Goldie1)		—

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BOY BETTER KNOW LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK. Companies House. 2022-05-27.
  2. Web site: "I am nothing but a grime MC": Introducing Meridian Dan . "I am nothing but a grime MC": Introducing Meridian Dan . fabric blog . Fabriclondon.com . 14 April 2014 . 20 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140525201406/http://www.fabriclondon.com/blog/view/i-am-nothing-but-a-grime-mc-introducing-meridian-dan . 25 May 2014 . live .
  3. News: BBC NEWS – UK – Gunman who gloated in rap jailed. 25 February 2005 . 15 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170830231615/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4248151.stm. 30 August 2017. live.
  4. Web site: Niet compatibele browser . Facebook . 25 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161203100722/https://www.facebook.com/jmeserious/ . 3 December 2016 . live .
  5. Adabra, Michelle (25 August 2005). "Boy Better Know Now", New Nation (602): 15.
  6. Web site: Maximum – Rinse FM. RinseFM. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151009021847/http://rinse.fm/artists/maximum/. 9 October 2015. dmy-all.
  7. Web site: Jme – Famous? . Ukrecordshop.com . 14 July 2008 . 25 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717152937/http://www.ukrecordshop.com/item/jme-famous.html . 17 July 2011 . dead .
  8. Web site: Bigga Fish Bigga Valentine's Bash @ matter, Tues 16th Feb. altsounds. 23 January 2010. 12 February 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100129071851/http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/114347-bigga-fish-bigga-valentines-bash-matter-tues-16th-feb.html. 29 January 2010. dmy-all.
  9. Web site: UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive – Boy Better Know – Too Many Man . . 13 June 2009 . 25 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150605090847/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/MAKE%20ME/ . 5 June 2015 . live .
  10. News: Fresh links: do the Rolex sweep! . London . The Guardian . 1 April 2008 . 14 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160312180004/http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/apr/01/freshlinksdotherolexsweep . 12 March 2016 . live .
  11. Web site: Mistajam . MistaJam: Coldplay do the Rolex Sweep . BBC . 17 June 2008 . 25 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190425125059/https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mistajam/2008/06/coldplay_do_the_rolex_sweep.shtml . 25 April 2019 . live .
  12. "Boy Better Know launch pay as you go mobile network ", The Wire (magazine).
  13. News: Wiley calls out Skepta for working with Dizzee Rascal: 'Why is everyone such a pr**k?'. The Independent. 2018-11-30. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202044/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/wiley-dizzee-skepta-beef-instagram-video-watch-bbk-jme-latest-a8589096.html. 30 November 2018. live.
  14. News: Wiley calls Skepta and Dizzee Rascal "paigons" in rant on Instagram Stories. Mixmag. 2018-11-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20181201010550/https://mixmag.net/read/wiley-calls-skepta-and-dizzee-rascal-pagans-in-a-harsh-online-rant-news. 1 December 2018. live.
  15. News: 'The war has officially started' – Wiley takes aim at Dizzee Rascal and Skepta in new track 'Flip The Table'. 2018-11-19. NME. 2018-11-30. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20181130155935/https://www.nme.com/news/music/wiley-dizzee-rascal-feud-2404051-2404051. 30 November 2018. live.
  16. Web site: The Wiley-Dizzee-Skepta beef triangle explained. 3 March 2019. NME.

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